Honduras must address decades of impunity in extrajudicial killings and hold perpetrators accountable, a UN expert said today.
"The political will and ongoing efforts of the Honduran Government tostrengthen human rights must be translated into effective prevention andinvestigation of unlawful deaths," said Morris Tidball-Binz, the UN SpecialRapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, in a statement atthe end of a 10-day visit to the country.
The Special Rapporteur assessed the progress Honduras has made since thevisits of his two predecessors, Asma Jahangir and Christof Heyns, in 2001 and2016, respectively.
"Effective investigations, access to information and justice for victims - whichremain hampered by limited investigative capacity and a culture of impunity -are critical to breaking the long-standing cycle of violence," the UN expert said.
Extrajudicial killings, which were systematic in the 1980s and reached a peakafter a military coup in 2009 and in the 2017 post-election crisis, are still awidespread phenomenon. It affects all sectors of society, but particularly groupsin vulnerable situations, including indigenous and Afro-Honduran peoples,peasants, human rights and environmental defenders, journalists and LGBTIQ+people.
"The Government must ensure that the use of force by all security and militaryforces is strictly regulated in accordance with international standards," Tidball-Binz said. He welcomed a draft law on the use of force, based on thesestandards, currently under consideration by the National Congress, and urgedits adoption.
The expert noted the difficulties victims face in having their complaintsdocumented and investigated, and the lack of adequate reparations andredress. Harassment and reprisals against victims and witnesses of unlawfuldeath, as well as challenges to the effective protection of these individuals,remain of great concern.
He welcomed the demilitarisation of the prison system and urged theGovernment to establish a unified digitised system for registering deaths incustody. "All deaths in custody must be investigated in accordance with theinternational standards set forth in the Minnesota Protocol on the Investigationof Potentially Unlawful Death (2016)," Tidball-Binz said.
The expert also noted the disproportionate impact of killings of women andlesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex persons. He expressedconcerns about the lack of specialised protocols for investigating violenceagainst women, including femicides and violent deaths of LGBTIQ+ people andcalled on the Government for their adoption and implementation.
The Special Rapporteur said that an essential step towards the effectiveinvestigation and prevention of unlawful deaths involves the establishment of anindependent, autonomous and well-resourced Institute of Forensic Medicine.Tidball-Binz said he welcomed a recent legislative proposal to this end.
"Holding the material and intellectual perpetrators of extrajudicial killingsaccountable is not an option, but an obligation under international law," theexpert said. "It is a prerequisite for the fulfilment of every victim's right to truth,justice and reparation for this heinous crime. To that end, I offer the full supportof my mandate," Tidball-Binz said.
The Special Rapporteur will present his report to the Human Rights Council in June 2024.
