Honduras - Universal Periodic Review

UPR 36, November 5, 2020
Recommendations by Canada

Recommendations:

Thank you Madame President.

Canada thanks Honduras for its presentation and welcomes the creation of the Ministry of Human Rights represented today by Minister Cuevas. While this is an important step, we remain concerned about the overall human rights situation in Honduras

Canada recommends that Honduras: 

1. Strengthen measures for the prevention, investigation, and punishment of all sexual and gender-based violence, including most specifically domestic violence and violence against LGBTI persons.
2. Protect freedom of expression by promptly investigating and prosecuting acts of intimidation, harassment and attacks against journalists, human rights defenders and Indigenous, afro descendant and community activists.
3. Increase efforts to ensure the independence of the judicial system, strengthening the investigation and prosecution of acts of corruption and human rights violations, and prevent the criminalization of human rights defenders, community and Indigenous activists to ensure they are able to operate in a safe environment.
4. Investigate and bring to justice cases of human rights violations implicating military forces, and create a well-defined plan to complete the reform of the police and remove the military from civilian security duties.

Background

Honduras is one of the poorest and most unequal countries in the Americas and faces high levels of violence, insecurity, corruption and impunity which contribute to significant human rights challenges in almost all areas. The country has experienced systematic erosion of human rights coupled with fragile institutions and democracy.

In 2018, Honduras created a Ministry of Human Rights whose mandate includes following-up on international recommendations, issuing legal opinions on key issues and conducting training for public servants on human rights. Despite this positive development, there has been little tangible progress, with many international and civil society organizations documenting an overall deterioration of the human rights situation in the country.

Specifically, as noted by the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders, “human rights defenders are not able to operate in a safe and enabling environment” while journalists face elevated levels of threats, smear campaigns and harassment. Honduras is documented as being among the most dangerous countries in the world to be an environmental or land defender. Women, LGBTI individuals, Indigenous people, migrants, persons with disabilities and other marginalized groups continue to suffer disproportionately from human rights abuses and lack of full access to their rights as guaranteed in national legislation. The militarization of police functions in Honduras is also a concerning trend that has resulted in an increase in human rights violations, particularly in the aftermath of the 2017 Presidential elections where excessive use of force was used to repress public protests.

In 2020, a new penal code was passed in an effort to modernize Honduran criminal law and reduce prison penalties to tackle the problem of prison overcrowding. Under the new law, crimes involving the misuse of public funds, abuse of authority, influence trafficking, fraud and illicit enrichment will see reduced penalties, as well as the possibility of substituting prison in some cases. The new code also contains articles that could restrict freedoms, including criminalizing the right to protest and assembly, as well as limiting freedom of expression and press and is seen by many national and international organizations as a backslide in the fight against corruption and impunity.