The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) has recognized the openness of the Government of the President of Honduras, Xiomara Castro, in the face of the statements that the OAS body has made about the persistent violence that affects that Central American country and that is targeted against environmentalists, activists and journalists. This is a rare opening in a region where governments are allergic to oversight by international organizations. This Wednesday, the IACHR presented a report on the situation in Honduras, in which it points out that “it continues to be a violent country for the defense of human rights” and in particular for those who defend the environment or territories, but also warns of the consequences that the extension of the state of emergency imposed by President Castro to confront violence may have. The organization reveals that in 2022, 17 environmentalists were murdered in that small nation.
“We have found recognition by the State, by the new Government authorities, that the problem of violence exists. There is a will to want to solve it and that is a good first step, because the Government recognizes the risk in which human rights defenders, environmental rights defenders, and journalists find themselves; “They recognize that there is a very strong risk linked to organized crime or certain private sectors and they warn of the challenges that lie ahead to resolve this,” explains Andrea Pochak, IACHR rapporteur for Honduras, in a video call prior to the presentation of the report. in Tegucigalpa.
The Commission warns in its report that despite the recognition of violence by the State, in the Central American country, at least eight defenders died in violent conditions in the first four months of 2023, some of whom had state protection measures. . This violence, the writing continues, “is exacerbated by a high presence of criminal organizations, especially maras and gangs.” Last summer, President Castro imposed a curfew after 21 murders were recorded in Honduras in one day. The president established the emergency measure in San Pedro Sula and Choloma, where she also ordered the police to undertake an operation with raids, arrests and checkpoints.
This decision, which recalls the heavy-handed measures imposed by President Nayib Bukele in El Salvador, worries the IACHR, which has warned about the risks involved in expanding the capabilities of the Army in security matters. “Citizen security cannot be in the hands of the Armed Forces,” Commissioner Pochak tells him. For the IACHR rapporteur, measures such as the declaration of a state of emergency can be valid as long as they are temporary and do not become a permanent State policy, as is the case in the Salvadoran case. “We look with concern at the extension of the state of emergency in Honduras, because it will be a year and a half that has been extended and expanded to practically half of the 300 municipalities in the country. This has resulted in a notable reduction in the number of homicides and local authorities have been demanding that it be extended to other places. We understand that this measure has worked in some way, but we warn that it should not be extended indiscriminately,” says the rapporteur.
Another problem that worries the IACHR is the high levels of impunity in Honduras. The report shows that in 2022 there was a rate of 87% impunity in homicides that occurred that year. “The rate of impunity would be even higher when it comes to the murder of women, defenders and LGBTI people,” the organization warns. The IACHR affirms that access to justice “continues to be an important challenge in Honduras.” The Commission is particularly concerned about “a generalized perception of distrust in the institutions in charge of investigating and prosecuting crime.” Among the factors that allow high rates of impunity are the “serious deficiencies in the material, human and technical resources assigned to the Public Ministry.” One of the most notorious cases of impunity in Honduras is that related to the environmentalist Berta Cáceres, murdered in March 2016. Her daughter, Berta Zúñiga, reported in 2021 that several of those involved in her mother’s crime remain without being prosecuted. in Honduras.
The IACHR has also warned that the high rates of poverty and inequality suffered by the Central American country, considered the second poorest on the continent, are fuel that lights the bonfire of violence. The organization warns that since the last visit it made to the country in 2018 “the levels of poverty and extreme poverty remain at alarming figures, reaching 73% of the population, while extreme poverty reaches 54% of the population, with profound differences between rurality and cities.” This also inflames social and environmental conflicts, which translates into persecution of activists and internal displacement of populations. “To the extent that the structural causes are not extinguished, violence, insecurity and organized crime will be present in Honduras,” warns Pochak.
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