Mr. José Manuel BARROSO, President of the European Commission
Baroness Catherine ASHTON, European Commissioner for Trade
Ms. Benita FERRERO-WALDNER, European Commissioner for External Relations
Mr. Fredrik REINFELDT, Prime Minister, Sweden
Mr. Carl BILDT, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Sweden
Ms. Ewa BJÖRLING, Minister of Trade, Sweden
Ms. Gunilla CARLSSON, Minister for International Development Cooperation, Sweden
Mr. Jan KOHOUT, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Czech Republic
Mr. Miguel Ángel MORATINOS, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, Spain

                                                         Brussels, September 4, 2009

Re: Human rights NGOs and European civil society networks call on the EU to take a strong position regarding human rights violations in Honduras

The undersigned human rights NGOs and civil society networks condemn the violations of human rights by the de facto government in Honduras. We ask for the EU to condemn more strongly the human rights violations by the de facto government than it has done hitherto. We also call on the EU not to recognize elections called under the de facto government, support the return of president Zelaya, maintain the suspension of the association agreement negotiations, initiate an investigation for the temporary withdrawal of benefits given to Honduras under the GSP+ framework and to effectively support human rights defenders. The human rights situation in Honduras is deteriorating. Since the coup d’état and the breakdown of constitutional order on the 28th of June 2009 there have been numerous reports of serious human rights’ violations in the country. The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), Amnesty International, FIDH and a number o delegations of non-governmental organisations and Honduran human rights organisations such as CIPRODEH and COFADEH are among those reporting on human rights violations, including: disproportionate and excessive use of force by the police and military to repress legitimate and peaceful protests; arbitrary arrests and detentions gender based violence against female protesters; violations of the right to freedom o opinion, expression, assembly and association; arbitrary application of curfew measures increased restrictions on the ability of human rights defenders and media workers to move freely.
The international community, including the European Union, has unanimously condemned the coup. We welcome the decision of the EU to freeze diplomatic relations and budget support to Honduras, and the declarations condemning the coup and supporting the efforts of the OAS for a peaceful solution aiming at restoring the constitutional order by reinstating president Zelaya.
Unfortunately, the transition proposal presented by Oscar Arias, President of Costa Rica after consultation with all parties has been rejected by the de facto government and the diplomacy of the OAS has not resulted in a solution of the situation. The political stand still and the deteriorating human rights situation in Honduras require further action by the international community. As European civil society networks and international human rights NGOs and we call on the EU and its member states:
     1. To strongly condemn the serious human rights violations carried out by the illegal de facto government and support efforts to find a political solution in order to restore democracy and the respect for human rights in Honduras.
     2. To not recognize elections called under the de facto government. Elections called under an undemocratic regime should by no means be considered democratic or legitimate. Also, the current human rights situation of serious violations of the right to freedom of opinion, expression and assembly would severely hamper a free and democratic electoral process.
     3. To support the return of the democratically elected president Zelaya as an essential part of re-establishing constitutional order in Honduras.
     4. To maintain its decision not to continue negotiations for an EU-Centra America Association Agreement before the constitutional order in Honduras is restored and negotiations can be carried out with the Central American region as a whole. All official rounds, technical working meetings and bilateral contacts between the negotiation teams from the regions should be cancelled. We are concerned by the negative impact of the coup d’état on the process of Centra American regional integration, which the Association Agreement seeks to strengthen. We do believe that if the EU decides to resume the negotiations in a bilateral or multi-bilateral fashion this would send the wrong message and be counterproductive to regional integration.
                                           
    5. To initiate an investigation for the temporary withdrawal of the tarif preferences given to Honduras under the GSP+ framework, on the basis o serious and systematic violations of human rights laid down in the 27 conventions included in the GSP+ framework.
    6. To maintain its decision to suspend budget support to Honduras unti constitutional order is restored. Also, individual member states supporting the Electoral Supreme Court of Honduras should be urged to freeze this support
    7. To support human rights defenders in Honduras through the effective implementation of the European Union guidelines on human rights defenders.
The European Union should ensure the effective implementation of the democratic clause of the Framework Cooperation Agreement between the EU and Central America which states that cooperation ties “shall be based on respect for democratic principles and human rights”. The respect for human rights and democracy, sustainable development and regional integration should guide EU-Central America relations. These principles are under threat due to the political situation in Honduras. We therefore urge the EU to maintain the coherent and firm position it has taken so far and take furthe action with the objective of restoring democracy and the respect for human rights in Honduras.
Yours sincerely,
Rob van DRIMMELEN
General Secretary, APRODEV (Association of World Council of Churches related
Development Organisations in Europe)
Martin WOLPOLD-BOISEN
President, CIFCA (Copenhagen Initiative for Central America and Mexico)
Flavio VALENTE
General Secretary, FIAN International
                                         
   Souhayr BELHASSEN,
President, FIDH (International Federation for Human Rights)
Magda STOCZKIEWICZ
Director, Friends of the Earth Europe
Dilcia FIGUEROA
Coordinator, Grupo Sur
CC: Member states of the European Union
_________________________
Contact:
Mr Rob van DRIMMELEN
General Secretary
APRODEV
Bd Charlemagne 28
B-1000 Brussels
Belgium
Email: pica@aprodev.net