Honduras: Freedom in the World 2021 Country Report | Freedom House UPDATES: THE INVASION OF UKRAINE Our Issues Perspectives Policy Recommendations Explore the Map Donate Freedom in the World 2021 Honduras Partly Free 44 100 Last Year's Score & Status 45 100 Partly Free Global freedom statuses are calculated on a weighted scale. Compared to other countries around the world, Honduras is still one of the most violent places in the world with a homicide rate of 44.7 per 100,000 in 2019. Authorities often did not effectively enforce the law. The government prosecuted some officials who committed abuses, including government corruption, but a weak judicial system and corruption were major obstacles to obtaining convictions. This island seems perfect, but the crime reports do concern us. There were numerous reports of government corruption during the year. Defendants may receive free assistance from an interpreter. Honduras has the misfortune of being situated between South American cocaine production and U.S. drug consumption. Many employers discriminated against women. The STSS is responsible for enforcing the national minimum wage, hours of work, and occupational health and safety law, but it did so inconsistently and ineffectively. The designation requires banks to impose a higher level of scrutiny on politically exposed persons financial transactions. Voters elected Xiomara Castro of the LIBRE Party as president for a four-year term scheduled to begin in January 2022. International observers generally recognized the elections as free and fair. ACR2021. The law presumes an accused person is innocent. No cases were reported during the year. Sexual Exploitation of Children: The commercial sexual exploitation of children, especially in sex trafficking, remained a problem. Crisis in Honduras: Ongoing violence and climate shocks Here are three reasons the International Rescue Committee's Emergency Watchlist ranks Honduras among 20 countries most at risk of worsening humanitarian crisis in 2022. The law provides for freedom of peaceful assembly, and the government generally respected this right. The homicide rate in Honduras was 42 per 100,000 people in 2019, making it one of the most violent countries in the world. Child Abuse: Child abuse remained a serious problem. World Bank statistics from 2020 put net enrollment for primary school above 90 percent, but the National Center for Social Sector Information stated that 43 percent of persons with disabilities received no formal education. Both the secretariat and the commission focused on developing policies to address IDPs. The law provides for the right to a fair and public trial; however, the judiciary did not always enforce this right. The lack of space for social distancing combined with the lack of adequate sanitation made prison conditions even more life threatening during the COVID-19 pandemic. The law prohibits arbitrary arrest and detention and provides for the right of any person to challenge the lawfulness of his or her arrest or detention in court. Women, children, and LGBTQI+ migrants and asylum seekers with pending cases were especially vulnerable to abuse. There were no credible reports of political prisoners or detainees. to La Palma a mountain town just under 8 miles away from the Honduras border. Prison conditions were harsh and at times life threatening due to pervasive gang-related violence and the governments failure to control criminal activity within the prisons. U.S. Her most recent evaluation was in August, and the court declared her fit to stand trial in September. Marco Bogran, former director of INVEST-H, the Honduran government entity tasked with providing coronavirus pandemic relief contracts to private firms, remained in pretrial detention awaiting his next court appearance, scheduled for January 31, 2022. Penalties for violations of occupational safety and health law were commensurate with penalties for similar crimes. Thousands of Hondurans affected by hurricanes Eta and Iota, violence and poverty were forced to leave the country and headed north. Honduras' young adult population - ages 15 to 29 - is projected to continue growing rapidly for the next three decades and then stabilize or slowly shrink. The law provides a maximum sentence of three years in prison for disobeying a restraining order connected with the crime of violence against a woman. Unions also raised concerns regarding the use of temporary contracts and part-time employment, suggesting that employers used these mechanisms to prevent unionization and avoid providing full benefits. See the Department of States Annual Report on International Parental Child Abduction at https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/International-Parental-Child-Abduction/for-providers/legal-reports-and-data/reported-cases.html. It is, in fact, much safer than mainland Honduras and feels infinitely safer than the U.S., if for no other reason than the total absence of a gun culture. This definition included workers who did not contribute to any form of social security protection, and thus it may have undercounted underemployed workers who rely on jobs in both the formal and informal sectors. Some nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) expressed concern regarding weak implementation of the law and limited resources available to operate the governments protection mechanism. The law provides citizens the right to choose their government in free and fair periodic elections held by secret ballot and based on nearly universal and equal suffrage. Occupational Safety and Health: The government did not effectively enforce occupational safety and health standards, particularly in the construction, garment assembly, and agricultural sectors, as well as in the informal economy. However, crime and violence are serious problems throughout Honduras and the country has one of the highest homicide rates in the world. The Public Ministry reported two such cases in judicial processing and five other cases under investigation as of September. Number. Many prisoners had access to weapons and other contraband, inmates attacked other inmates with impunity, and inmates and their associates outside prison threatened prison officials and their families. Ocean via the Gulf of Fonseca in the Caribbean and access to the local police and property crime 1. How to Stay Healthy While Traveling in Honduras. Today at the World Economic Forum, Administrator Samantha Power announced the Administration's intent to work with Congress to provide $125 million to support the resilience of Ukraine's energy and utility infrastructure in the face of the Russian Federation's relentless, systematic attacks. Coordinator for the Arctic Region, Deputy Secretary of State for Management and Resources, Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization, Under Secretary for Arms Control and International Security, Bureau of Arms Control, Verification and Compliance, Bureau of International Security and Nonproliferation, Under Secretary for Civilian Security, Democracy, and Human Rights, Bureau of Conflict and Stabilization Operations, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs, Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration, Office of International Religious Freedom, Office of the Special Envoy To Monitor and Combat Antisemitism, Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons, Under Secretary for Economic Growth, Energy, and the Environment, Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs, Office of the Science and Technology Adviser, Bureau of the Comptroller and Global Financial Services, Bureau of Information Resource Management, Office of Management Strategy and Solutions, Bureau of International Organization Affairs, Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs, Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs, U.S. The Secretariat of Human Rights provided training to security forces to reinforce respect for human rights. Well, let's check the statistics. Powerful special interests, including organized criminal groups, exercised influence on the outcomes of some court proceedings. The government investigated and prosecuted many of these crimes, particularly through the national police's Violent Crimes Task Force. Arbitrary Deprivation of Life and Other Unlawful or Politically Motivated Killings, c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, Arrest Procedures and Treatment of Detainees, f. Arbitrary or Unlawful Interference with Privacy, Family, Home, or Correspondence, a. The number of inspections increased significantly as the STSS resumed normal inspections, suspended in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It was unclear how many of these threats were related to the victims professions or activism. Congressional Research Service - Honduras - 2019, 2020. The law does not permit active members of the military or civilian security forces to vote. Penalties include prison sentences of up to two years and monetary fines. You can add more than one country or area. Public-sector trade unionists raised concerns regarding government interference in trade union activities, including its suspension or ignoring of collective agreements and its dismissals of union members and leaders. Puerto Rico (Spanish for 'rich port'; abbreviated PR; Taino: Boriken, Borinquen), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico (Spanish: Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit. Bogran was arrested in October 2020 on two corruption charges for embezzling an estimated 1.14 billion lempiras ($47 million) in public funds and funneling a contract for mobile hospitals to his uncle, Napoleon Corrales. On April 27, the Public Ministry filed an indictment against police officer Jarol Rolando Perdomo Sarmiento for the February 6 murder of Keyla Martinez in La Esperanza, Intibuca Department. The change increases the penalty from two to four years to four to six years. The law prohibits employment discrimination based on gender, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, political opinion or affiliation, marital status, race or ethnicity, national origin, language, place of residence, religion, family or economic situation, disability, or health. If the STSS grants permission, children between 14 and 16 may work a maximum of four hours a day, and those between 16 and 18 may work up to six hours a day. The law provides that police may make arrests only with a warrant unless they make the arrest during the commission of a crime, there is strong suspicion that a person has committed a crime and might otherwise evade criminal prosecution, or they encounter a person in possession of evidence related to a crime. Presuming we use common sense and take taxis is there anything here we should . There were credible reports that members of the security forces committed some abuses. JUSTRAC+. Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. The law prohibits the sale, distribution, and use of emergency contraception for any reason, including for survivors of sexual violence. Organized criminal groups, including local and transnational gangs and narcotics traffickers, were significant perpetrators of violent crimes and committed acts of homicide, torture, kidnapping, extortion, human trafficking, intimidation, and other threats and violence directed against human rights defenders, judicial authorities, lawyers, business community members, journalists, bloggers, women, and other vulnerable populations. These sort of crimes can be avoided by dressing down, being careful about where expensive belongings are left, and keeping to safe areas. In addition women experienced delays in accessing justice due to police who failed to process complaints in a timely manner or judicial system officials who deferred scheduling hearings. International observers acknowledged some of these irregularities but reported they were not systematic and not widespread enough to affect the outcome of the presidential election. Some NGOs reported irregularities, including late delivery of technology needed to transmit results, late opening of the polls, poll workers with varying degrees of preparation and knowledge of the electoral law and processes, and lack of transparency in campaign financing. EL SALVADOR / 3 . Perdomo allegedly killed Keyla Martinez after she was detained for violating the countrys COVID-19 curfew. The law permits fines, and while the monetary penalty is sufficient to deter violations and commensurate with the penalties for similar crimes, such as fraud, the failure of the government to collect those fines facilitated continued labor code violations. There were no credible reports of disappearances by or on behalf of government authorities. Persons from indigenous and Afro-descendant communities continued to experience discrimination in employment, education, housing, and health services. Periodic medical evaluations had not found Lobo healthy enough to proceed. As of September CONADEH had received 33 complaints. Your safety is your responsibility, so be vigilant. The Taliban, which regained control of the country in 2021, has pledged to stamp out the opium industry, but it is such a vital part of the country's struggling economy that it will be difficult to eliminate. The law criminalizes discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity characteristics and includes crimes committed against individuals because of their sexual orientation or gender identity as aggravating circumstances to increase penalties for criminal offenses. There were reports of violence related to land conflicts and criminal activity. These are some great destinations, but is Honduras safe? On March 3, unknown assailants killed Martin Pandy, president of the Garifuna community of Corozal, and another community member. Although the law prohibits such practices, government officials received complaints and investigated alleged abuses by members of the security forces on the streets and in detention centers. This report provides a snapshot of the U.S. Executive Branch priorities via daily schedules and the prior day’s press releases. The most common type of crime on Roatan are burglaries. Bureau of Political-Military Affairs Civilian Security, Democracy, and Human Rights Civilian Security, Democracy, and Human Rights Under Secretary for Civilian Security, Democracy, and Human Rights Bureau of Conflict and Stabilization Operations Bureau of Counterterrorism Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor Honduras, long one of the poorest countries in Latin America, is now also among the most violent and crime-ridden. Both the STSS and the courts may order a company to reinstate workers, but the STSS lacked the personnel and transportation resources to verify compliance. They had limited representation in the national government and consequently little direct input into decisions affecting their lands, cultures, traditions, and the allocation of natural resources. According to the secretariat, the system was designed for approximately 10,600 inmates. In addition the law prohibits strikes in a wide range of economic activities that the government has designated as essential services or that it considers would affect the rights of individuals in the larger community to security, health, education, and economic and social well-being. By law the STSS may fine companies that violate the right to freedom of association. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, a. Effective June 2, 2021: All travelers, regardless of age, must provide either proof of full vaccination against COVID-19 or negative test results for a PCR, Antigen or ELISA COVID-19 test taken less than 72 hours before entry into Honduras. The report showed that property crime was up 6% and violent . The law also imposes prison sentences of up to two years, eight months for child labor violations that endanger the life or morality of a child age 16 or 17 and up to three years, four months for children younger than 16. Honduras. According to UNICEF, 34 percent of women and 12 percent of men ages 20 to 24 married before age 18. Persons with disabilities, indigenous and Afro-descendant persons, LGBTQI+ persons, and persons with HIV or AIDS also faced discrimination in employment and occupation (see section 6). The law permits defendants to confront witnesses against them and offer witnesses and evidence in their defense. Pretrial Detention: Judicial inefficiency, corruption, and insufficient resources delayed proceedings in the criminal justice system, and lengthy pretrial detention was a serious problem. A large chunk of those arrived via cruise ships, however. The constitution provides for the freedoms of peaceful assembly and association, and the government generally respected these rights. Countering Corruption-Enabled Transnational Crime: A Practice Note for Program Officers and Practitioners. The government tasks CONAPREV with visiting prisons and making recommendations for protecting the rights of prisoners. Some judges, however, ruled that such suspects may be released on the condition that they continue to report periodically to authorities. Media reported prison riots, violent confrontations, and killings between gang members in prisons throughout the year. Honduras crime rate & statistics for 2018 was 38.93, a 5.01% decline from 2017. OSAC promotes effective cooperation by working to assist the U.S. private sector to better anticipate security issues, including identifying and tracking threats, particularly those targeting private sector personnel, facilities, investments, interests, and intellectual property. Global AIDS Coordinator and Global Health Diplomacy, Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs, Special Representative for Syria Engagement, U.S. Security Coordinator for Israel and the Palestinian Authority, Office of the U.S. The law places restrictions on these rights, such as requiring that a recognized trade union represent at least 30 workers, prohibiting foreign nationals from holding union offices, and requiring that union officials work in the same substantive area of the business as the workers they represent. Freedom of Association and the Right to Collective Bargaining, b. The violence is carried out by local drug trafficking groups, gangs, corrupt security forces and transnational criminal organizations mainly from Mexico and Colombia. Nongovernmental Impact: Some journalists and other members of civil society reported threats from members of organized criminal groups. The law does not criminalize domestic violence but provides penalties of up to 12 years in prison for violence against a family member, depending on the severity of the assault and aggravating circumstances. Country Summary: Violent crime, such as homicide and armed robbery, is common. The law requires prisoners to work at least five hours a day, six days a week. They face violence from gangs, the national civil police and the. Crime in Honduras in 2012, according to the U.N., Honduras experienced. Chances are, if you are arriving via a cruise ship, you will be safe. Under the Comprehensive Regional Protection and Solutions Framework, with significant support from the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the government continued to build capacity to provide services to vulnerable populations, including IDPs, those at risk of forced displacement, refugees, and returned migrants. Indigenous communities continued to report threats and acts of violence against them and against community and environmental activists. Civilian authorities at times did not maintain effective control over security forces. Asylum seekers and refugees continued to face acute protection risks in border zones. May Be Getting Away With It. In the 2013 census, approximately 8.5 percent of the population identified themselves as members of indigenous communities, but other estimates were higher. Civil society continued to criticize the law for classification of documents related to security and national defense, saying it limited transparency and allowed officials to use the classification of documents to obscure wrongdoing. The quasi-governmental National Committee for the Prevention of Torture, Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment (CONAPREV) received 18 complaints of the use of torture or cruel and inhuman treatment through August. Through September the secretariat trained 2,626 law enforcement officials in human rights and international humanitarian law. Security Alert: "La Embajada" Bar (12 January, 2023) Message for U.S. Citizens regarding Extension to the State of Exception in Honduras (9 January, 2023) Message for U.S. Citizens regarding State of Exception beginning December 6 (5 December, 2022) Weather Alert for U.S. Citizens - Tropical Storm Lisa (2 November, 2022) The law establishes prison sentences of up to two and one-half years for child abuse. The safety situation in Honduras has been deteriorating in recent years due to gang violence and organized crime. The Office of the Inspector General of the Armed Forces and the Humanitarian Law Directorate investigated abuses by the military. Honduras crime rate & statistics for 2019 was 42.01, a 7.91% increase from 2018. The country was a destination for child sex tourism, particularly in the tourist area of the Bay Islands. Vanessa worked as a volunteer in the Association for Prevention and Education in Health, Sexuality, AIDS, and Human Rights. In 2021, almost 39 homicides were committed per 100,000 inhabitants in Honduras. Within the broad range of violent deaths, the core element of intentional homicide is the complete liability of the direct perpetrator, which thus excludes killings directly related to war or conflicts, self-inflicted death (suicide), killings due to legal . The government did not effectively enforce the law. The government did not restrict or disrupt access to the internet or censor online content, and there were no credible reports that the government monitored private online communications without appropriate legal authority. Gangs/Organized Crime; Guatemala-Honduras Border; Guerrilla and Paramilitary Groups; Land Reform; Temporary Protected Status . LGBTQI+ rights groups asserted that government agencies and private employers engaged in discriminatory hiring practices. The government has an Office for Persons with Disabilities located within the Ministry of Development and Social Inclusion, but its ability to provide services to persons with disabilities was limited. Rape and Domestic Violence: The law criminalizes all forms of rape of women or men, including spousal rape. The directorate issued 1,379 recommendations to the Ministry of Security for disciplinary actions as of September following internal investigations of national police members. These workers are not covered by the contributory social security system and are not protected by the labor code. Illinois Tech Community, There are no incidents to report for Friday, July 1, 2022 . The findings highlight the potential power these four manufacturers have to combat trafficking; if these four manufacturers took action on their own, the national impact could be substantial. On July 6, unknown assailants shot and killed land rights defender Juan Manuel Moncada in Tocoa, Colon Department. These reporting centers were in addition to the 298 government-operated womens offices one in each municipality that provided a wide array of services to women, focusing on education, personal finance, health, social and political participation, environmental stewardship, and prevention of gender-based violence. Most of the abusers were reported to be male classmates, but there were also reports of sexual abuse by community members. The STSS completed 29 child labor inspections as of September and identified 13 minors working without permission. Credible allegations of corruption in the STSS continued. The law prohibits discrimination against persons with physical, sensory, intellectual, and mental disabilities. Visiting Honduras right now is as safe as it ever was: not very. Honduras crime rate & statistics for 2015 was 56.49, a 14.12% decline from 2014. The law grants workers the right to form and join unions of their choice, bargain collectively, and strike. Fines for child labor were not sufficient to deter violations and not commensurate with penalties for other analogous serious crimes, such as kidnapping. These conditions contributed to an unstable, dangerous environment in the penitentiary system. Reproductive Rights: There were no reports of coerced abortion or involuntary sterilization on the part of government authorities. Women - Honduras has the fifth-highest rate of violence against women in the world. Location: Peru (countrywide) Event: Crime Advisory (February 10, 2022) For over 15 years, the U.S. Department of State has rated Peru at a critically high risk level for crime. The armed forces, which report to the Secretariat of Defense, are responsible for external security but also exercise some domestic security responsibilities in support of the national police and other civilian authorities. The Secretariat of Human Rights served as an effective advocate for human rights within the government. Freedom of Expression, Including for Members of the Press and Other Media, b. Freedoms of Peaceful Assembly and Association, d. Freedom of Movement and the Right to Leave the Country, e. Status and Treatment of Internally Displaced Persons, Section 3. There were no government restrictions on academic freedom or cultural events. CONADEH received four reports as of August. International Child Abductions: The country is a party to the 1980 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction. Media linked her killing to organized criminal groups and drug trafficking organizations. The accused has the right to an initial hearing before a judge, to ask for bail, consult with legal counsel in a timely manner, have a lawyer provided by the state if necessary, and request an appeal. Institutions such as the National Womens Institute attempted to enhance the governments response to domestic violence by opening three additional womens centers in the country.
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