reason the State of Honduras has taken measures whereby it can be established that rather than an attitude of tolerance and permissiveness toward killings of environmental leaders, it has a willingness to respect and uphold the obligations arising from the American Convention. 42. In its submission of May 18, 2007, it stated it would continue to conduct “as many investigations as are necessary” to identify, prosecute, and, if applicable, punish all the physical perpetrators responsible for Mr. Carlos Escaleras Mejía’s death and all the masterminds behind it. IV. ANALYSIS OF THE MERITS A. Proven facts 1. Context: The situation of defenders of environmental resources in Honduras 43. Honduras has a vast environmental wealth and great biodiversity. Over recent years, those resources have been illegally exploited, causing a serious deterioration in Honduran ecosystems.2 44. Since the early 1990s, groups of individuals and some leaders launched private initiatives calling on society to defend its resources and to halt indiscriminate logging in forests and natural watersheds.3 In reprisal for their work, environmental defenders and activists have been the victims of acts of harassment, threats, persecution, and killings.4 Specifically, in the cases of Kawas Fernández v. Honduras and Luna López v. Honduras, the Inter-American Court found that between 1995 and 2005 there were reports of “acts of aggression, threats and execution of various individuals devoted to the defense of the environment in Honduras.”5 In its analyses, the Court spoke about a series of specific cases that were common knowledge, including that of Carlos Escaleras Mejía.6 45. In 2002, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions stated that “The situation of Honduran human rights defenders has been difficult in the last few years, with several activists having received death threats.”7 She also reported having received information about ecologists who had been killed on the orders of landowners and business people who “enjoyed virtual de facto immunity from prosecution because of their social status and political connections.”8 She added that 2 The Commission has received information on this topic on various occasions, including the following hearings: Human Rights Situation Related to Environmental Deterioration in the Hemisphere (116th Regular Session), October 2003; General Situation of Human Rights in Honduras (119th Regular Session), March 2004; Situation of Human Rights Defenders in Central America (123rd Regular Session), October 2005. 3 The Commission has received information on this topic on various occasions, including the following hearings: Human Rights Situation Related to Environmental Deterioration in the Hemisphere (116th Regular Session), October 2003; General Situation of Human Rights in Honduras (119th Regular Session), March 2004; Situation of Human Rights Defenders in Central America (123rd Regular Session), October 2005. 4 IACHR, Application to the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, Case No. 12.507, Blanca Jeannette Kawas Fernández v. Honduras, February 4, 2008, para. 40; I/A Court H. R., Case of Kawas Fernández v. Honduras, Merits, Reparations, and Costs, Judgment of April 3, 2009, Series C No. 196, paras. 69 and 70. See also: Expert testimony on “the situation in Honduras of defenders of the environment and natural resources, and of human rights defenders,” given by Rigoberto Ochoa Peralta in the case of Kawas Fernández v. Honduras. 5 I/A Court H. R., Case of Kawas Fernández v. Honduras, Merits, Reparations, and Costs, Judgment of April 3, 2009, Series C No. 196, para. 69; Case of Luna López v. Honduras, Merits, Reparations, and Costs, Judgment of October 10, 2013, Series C No. 269, para. 18. 6 I/A Court H. R., Case of Kawas Fernández v. Honduras, Merits, Reparations, and Costs, Judgment of April 3, 2009, Series C No. 196, para. 69; Case of Luna López v. Honduras, Merits, Reparations, and Costs, Judgment of October 10, 2013, Series C No. 269, para. 18. 7 Annex 1. UN, Commission on Human Rights, Report of the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, Ms. Asma Jahangir, Addendum, Mission to Honduras, document E/CN.4/2003/3/Add.2, June 14, 2002, para. 67. 8 Annex 1. UN, Commission on Human Rights, Report of the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, Ms. Asma Jahangir, Addendum, Mission to Honduras, document E/CN.4/2003/3/Add.2, June 14, 2002, para. 63. 6