This Thurs, November 14 at 4 pm ET (1 pm PT), there will be an unprecedented Regional Thematic Hearing at the InterAmerican Human Rights Commission in Washington, DC, on the Human Rights Impacts of “Special Economic Zones and Low Transparency Jurisdictions”.
This is part of the InterAmerican Commission on Human Rights 191st Period of Sessions and can be attended virtually by registering here: https://www.zoomgov.com/webinar/register/WN_lI1T0U7oT7Snfua4syvtrw#/registration
You can view the full hearing schedule for this Period of Sessions, with links to Zoom registration for a variety of topics, at the OAS website: https://www.oas.org/es/cidh/sesiones/calendario.asp?S=191
Several Guild members have been collaborating for several years with lawyers and law students from the Human Rights Clinics at Columbia and Santa Clara Law Schools and numerous NGOs in the fight against the “private cities” or ZEDEs in Honduras — the most extreme example of “Special Economic Zones” / SEZs.
Affected residents, most of whom represent Afro-descendant and indigenous grassroots organizations, will be attending the hearing, including several from Crawfish Rock on Roatan island — where Próspera, the most aggressive Honduran ZEDE, operates. Prospera filed an ISDS (Investor/State Dispute) claim for $10.8 Billion against the progressive government of Ziomara Castro under CAFTA-DR in 2022, after the Honduran Congress unanimously repealed the ZEDEs law passed during the corrupt administration of Juan Orlando Hernandez.
Witnesses from Honduras, the Dominican Republic, Barbados, Jamaica and Puerto Rico will testify to the effect the SEZs there are having on the lives of residents and working people and the ecosystems where they live..
We hope to see Guild members turn out on the live stream and take interest in this important way to push back against the Private City/Libertarian Investor movement that is impacting communities all over the world — especially in the Global South. This hearing creates an important window of opportunity to launch a regional strategy to improve normative frameworks around investment and human rights, raise awareness about harms caused by SEZs and secrecy jurisdictions, and better protect communities in Latin America and the Caribbean from corporate harms.
For more information, contact IC members Susan Scott (syscott@sonic.net) or Emily Yozell (emyozell@gmail.com) and/or check out the following Hearing Request and the resources cited:
