As of June the Violence Observatory reported killings of 80 persons younger than 18. Through September the secretariat trained 2,626 law enforcement officials in human rights and international humanitarian law. Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. The Public Ministry is responsible for prosecuting violations. Media linked her killing to organized criminal groups and drug trafficking organizations. The country has one of the highest homicide rates in the world. Official data on forced internal displacement, especially displacement due to violence, was limited in part because gangs controlled many of the neighborhoods that were sources of internal displacement (see section 6, Displaced Children). No cases were reported during the year. Independent Monitoring: The government generally permitted prison visits by independent local and international human rights observers, including the International Committee of the Red Cross. That's mainly to visit islands like Roatan. February 11, 2022. The STSS completed 29 child labor inspections as of September and identified 13 minors working without permission. 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. Authorities did not generally segregate those with tuberculosis or other infectious diseases from the general prison population; as of September the National Prison Institute reported 106 prisoners had been treated for tuberculosis. As a result, criminals linked to organized crime operate with a high degree of impunity throughout Honduras. American Bar Association Rule of Law Initiative June 13, 2022. There is also a Human Rights Committee in the National Congress. An independent press and a functioning democratic political system combined to promote freedom of expression, including for members of the media. The state of emergency, in place since Dec. 6 in 165 areas of Honduras' largest two cities, Tegucigalpa and San Pedro Sula, has been expanded to 235 of the country's 298 municipalities, the . Honduras has the misfortune of being situated between South American cocaine production and U.S. drug consumption. Country Summary: Violent crime, such as homicide and armed robbery, is common. The law prohibits all forms of forced labor, but the government did not effectively implement or enforce the law. There were reports that the government or its agents committed arbitrary or unlawful killings. There was limited support for persons with mental illnesses or disabilities. A large percentage of the population in Honduras is armed. Thousands of Hondurans affected by hurricanes Eta and Iota, violence and poverty were forced to leave the country and headed north. There were credible complaints that police occasionally failed to obtain the required authorization before entering private homes. 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 It was unclear how many of these threats were related to the victims professions or activism. . Low salaries and a lack of internal controls rendered judicial officials susceptible to bribery. The law allows only local unions to call strikes, prohibits labor federations and confederations from calling strikes, and requires that a two-thirds majority of both union and nonunion employees at an enterprise approve a strike. The government did not effectively enforce the law. Honduras. In security and domestic service sectors, workers were frequently forced to work more than 60 hours per week but paid only for 44 hours. In these sectors employers frequently paid workers for the standard 44-hour workweek irrespective of any additional hours they worked. Censorship or Content Restrictions: Media members and NGOs stated the press self-censored due to fear of retaliation from organized criminal groups or corrupt government officials. Corruption: The new trial of former first lady Rosa Elena Bonilla de Lobo on charges of fraud and misappropriation of public funds, originally set to commence in March, was twice delayed for medical reasons. Violence was often rooted in a broader context of conflict over land and natural resources, extensive corruption, lack of transparency and community consultation, other criminal activity, and limited state ability to protect the rights of vulnerable communities. 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) Defendants may receive free assistance from an interpreter. On October 7, the National Congress increased penalties for forced labor under the trafficking-in-persons article of the penal code from five to eight years imprisonment to 10 to 15 years, bringing the penalties in line with the penalties for other analogous serious crimes, such as kidnapping. The most common type of crime on Roatan are burglaries. Most serious crime does not affect tourists, but attacks on foreigners, including armed robbery and sexual assault,. 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011: DOS International Religious Freedom Report - 2021, 2020, . CONADEH received complaints involving human rights abuses and referred them to the Public Ministry for investigation. Administration: The judicial system is legally responsible for monitoring prison conditions and providing for the rights of prisoners. 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. Honduras is a constitutional, multiparty republic. Well, let's check the statistics. Children often worked on melon, coffee, okra, and sugarcane plantations as well as in other agricultural production; scavenged at garbage dumps; worked in the forestry and fishing sectors; worked as domestic servants; peddled goods such as fruit; begged; washed cars; hauled goods; and labored in limestone quarrying and lime production. 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. HND41066.E - Whether there is a law in Honduras that criminalizes the wearing of tattoos; reports of state agents arresting, detaining, mistreating or murdering people with tattoos that do not belong to gangs (2001 to March 2003). Participation of Women and Members of Minority Groups: No laws limit the participation of women or members of minority groups in the political process, and they did participate. There were numerous reports of government corruption during the year. 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 government ended the curfew on October 1. Regulations for implementing the law remained under development as of November. While all formal workers are entitled to social security, there were reports that both public- and private-sector employers failed to pay into the social security system. The law criminalizes discrimination based on race and ethnicity and includes crimes committed against individuals because of race or ethnicity as aggravating circumstances to increase penalties for criminal offenses. Note:  After 15 votes over four days, Rep. Kevin . Wedged between Costa Rica and Honduras, Nicaragua is a good all-round destination.Think beautiful cathedrals, elegant architecture, a ton of history, and loads of nature to get to grips with. Many inspectors asked workers to provide them with transportation so that they could conduct inspections, since the STSS could not pay for travel to worksites. The government allocated a budget of nearly 21 million lempiras ($865,000) for the continued operation of a protection mechanism for journalists, human rights defenders, and judicial-sector operators. Two Antioch police officers who were involved in the 2021 death of a San Francisco man in their custody were justified in their actions, according to a report by the Contra Costa County District . The government investigated and prosecuted many of these crimes, particularly through the national police's Violent Crimes Task Force. Despite incremental progress, government capacities remained relatively nascent and limited. The government investigated and prosecuted some of these crimes, but impunity was widespread. Corruption along with a lack of investigative resources and judicial delays led to widespread impunity, including in security forces. 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. The government had a nascent system to provide legal protection to refugees. As of September the STSS had an insufficient number of inspectors to enforce the law effectively. Victims were primarily impoverished individuals in both rural and urban areas (see section 7.c.). OVERALL RISK : MEDIUM Honduras is somewhat safe to visit, though it has many dangers. 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. The law establishes an independent and impartial judiciary in civil matters, including access to a court to seek damages for human rights violations. Reproductive Rights: There were no reports of coerced abortion or involuntary sterilization on the part of government authorities. A revision to the penal code that entered into force in June 2020 broadly reduces criminal penalties for corruption by officials. 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. These sort of crimes can be avoided by dressing down, being careful about where expensive belongings are left, and keeping to safe areas. The Public Ministry reported seven cases of alleged illegal detention or arbitrary arrest as of September. The number of inspections increased significantly as the STSS resumed normal inspections, suspended in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. As of September the Public Ministry had received nine reports of racial or ethnic discrimination. Informal Sector: According to the STSS, approximately 75 percent of workers worked in the informal economy, equivalent to approximately 2.7 million persons. The release of the 2021 Safety Report is a reminder that even as aviation faces its deepest crisis, we are committed to making aviation even safer. The security situation is expected to continue to deteriorate in 2020 and 2021. LGBT people in Honduras are frequently the targets of violence and discrimination, according to Human Rights Watch research. The European Union (EU) election mission to Honduras reported that, though several critical problems remain, including high levels of politicization in the electoral process, the May 2021 reforms to the electoral system had allowed for increased transparency and improved confidence in the election results. Observers noted several significant improvements in transparency procedures, including electoral reforms, an updated voter registry and new national identification cards, and new technology that included a biometric verification system and a preliminary results transmission system. 26 Feb 2021. 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. There was no information available on any major industrial accidents. By law all minors between the ages of 14 and 18 in most industries must receive special permission from the STSS to work, and the STSS must perform a home study to verify that there is an economic need for the child to work and that the child does not work outside the country or in hazardous conditions, including in offshore fishing. The law prohibits police from unionizing (see section 7.a.). 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