Juan de Dios Sáenz Rosales, president of the Union of Workers of the National Autonomous University of Honduras (SITRAUNAH), was killed on Aug. 22. Late last night, Honduran authorities announced that his son had been arrested for the murder.* The AFL-CIO stands in solidarity with SITRAUNAH as they mourn this loss and urges the government of Honduras to continue to investigate and prosecute this case vigorously until ensure justice has been is achieved for Juan de Dios Sáenz and his loved ones

Yesterday, Manuel Moreno, another SITRAUNAH leader, urged all branches of the SITRAUNAH to express their condemnation of the murder, which occurred in “a defenseless state where no one has guarantees, no one is protected,” he said. While Sáenz’s murder appears to have no relation to his work as a labor leader, it does represent yet another senseless death in a country that has the highest homicide rate in the world. The quick arrest in this particular case is to be applauded. Unfortunately, it is an outlier. The Honduran government has an abysmal human rights record, including a failure to effectively deal with the many causes of the violence or provide swift justice for its citizens. 

Honduras also is being investigated for failure to secure rights for workers, pursuant to a CAFTA complaint filed in March by the AFL-CIO and 26 Honduran unions and allied groups. The complaint alleges that serious violations of freedom of association, collective bargaining and acceptable conditions of work abound and that it’s almost impossible for average Hondurans to get access to fair and efficient administration of justice. Child labor, particularly in the agricultural sector, is also a serious concern. Targeted threats and attacks against union leaders and activists, journalists and members of the political opposition have created an intense climate of intimidation—and Sáenz's murder tragically adds to that climate.

Violence—whether random or directed at those who challenge the status quo—accompanied by impunity, is integrally related to the ability of Honduran workers to exercise their fundamental labor rights, both under international and Honduran law. It’s not just unionized workers—it’s all Hondurans—who deserve to be secure in their rights and persons.

For more information on the CAFTA complaint, click here.  

*Saenz’s son has since confessed to the murder.