source: Inter-American Court of Human Rights (San José, Costa Rica).
See additional article at https://criterio.hn/cayos-cochinos-el-paraiso-del-reality-y-la-disputa-territorial-garifuna/
HONDURAS IS RESPONSIBLE FOR VIOLATING THE RIGHT TO PRIOR, FREE AND INFORMED CONSULTATION OF THE GARÍFUNA COMMUNITY OF CAYOS COCHINOS AND ITS MEMBERS
https://corteidh.or.cr/docs/comunicados/cp_14_2026_ENG.pdf
San José, Costa Rica, March 04, 2026. - In the judgment in the case of the Garífuna Community of Cayos Cochinos and its members v. Honduras, notified today, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights declared the State of Honduras responsible for the violation of the rights to collective property, participation, access to information, cultural identity, food and personal integrity of the Garífuna Community of Cayos Cochinos and its members. The Court considered that these violations were due to the lack of prior, free and informed consultation in the declaration and management of the protected area, as well as the lack of effective guarantees for the use and enjoyment of the communal territory and its functional habitat, which generated a climate of harassment and insecurity that affected the personal integrity of the community.
The official summary and the full text of the judgment can be accessed here: https://jurisprudencia.corteidh.or.cr/es/vid/1099208830
The facts of the case refer to the Garífuna Community of Cayos Cochinos, historically settled in the archipelago of the same name, whose subsistence, cultural identity and spiritual relationship are closely linked to the sea and artisanal fishing. Although the community obtained absolute ownership over the cays after a process initiated in 2000, which concluded with its registration between 2006 and 2007. The State declared and managed the archipelago as a protected area, created and expanded the Natural Marine Monument, adopted plans for its management, approved the Fishing Law and authorized tourism and TV filming activities, without guaranteeing the participation or a prior, free and informed consultation of the community, nor granting it management authority over the area. In this context, it also mentioned the eventual exploration for hydrocarbons in the maritime plateau of the Mosquitia, as well as complaints of threats and aggressions against members of the community, without the State confirming effective advances in the corresponding investigations.
The Court noted that the collective property rights comprise the functional habitat of indigenous and tribal peoples, including the use of resources and the marine areas traditionally used; in the case of the Garífuna Community of Cayos Cochinos, the State must guarantee the effective use and enjoyment of that habitat, in view of the restrictions imposed on access to marine resources, as an essential condition to the preservation of their community life, cultural identity and subsistence.
The Court confirmed that the State of Honduras did not guarantee the right to participation or to prior, free and informed consultation of the Garífuna Community of Cayos Cochinos regarding several measures that directly affected their territory and functional habitat, including the declaration and management of the protected area, the adoption of management plans, the approval of the Fishing Law and the authorization of television activities. It also warned of the lack of an adequate domestic legal framework to effectively guarantee this right. Consequently, it concluded that the State violated the rights to participation, access to information, cultural identity and collective property to the detriment of the community. The Court also considered it inadequate to adjudge on the eventual hydrocarbon exploration due to the lack of elements to confirm a specific infringement of rights.
The Court also confirmed that the climate of threats and violence against the members of the Garifuna Community of Cayos Cochinos was partially attributable to the State; therefore, it was responsible for the violation of the right to personal integrity of the community.
The Court observed that tourism entails environmental and social risks, and confirmed that since 2006 the recording of TV reality shows was authorized, which imposed temporary access restrictions, affecting artisanal fishing activities that are key to the survival of the Garífuna Community of Cayos Cochinos. The Court concluded that the lack of regulation and effective measures to prevent and mitigate such risks affected the use and enjoyment of the community's territory and functional habitat, and that these restrictions, in addition to the lack of prior consultation, the community’s exclusion from the management of the protected area, the lack of timely investigation of the complaints of acts of violence against members of the community, the loss of effective control over the territory and constant military presence generated a climate of harassment and insecurity incompatible with the right to personal integrity, which affected the exercise of cultural and food practices. Consequently, the Court declared the responsibility of the State for the violation of the rights to collective property, cultural integrity and culturally adequate food.
Similarly, the Court considered that the State was responsible for the violation of the rights to judicial guarantees and judicial protection to the detriment of the Garífuna Community of Cayos Cochinos and its members, given that it did not investigate the complaints filed by the community. On the other hand, the Court considered that in the context of the proceedings to grant ownership of the communal territories to the Garífuna Community of Cayos Cochinos there was no violation of the principle of a reasonable term.
The Court noted that the process began with the requests submitted in December 2000, the property title deeds were issued in January 2002, and it concluded with the definitive registration between December 2006 and May 2007, after several administrative and judicial remedies were filed, including an amparo appeal resolved favorably in 2005. The Court noted that despite the inherent complexity of the process for titling and registration of indigenous and tribal territories, the actions of the authorities and the community took place within reasonable terms; the community diligently exercised its procedural rights, and the duration of the proceedings did not disproportionately affect their legal situation. Therefore, it concluded that there was no violation of the right to be heard within a reasonable term recognized in Article 8(1) of the American Convention.
In view of the violations declared in the judgment, the Court ordered several reparation measures, namely: i) to adapt the domestic body of law regarding the prior, free and informed consultation of indigenous and tribal communities; ii) to guarantee the participation of the Garífuna Community of Cayos Cochinos in the preparation of the plan for the management of the Archipelago of Cayos Cochinos Natural Marine Monument and in the management, administration and decision-making regarding the conservation and sustainable use of the protected area; iii) to diligently conduct the investigations and resolve the claims filed by the Garífuna Community of Cayos Cochinos; iv) to publish the judgment of the Inter-American Court and its summary; v) to pay the amount established for compensation of pecuniary and non-pecuniary damages, and vi) to pay the amount established in the judgment for reimbursement of legal costs and expenses.
The Court’s composition for the issuing of this judgment was as follows: Judge Nancy Hernández López, President (Costa Rica); Judge Rodrigo Mudrovitsch, Vice-President (Brazil); Judge Ricardo C. Pérez Manrique (Uruguay), Judge Verónica Gómez (Argentina); Judge Patricia Pérez Goldberg (Chile); Judge Alberto Borea Odría (Peru) and Judge Diego Moreno Rodríguez (Paraguay).
Judge Nancy Hernández López disclosed her partially dissenting opinion. Judge Rodrigo Mudrovitsch disclosed his concurring opinion. Judge Patricia Pérez Goldberg disclosed her partially dissenting opinion. Judge Alberto Borea Odría disclosed his dissenting opinion.
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