The reported killings took place during law enforcement operations or were linked to other criminal activity by government agents. The constitution provides for the freedoms of peaceful assembly and association. The law prohibits the use of children younger than 18 for exhibitions or performances of a sexual nature or in the production of pornography. World Report 2021 - Honduras. The law provides for the right to a fair and public trial; however, the judiciary did not always enforce this right. During 2021, a total of 342 femicides were recorded in Honduras. Although 74 percent of births were attended by skilled health care personnel, NGOs reported that there were significant gaps in obstetric care, especially in rural areas. The government allocated a budget of nearly 12.6 million lempiras ($526,000) for the continued operation of a protection mechanism that included provision of protection to journalists. Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot lost her bid for a second term Tuesday, failing to make a top-two runoff in the latest demonstration of growing concerns about crime in one of the nation's largest . Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor, c. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment, d. Discrimination with Respect to Employment and Occupation. Persons with HIV and AIDS continued to be targets of discrimination, and they suffered disproportionately from gender-based violence. Corruption and Lack of Transparency in Government, Section 5. The STSS completed 13 inspections as of March and did not find any minors working without permission. Every 18 hours, a woman is a victim of a violent death. Many employers discriminated against women. The law requires that persons with disabilities have access to buildings, but few buildings were accessible, and the national government did not effectively implement laws or programs to provide such access. For years, street gangs have charged protection . This helps keep everyone in poverty. 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. A small number of powerful business magnates with intersecting commercial, political, and family ties owned most of the major news media. The Ministries of Security and Defense both have human rights offices that investigated alleged human rights abuses and coordinated human rights-related activities with the Secretariat of Human Rights. A Texas man is speaking out about his experience following an attempted carjacking where two suspects, one of them armed, followed him home into his garage and tried to steal his car at gunpoint but ended up "bamboozled" and empty-handed. The law also imposes prison sentences of three to five years for child labor violations that endanger the life or morality of a child. The law mandates that the Supreme Auditing Tribunal monitor and verify disclosures. 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. Censorship or Content Restrictions: Media members and NGOs stated the press self-censored due to fear of retaliation from organized-crime groups or corrupt government officials. Of course, while it's not ever good to generalize an. This force is composed of active members of the army and national police. Authorities launched an investigation and made one arrest in connection with the kidnappings in July and five more arrests in September. ; Children and Adolescents - Honduras has the highest youth homicide rate in the world. A: Fans well remember the 1965-69 adventure series starring Robert Conrad Violent gang activity, such as extortion, violent street crime, rape, and narcotics and human trafficking, is widespread. The end of the civil war ushered in new and complex forms of violence: Campbell was an LGBTI activist and member of the Rainbow Dolls, an organization that fought violence and discrimination against members of the LGBTI community. Defendants may receive free assistance from an interpreter. The law mandates that authorities release detainees whose cases have not yet come to trial and whose time in pretrial detention already exceeds the maximum prison sentence for their alleged crime. CHICAGO (AP) Four years ago, Paul Vallas finished toward the bottom of the pack in a crowded race for Chicago mayor. Under the new inspection law, the STSS has the authority temporarily to shut down workplaces where there is an imminent danger of fatalities; however, there were not enough trained inspectors to deter violations sufficiently. Contraception supplies continued to be limited by shortages and insufficient funding. The law provides a maximum sentence of three years in prison for disobeying a restraining order connected with the crime of intrafamilial violence. A stronger outbreak is expected during the 2021 rainy season (May-November) due to . "They came up on me with a loaded 9mm gun with an extended clip, at least 40 bullets or so," a Houston homeowner, who wished to remain anonymous, told FOX 26 . Ensuring that critical security information is shared with those who need it, when they need it, OSAC is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week to answer constituents' questions with expert analysis of rapidly evolving security challenges overseas. Employers frequently penalized agricultural workers for taking legally authorized days off. 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. | Learn more about Daniel Jackson's work experience, education, connections & more by visiting their profile on LinkedIn Honduras registered over 120,000 cases of COVID-19 and 3,100 deaths by the end of 2020, according to University of Oxford researchers. More than half of the population lives in poverty and per capita income is one of the lowest in the region. During the year the National Anticorruption Council reported numerous irregularities in the purchase of emergency medical supplies during the pandemic. Impunity, however, remained a serious problem, with significant delays in some prosecutions and sources alleging corruption in judicial proceedings. By law women have equal access to educational opportunities. I have some answers. Victims were primarily impoverished individuals in both rural and urban areas (see section 7.c.). Police arrested Ramon David Zelaya Hernandez on July 4 and Edward David Zalavarria Galeas on July 6 as the two main suspects in the killings. 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. Inspectors suspended inspections in March under the national curfew in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Workers had difficulty exercising the rights to form and join unions and to engage in collective bargaining, and the government failed to enforce applicable laws effectively. The Human Rights Board condemned some of these arrests as arbitrary under the guise of curfew enforcement. The STSS approved 43 such authorizations through September. On November 15, 2017, the State of Honduras invited the IACHR to visit Honduras to analyze the human rights situation in the country. These deaths included several in San Pedro Sula and La Ceiba involving U.S. citizens murdered shortly after arriving in the country. 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. Since 2020, the number of Hondurans in need of humanitarian assistance has more than doubled, while food insecurity has increased due to consecutive climate shocks, rising food prices and the economic impacts of COVID-19. Farmers markets and local food networks aren't new to Minnesota. The government did not effectively enforce the law. The law was not effectively enforced, and weak public institutional structures contributed to the inadequate enforcement. Abusers caught in the act may be detained for up to 24 hours as a preventive measure. As of June the Violence Observatory reported killings of 71 persons younger than 18. 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. Indigenous groups included the Miskito, Tawahkas, Pech, Tolupans, Lencas, Maya-Chortis, Nahual, Bay Islanders, and Garifunas. DIDADPOL conducted internal investigations of HNP members in a continuation of the police purge begun in 2016. The Autonomous University of Honduras Violence Observatory reported 13 arbitrary or unlawful killings by security forces during the year. Institutions such as the judiciary, Public Ministry, National Police, and Secretariat of Health attempted to enhance their responses to domestic violence, but obstacles included insufficient political will, inadequate budgets, limited or no services in rural areas, absence of or inadequate training and awareness of domestic violence among police and other authorities, and a pattern of male-dominant culture and norms. Prior to the twin shocks of 2020, 25.2 percent of the Honduran population lived in extreme poverty and almost half (4.4 million people) lived in poverty, based on the official poverty lines. The Public Ministry reported five such cases undergoing trial, with four cases in the sentencing phase of trial. The law prohibits night work and overtime for minors younger than 18, but the STSS may grant special permission for minors between the ages of 16 to 18 to work in the evening if such employment does not adversely affect their education. Internal displacement was generally caused by violence, national and transnational gang activity, and human trafficking. About Us; Staff; Camps; Scuba. Around 191,000 people were. The armed forces, which report to the Secretariat of Defense, are responsible for external security but also exercise some domestic security responsibilities in a supporting role to the national police and other civilian authorities. Administrative penalties were insufficient to deter violations and were rarely enforced. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including: a. The Secretariat of Human Rights reported that as of September 2, the total prison population was 21,675 in 25 prisons and three detention centers. Japan also is a member of the G-7 Counterterrorism and Counter-Crime Rome-Lyon Group. Iota weather conditions favored a 15-25% incidence of leaf rust in five departments of Honduras by the end of 2020. 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 Public Ministrys Office of the Special Prosecutor for Human Rights handled cases involving charges of human rights abuses by government officials. On November 23, the court halted the presentation of evidence hearing after the defense filed an appeal. . Journalists, environmental activists, lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) individuals, and people with disabilities are among the groups targeted for violence. Violators face penalties of one to three years in prison and possible suspension of their professional licenses, but the government did not effectively enforce the law. With high rates of impunity, including 90 percent for killings of women in the last 15 years according to the Violence Observatory, civil society groups reported that women often did not report domestic violence, or withdrew the charges, because they feared or were economically dependent on the aggressor. carnival miracle refurbishment 2020; shkola season 1 episode 2 english subtitles; appleseed townhomes huber heights; once popular resort area in the catskills nyt crossword 0. . According to the Center for the Investigation and Promotion of Human Rights, on March 24, police arbitrarily detained Evelyn Johana Castillo, sub-coordinator of the Womens Network of Ojojona and member of the National Network of Defenders of Human Rights. The law permits fines, and while the monetary penalty is commensurate with those for other laws involving denials of civil rights, such as discrimination, the failure of the government to collect those fines facilitated continued labor law violations. Lori Lightfoot rode into the Chicago mayor's office in 2019 as a reform candidate, offering a break from the city's clubby political scene while making history as the first Black Honduras crime rate & statistics for 2018 was 38.93, a 5.01% decline from 2017. The Secretariat of Human Rights stated it was taking every precaution to protect prisoners rights and assure that the work provided opportunities for prisoners to develop skills they could use in legal economic activities after their release. Access to Asylum: The law provides for the granting of asylum or refugee status. Authorities generally respected these rights. Honduras With a crime index of 74.54, Honduras ranks fifth in the world in terms of crime rate. Libel/Slander Laws: Citizens, including public officials, may initiate criminal proceedings for libel and slander. There were no reports of this law being used to limit womens employment. As of November the STSS had an insufficient number of inspectors to enforce the law effectively. Sample Page; ; In January 2020, the president announced the dismantling of the Mission to Support the Fight against Corruption and Impunity in Honduras (Misin de Apoyo Contra la Corrupcin y la Impunidad en Honduras, MACCIH), which was backed by the Organization of American States (OAS). Without a visa, Central Americans are routinely pulled from buses by authorities to prevent them from making their way. COFADEH reported police beat and smeared a tear gas-covered cloth on the face of an individual detained for violating the national curfew in April in El Paraiso. Defendants may not be compelled to testify or confess guilt. The country last held national and local elections in November 2017. The Public Ministry is responsible for prosecuting violations. The Violence Observatory reported 55 killings of women from March 15 to June 6, compared with 102 for the same period in 2019. Honduras Honduras, long one of the poorest countries in Latin America, is now also among the most violent and crime-ridden. The Honduran National Police maintain internal security and report to the Secretariat of Security. The Organization of American States (OAS) and EU observer teams agreed the margin of victory separating incumbent president Hernandez from challenger Salvador Nasralla was extremely narrow. Reproductive Rights: Generally, individuals have the right to decide freely the number, spacing, and timing of having children and to have access to the information and means to do so, free from discrimination, coercion, or violence. The law prohibits discrimination against persons with physical, sensory, intellectual, and mental disabilities. Persons suspected of any of 22 specific felonies must remain in custody, pending the conclusion of judicial proceedings against them. Public-sector trade unionists raised concerns about government interference in trade union activities, including its suspension or ignoring of collective agreements and its dismissals of union members and leaders. The Secretariat of Human Rights provided training to security forces to increase respect for human rights. The web site offers its visitors the latest in safety and security-related information, public announcements, warden messages, travel advisories, significant anniversary dates, terrorist groups profiles, country crime and safety reports, special topic reports, foreign press reports, and much more. The IACHR conducted its visit between July 30 and August 3, 2018. Feb 28, 2023. DOUGLAS COUNTY The Douglas County Sheriff's Office has released the results of the Click-It or Ticket Enforcement Campaign which took place between Jan. 30 and Feb. 12. The Federation of Agroindustry Workers Unions reported massive layoffs and cancelation of contracts in the maquila sector during the pandemic without providing welfare benefits. On February 4, media reported unknown assailants shot and killed three National Party local leaders in three separate incidents within five days in Tegucigalpa: Oscar Obdulio Licona Ruiz on January 31 and Dagoberto Villalta and Marcial Martinez on February 4. Some local and international civil society organizations, including students, agricultural workers groups, political parties, and indigenous rights groups, alleged that members of the security forces used excessive force to break up demonstrations. Penalties include prison sentences of up to five years and monetary fines. The Supreme Court of Justice cited the presence of MACCIH personnel during Public Ministry investigations, including in the execution of search warrants in violation of the law. The law requires individuals and companies that employ more than 20 school-age children at their facilities to provide a location for a school. They practice "war taxing", which is essentially just demanding money from people. The government tasks CONAPREV with visiting prisons and making recommendations for protecting the rights of prisoners. TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras -- Honduras became the second country in Central America to declare a state of emergency to fight gang crimes like extortion. The appeals court ruled the cases of former agriculture minister Jacobo Regalado and three members of his staff should proceed to trial. The PBI reported an incident on April 23 near Tela, Atlantida Department, involving the alleged use of live rounds by police in response to a protest, injuring two individuals. Birth Registration: Children derive citizenship by birth in the country, from the citizenship of their parents, or by naturalization. U.S. citizens have been the victims of a wide range of crimes, including murder, kidnapping, rape, assault, and property crimes. Members of the security forces committed some abuses. Organized-crime 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. A Mosheim man involved in a police pursuit in 2021 resulting in a two-vehicle crash that killed a Greene County woman entered a guilty plea Tuesday to . Employers frequently refused to comply with STSS orders that required them to reinstate workers who had been dismissed for participating in union activities. The appeals court would have to rule on the motion before the trial could move forward. On January 10, unknown assailants shot and killed Tolupan indigenous leader Vicente Saavedra in Morazan, Yoro Department. The law states that a womans employment should be appropriate according to her physical state and capacity. The law prohibits members of the armed forces and police, as well as certain other public employees, from forming labor unions. 10. The West Bank and Gaza Strip. According to the secretariat, the system had a designed capacity for approximately 10,600 inmates. Media reported prison riots and violent confrontations between gang members in prisons throughout the year. There were credible complaints that police occasionally failed to obtain the required authorization before entering private homes. The OAS mission found that the 1.5 percent margin of victory, combined with numerous irregularities in vote processing, left it unable to state with certainty who won the presidential election. Country Summary: Violent crime, such as homicide and armed robbery, is common. The law also requires that public-sector workers involved in the refining, transportation, and distribution of petroleum products submit their grievances to the Secretariat of Labor and Social Security (STSS) before striking. Some employers either refused to engage in collective bargaining or made it very difficult to do so. Corruption along with a lack of investigative resources and judicial delays led to widespread impunity, including in security forces. 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. Below this are an appeals court, first instance trial courts for criminal and civil cases, and municipal and district-level justices of the peace. Source: MY 2020: IHCAFE's Annual Report 2019/2020, MY 2021: IHCAFE Statistical Bulletin 05/04/2021 As of May 4th, 2021 about 4.13 million . Civil society organizations criticized the governments failure to investigate threats adequately. Nearly 3.3 million people, or one in three Hondurans, were experiencing crisis or worse levels of food insecurity by late 2021. Despite the emergency decree, CONAPREV reported that violence in the prison system continued unabated. Honduras crime rate & statistics for 2017 was 40.98, a 26.23% decline from 2016. The law provides for an independent judiciary, but the justice system was poorly funded and staffed, inadequately equipped, often ineffective, and subject to intimidation, corruption, politicization, and patronage. The government limited freedom of peaceful assembly under the national curfew imposed in reaction to the COVID-19 pandemic. Some of the worst forms of child labor occurred, including commercial sexual exploitation of children, and NGOs reported that gangs often forced children to commit crimes, including homicide (see section 6, Children). Penalties for violations of OSH law were commensurate with penalties for similar crimes. The Public Ministry reported 15 cases of alleged illegal detention or arbitrary arrest as of November. Statistics from the National Emergency Systems call center showed the country was on pace for more than 100,000 reports of domestic violence during the year. The HNPs Violent Crimes Task Force investigated crimes against high-profile and particularly vulnerable victims, including journalists as well as judges, human rights activists, and members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex (LGBTI) community. Starting November 9, the government temporarily suspended the curfew to facilitate Tropical Depression Eta response efforts. On May 5, the DIDADPOL director noted his office had not received a formal complaint, and he asserted two official police reports from the incident did not corroborate the PBIs account. Also see the Department of Labors Findings on the Worst Forms of Child Labor at https://www.dol.gov/agencies/ilab/resources/reports/child-labor/findings and the Department of Labors List of Goods Produced by Child Labor or Forced Labor at https://www.dol.gov/agencies/ilab/reports/child-labor/list-of-goods. The STSS may levy a fine against companies that fail to pay social security obligations, but the amount was not sufficient to deter violations. Corruption, poor governance, and. Improvements: Through August, CONAPREV trained 494 technical, administrative, and security personnel on topics including prison management and human rights. Nongovernmental Impact: Some journalists and other members of civil society reported threats from members of organized-crime groups. According to the Global Cybercrime Report, the United States reached the prominent third-best position with a Cyber-Safety Score of 8.73. There were several reports that the government or its agents committed arbitrary or unlawful killings. 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. Yes, despite all the historical crime and violence, which don't affect tourists, El Salvador is safe to visit in 2023. The COVID-19 lockdown and curfew affected sex workers income and further exacerbated existing vulnerabilities. Subscribe to the Ojai Valley News. Some Hondurans reported being beaten as they attempted to cross the country. CONAPREV reported 27 prisoner deaths due to COVID-19 through August. The National Prison Institute (INP) reported 12 violent deaths. Section 1. As of September the Secretariat of Human Rights reported the countrys three pretrial detention centers held 79 individuals. Credible observers noted problems in trial procedures, such as a lack of admissible evidence, judicial corruption, widespread public distrust of the legal system, witness intimidation, and an ineffective witness protection program. The Military Police of Public Order report to military authorities but conduct operations sanctioned by civilian security officials as well as by military leaders. Deportation, Circular Migration and Organized Crime Honduras Case Study; Download the Publication; Honduras: Information Gathering Mission Report; Violence in Honduras: an Analysis of the Failure in Public Security and the State'S Response to Criminality; Opendocpdf.Pdf; Honduras Elites and Organized Crime; Honduras 2019 Crime & Safety Report By the end of 2019, over 800,000 people from El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras had sought protection either within their countries or had crossed international borders seeking asylum to escape. The law prohibits all of the worst forms of child labor. At the local level, only 7 percent of elected mayors were women, but women represented 76 percent of the elected vice mayors. Underscoring heightened risks facing transgender women involved in sex work, the PBI cited three alleged incidents where security forces degraded transgender women for violating the nationwide COVID-19 curfew, including by striking at least one of the individuals. The constitution prohibits practicing clergy from running for office or participating in political campaigns. Freedom of Press and Media, Including Online Media: Independent media were active and expressed a wide variety of views without restriction. It was unclear how many of these threats were related to the victims professions or activism. The law grants prisoners the right to prompt access to a lawyer of their choice and, if indigent, to government-provided counsel, although the public defender mechanism was weak, and authorities did not always abide by these requirements. Unrelated to the curfew, there were areas where authorities could not assure freedom of movement because of criminal activity and a lack of significant government presence. Home. 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. Government Human Rights Bodies: A semiautonomous commissioner for human rights, Roberto Herrera Caceres, served as an ombudsman and investigated complaints of human rights abuses. Forced labor occurred in street vending, domestic service, the transport of drugs and other illicit goods, other criminal activity, and the informal sector. October and February were the deadliest months, with 43 and 38 women murdered on account of their gender, respectively. Latest News Profile Criminal Actors Investigations News Specialties: Executive management, negotiations, project approval and feasibility, business development, strategy, project management, quality, audit and risk management, business resilience, corporate governance. The director of Invest-H, Marco Antonio Bogran Corrales, resigned from his position in July and was indicted in October on two corruption charges for embezzling an estimated 1.3 million lempiras ($54,000) in public funds and funneling a contract for mobile hospitals to his uncle.