‘A Contribution to Truth and Justice’

EXPERT EXAMPLE: “This investigation presents an opportunity to shift the prevailing approach to killings of human rights defenders in the Americas,” says Altholz, shown here in her office. Photo by Brittany Hosea-Small

Berta Cáceres was a visionary leader and an internationally recognized human rights defender who co-founded the first grassroots organization of Lenca people in Honduras. In 2015, she received the prestigious Goldman Environmental Prize for leading a campaign that halted a project to dam a river sacred to Indigenous people without their free, prior, or informed consent.

After years of harassment and threats, Cáceres was assassinated in her home in 2016.

Nearly a decade later, UC Berkeley Law Professor and Human Rights Clinic Director Roxanna Altholz ’99 is one of three experts appointed by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights to conduct an independent and impartial investigation of the killing — a mandate granted only three other times in the commission’s history.

“Our task is to uncover who ordered and financed Berta’s murder, to investigate related crimes, and to propose reparations that address not just the harm to Berta’s family, but also to Indigenous communities and social movements that were targeted,” Altholz says. “Berta’s murder sent shockwaves across the world and sent a message to those who defend land, water, and the environment that they are not safe, even in their own homes.”

The Interdisciplinary Group of Independent Experts (GIEI) was established in February through an agreement between the Honduran government, the commission, and the Civic Council of Popular and Indigenous Organizations of Honduras and their legal representatives, the Center for Justice and International Law.

Altholz and her colleagues on the panel — Ricardo Aníbal Guzmán Loyo, an experienced criminal prosecutor and a Guatemalan government official, and Argentinian Pedro Martín Biscay, a lawyer and an expert in financial investigations — were originally granted a six-month mandate and unrestricted access to all the information gathered so far.

ON THE SAME PAGE: (Left to right) 3L and Human Rights Clinic student Christina Ochoa with the three members of the Interdisciplinary Group of Independent Experts investigating Cáceres’ death: Ricardo Aníbal Guzmán Loyo, Altholz, and Pedro Martín Biscay. Photo by Consejo Cívico de Organizaciones Populares e Indígenas de Honduras

“I think that access will allow us to produce a report that is, in and of itself, a meaningful contribution to truth and justice,” Altholz says.

Altholz has visited Honduras multiple times as part of the investigation, along with several clinic students and Clinical Supervising Attorney Helen Kerwin, who says the wide-ranging nature of the case reflects the diverse political coalitions Cáceres worked with as an activist.

Working with the GIEI team, Kerwin adds, “stretches students’ understanding of how human rights lawyers can intervene in real time to address ongoing injustice, with interlocutors ranging from government ministers to technical staff to the affected communities, to push for justice at the national as well as the international level.”

Biscay and Guzmán praise Altholz for the expertise, dedication, and leadership she has brought to the role.

Working with Altholz “has been an extraordinary privilege,” Biscay says. “Her ability to navigate intricate legal and political landscapes, combined with her deep commitment to human rights, are instrumental to shaping our report’s findings. Beyond her technical skill, her passion for justice, and her ability to mentor students, fostering their investigative and collaborative skills added immense value to the human rights field.” — Gwyneth K. Shaw