Take Action: #JusticeForBerta!

US House of Representatives Needed to Co-Sponsor Berta Cáceres Human Rights Act — Call Today!

August 17, 2016

Mural of Berta Cáceres at the World Social Forum, Montreal. Photo Credit: Stephen Bartlett.

Dear community,

We are excited about the growing movement to stop US support for repression in Honduras. Since June 15th, around 30 US Representatives have signed on as co-sponsors to H.R. 5474, the Berta Cáceres Human Rights in Honduras Act! Can you take action to get your representative to co-sponsor this important bill?

Introduced by Rep. Johnson (GA), H.R. 5474 calls for suspension of U.S. military and police aid to Honduras until human rights violations committed by Honduran security forces cease and their perpetrators are brought to justice. Click here to read the provisions included in the bill.

Take three quick actions to push forward the Berta Cáceres Human Rights in Honduras Act:

1. Write today to ask your Representative to co-sponsor H.R. 5474!

Follow this action link from the Latin American Working Group to enter your zip code and send an email to your US Representative. If they have already co-sponsored, please thank them for their support!

2. Call your Representative’s Foreign Policy Aid!

Use the number provided from the action link (or call the Congressional switchboard in DC at (202) 224-312 to be connected to your Rep) and ask to speak to the foreign policy aide. If the foreign policy aide is not available, ask to leave a message. Feel free to use the following script:

Script: “My name is _____. I am a constituent from (your town/city) in (your state). I am calling to ask Rep. _____ to co-sponsor H.R. 5474, The Berta Cáceres Human Rights in Honduras Act calling for a suspension of U.S. security aid to Honduras until human rights violations committed by the Honduran security forces cease. Has Rep. _______ seen this bill? Can I count on him/her to sign on? Please contact directly Arya Hariharan (arya.hariharan@mail.house.gov) in Rep. Johnson’s (GA) office to receive and official copy of the bill and to officially co-sponsor the bill. Finally, please call me this week at (_your phone number_) to let me know if you have seen the letter, and if Rep. _____will sign it.”

**In your phone conversation, please highlight why this bill is important to you, especially if you have traveled to Honduras or heard a Honduran speak in your community.

If you learn that your Representative has agreed to support this bill, please notify Elise Roberts at wfpumw@witnessforpeace.org so co-sponsorship can be confirmed with Rep. Johnson’s office.

3. Sign this petition to call on all US House Representatives to support H.R. 5474 – and share on social media!

Berta Cáceres as puppet at the Democratic National Convention. Photo Credit: Nas lutas, Twitter: @PersonalEscrito

Around the world, people are mobilizing to demand a fair investigation into the murder of Berta and to topple the systems that lead to violence against those defending their communities and territories. In the US, people are organizing to support the passage of this historic bill. Last month, there was a people’s caravan at the Democratic National Convention to demand justice for Berta and “all the other Honduran activists whose lives have been taken violently because of their organizing to defend Indigenous people, the Earth and women, and their struggle for self-determination”. At the World Social Forum in Montreal, people from all over the world gathered in several convergence spaces to hear the call from Laura and Berta Zuniga Cáceres, daughters of Berta, asking for justice and solidarity.