honduras crime and safety report 2020 honduras crime and safety report 2020

During 2021, a total of 342 femicides were recorded in Honduras. The director of the national disaster management agency, Gabriel Rubi, was removed from his position in April. The law applies equally to citizens and foreigners, regardless of gender, and prescribes a maximum eight-hour shift per day for most workers, a 44-hour workweek, and at least one 24-hour rest period for every six days of work. Media reports noted that family members often faced long delays or were unable to visit detainees. 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. Country Summary: Violent crime, such as homicide and armed robbery, is common. On November 23, the court halted the presentation of evidence hearing after the defense filed an appeal. Organized-crime organizations, such as drug traffickers and local and transnational gangs including MS-13 and the 18th Street gang, committed killings, extortion, kidnappings, human trafficking, and intimidation of police, prosecutors, journalists, women, and human rights defenders. Nongovernmental Impact: Some journalists and other members of civil society reported threats from members of organized-crime groups. The rate of young people killing other young people is down to two main gangs : Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13) and Barrio 18. Police later arrested the guard accused of killing Alvarez. 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. NGOs continued to criticize the government prohibition on emergency contraception, including for survivors of sexual violence, although the government did provide victims of sexual violence access to other health care services. Honduras Honduras, long one of the poorest countries in Latin America, is now also among the most violent and crime-ridden. The government had a nascent system to provide protection to refugees. Freedom of Association and the Right to Collective Bargaining, b. In January 2020, the Organization of American States (OAS) and the Honduran government failed to reach an agreement to renew the mandate of the Mission to Support the Fight against Corruption and Impunity in . The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights reported 1,695 cases of COVID-19 in 25 prisons as of September, including cases among medical personnel, security personnel, and administrators. The Secretariat of Human Rights served as an effective advocate for human rights within the government. Freedom of Speech: The law includes a provision to punish persons who directly or through public media incite discrimination, contempt, repression, or violence against a person, group, or organization for reasons of gender, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, political opinion or affiliation, marital status, race or national origin, language, nationality, religion, family affiliation, family or economic situation, disability, health, physical appearance, or any other characteristic that would offend the victims human dignity. There are 42 categories of monthly minimum wages, based on the industry and the size of a companys workforce; the minimum average was above the poverty line. Of course, while it's not ever good to generalize an. Because labor inspectors continued to be concentrated in Tegucigalpa and San Pedro Sula, full labor inspections and follow-up visits to confirm compliance were far less frequent in other parts of the country. 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) - March 2003 Non-Government Organization Reports Human Rights Watch It also provides for paid national holidays and annual leave. 4.1.1 The US Congressional Research Service (USCRS) report on Honduras of 20 April 2020 noted that 'The country's current Constitution established a representative democracy with a separation of powers among an executive branch led by the president, a legislative branch consisting of a 128-seat The law mandates that the Supreme Auditing Tribunal monitor and verify disclosures. October and February were the deadliest months, with 43 and 38 women murdered on account of their gender, respectively. 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. Civil society organizations criticized the governments failure to investigate threats adequately. Mike DeWine and the Ohio Bureau of Workers Compensation (OBWC) Administrator John Logue announced today that the state's private employers will pay nearly $90 million less According to witnesses, the kidnappers wore police investigative branch uniforms. Prisoners suffered from overcrowding, insufficient access to food and water, violence, and alleged abuse by prison officials. Authorities generally respected these rights. Honduras With a crime index of 74.54, Honduras ranks fifth in the world in terms of crime rate. Both suspects were alleged members of a criminal organization involved in drug trafficking. There were several reports that the government or its agents committed arbitrary or unlawful killings. The country was a destination for child sex tourism. The government relies heavily on the . This report provides a snapshot of events during 2021 relevant to countries designated as State Sponsors of Terrorism. The law permits strikes by workers in export-processing zones and free zones for companies that provide services to industrial parks, but it requires that strikes not impede the operations of other factories in such parks. The World Bank reported in 2018 that the adolescent birth rate was 72 births per 1,000 15-19-year-olds. 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. The Honduran National Police maintain internal security and report to the Secretariat of Security. El Salvador is not dangerous for travelers as violence has declined to its lowest level in over 30 years. In addition, women experienced delays in accessing justice due to police who failed to process complaints in a timely manner or judicial system officials who deferred scheduling hearings. Nevertheless, social discrimination against LGBTI persons persisted, as did physical violence. The STSS is responsible for enforcing the national minimum wage, hours of work, and occupational health and safety law, but it did so inconsistently and ineffectively. We would like to show you a description here but the site won't allow us. Civilian authorities at times did not maintain effective control over security forces. Nearly two years after passage of a comprehensive labor inspection law in 2017, the STSS released implementing regulations based on extensive consultations with the private sector and unions. The law permits fines, and while the monetary penalty is sufficient to deter violations and commensurate with the penalties for similar crimes, such as fraud, the failure of the government to collect those fines facilitated continued labor code violations. In 2021, almost 39 homicides were committed per 100,000 inhabitants in Honduras. Some larger cities have police forces that operate independently of the national police and report to municipal authorities. The legal age of consent is 18. ANDERSON An Indiana man suspected of setting fire to an Anderson residence in 2020 is charged with attempted murder and first-degree arson, according to court records. During the year the National Anticorruption Council reported numerous irregularities in the purchase of emergency medical supplies during the pandemic. Also see the Department of States Trafficking in Persons Report at https://www.state.gov/trafficking-in-persons-report/. Authorities arrested Bogran on October 5 and released him on October 8 on bail pending trial. The law requires an employer to begin collective bargaining once workers establish a union, and it specifies that if more than one union exists at a company, the employer must negotiate with the largest. Home. Health-care workers protested the lack of adequate protective equipment and delayed salary payments during the COVID-19 pandemic. Honduras registered over 120,000 cases of COVID-19 and 3,100 deaths by the end of 2020, according to University of Oxford researchers. Children often worked alongside family members in agriculture and other work, such as fishing, construction, transportation, and small businesses. Corruption: On March 13, the Supreme Court of Justice ordered a new trial for former first lady Rosa Elena Bonilla de Lobo, spouse of former president Porfirio Lobo, who was convicted in August 2019 of fraud and misappropriation of public funds and sentenced to 58 years in prison. Litigants may sue a criminal defendant for damages if authorized by a criminal court. The law prohibits all forms of forced labor, but the government did not effectively implement or enforce the law. Every 18 hours, a woman is a victim of a violent death. 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. 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, hunting, 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. 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. The Autonomous University of Honduras Violence Observatory reported 13 arbitrary or unlawful killings by security forces during the year. The Public Ministry reported five such cases undergoing trial, with four cases in the sentencing phase of trial. In response to the pervasive violence in the prison system, the government declared an emergency in the National Penitentiary System in December 2019. Josue Alvarado allegedly shot Marvin Alvarado after a heated discussion over Marvin Alvarados failure to wear a mask during the COVID-19 pandemic. The government maintained the Interinstitutional Commission for the Protection of Persons Displaced by Violence and created the Directorate for the Protection of Persons Internally Displaced by Violence within the Secretariat of Human Rights. The Human Rights Board condemned some of these arrests as arbitrary under the guise of curfew enforcement. 2020 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: Honduras, An official website of the United States Government, https://www.state.gov/religiousfreedomreport/, https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/International-Parental-Child-Abduction/for-providers/legal-reports-and-data/reported-cases.html, https://www.state.gov/trafficking-in-persons-report/, https://www.dol.gov/agencies/ilab/resources/reports/child-labor/findings, https://www.dol.gov/agencies/ilab/reports/child-labor/list-of-goods. Government officials were somewhat cooperative and responsive to their views, but some human rights organizations criticized government officials for lack of access and responsiveness. CRIME AND INSECURITY IN HONDURAS . The law provides for freedom of association, and the government generally respected this right. Employers frequently penalized agricultural workers for taking legally authorized days off. Corruption and Lack of Transparency in Government, Section 5. The Secretariat of Human Rights noted an exponential increase in gender-based violence and domestic violence during the national curfew. An IACHR report noted there were insufficient hospital beds and inadequate supplies at the only hospital that services Gracias a Dios Department, home to the majority of the Miskito community. 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. Honduras 2020 Crime & Security Report this is an annual report produced in collaboration with the Regional Security Office at the U.S. Embassy. Section 2. Both the STSS and the courts may order a company to reinstate workers, but the STSS lacked the means to verify compliance. The law prohibits the use of children younger than 18 for exhibitions or performances of a sexual nature or in the production of pornography. Freedom to Participate in the Political Process, Section 4. LGBTI rights groups asserted that government agencies and private employers engaged in discriminatory hiring practices. The grand jury subpoena that has been issued to Pence seeks documents and testimony related to the events of January 6, 2021, when the US Capitol was attacked by pro-Trump rioters as Congress . World Report 2021 - Honduras. Nam Y. Huh - staff, AP. The combined homicide rate per 100 thousand population remains low, with steep declines in some countries and remaining stable in others. Children, including from indigenous and Afro-descendant communities, particularly Miskito boys, were at risk for forced labor in the fishing, mining, construction, and hospitality industries. Abuse of Migrants, Refugees, and Stateless Persons: Transiting migrants and asylum seekers with pending cases were vulnerable to abuse by criminal organizations. Women and girls may face criminal penalties after having miscarriages or abortions, and NGOs reported some women delayed or avoided seeking necessary medical care for fear of being arrested. 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. Some Hondurans reported being beaten as they attempted to cross the country. On June 11, alleged members of the 18th Street gang in the National Womens Penitentiary in Tegucigalpa killed six alleged members of the MS-13 gang. The national curfew instituted in response to COVID-19, however, severely limited the freedom of internal movement. 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. With offices throughout the country, the ombudsman received cases that otherwise might not have risen to national attention. Internal displacement was generally caused by violence, national and transnational gang activity, and human trafficking. Many prisons lacked sufficient security personnel. Mental health professionals expressed concern about social stigma by families and communities against persons with mental disabilities and a lack of access to mental health care throughout the country. Physical Conditions: Prisoners suffered from severe overcrowding, malnutrition, lack of adequate sanitation and medical care, and, in some prisons, lack of adequate ventilation and lighting. Rape and Domestic Violence: The law criminalizes all forms of rape of women or men, including spousal rape. Under the national emergency and corresponding curfew, the government suspended the constitutional right to peaceful assembly. . 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. Penalties include prison sentences of up to five years and monetary fines. There were no credible reports of political prisoners or detainees. The legal framework for granting international protection fails to establish long-term safeguards for recognized refugees, since they are issued the same residence permit as other migration categories. As of September the Secretariat of Human Rights reported the countrys three pretrial detention centers held 79 individuals. 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. LONDON (AP) Britain's domestic intelligence agency didn't act swiftly enough on key information and missed a significant opportunity to prevent the suicide bombing that killed 22 people at a Improvements: Through August, CONAPREV trained 494 technical, administrative, and security personnel on topics including prison management and human rights. Political Parties and Political Participation: Civil society and opposition parties accused officials of using government resources to attract voters. Impunity, however, remained a serious problem, with significant delays in some prosecutions and sources alleging corruption in judicial proceedings. 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 . In 2019 the Internal Displacement Monitoring Center NGO estimated there were approximately 247,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) in the country due to violence. Major urban centers and drug-trafficking routes experienced the highest rates of violence. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons, Acts of Violence, Criminalization, and Other Abuses Based on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity, a. The law requires police to inform persons of the grounds for their arrest and bring detainees before a competent judicial authority within 24 hours. The IACHR conducted its visit between July 30 and August 3, 2018. It prohibits employer retribution against employees for engaging in trade union activities. Even so, many prisoners remained in custody after completing their full sentences, and sometimes even after an acquittal, because officials failed to process their releases expeditiously. There was no information available on any major industrial accidents. CONAPREV reported 27 prisoner deaths due to COVID-19 through August. Five other cases were under investigation. Fines for child labor were not sufficient to deter violations and not commensurate with penalties for other analogous serious crimes, such as kidnapping. 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. Freedom of Expression, Including for the Press, b. Freedoms of Peaceful Assembly and Association, e. Status and Treatment of Internally Displaced Persons, Section 3. There were no government restrictions on academic freedom or cultural events. The reported killings took place during law enforcement operations or were linked to other criminal activity by government agents. osac crime and safety report honduras Posted on June 10, 2022 June 10, 2022 by Who Are The Booth Brothers Married To , Hallelujah Word Painting , Aceite En El Ombligo Para Adelgazar , Twinkl Crime And Punishment Display , Data Universe Public Employee Salaries , Digital Media Course Syllabus , Brian Alexander Prince Height , Three Death Signs . Poverty rates are higher among rural and indigenous people and in the south, west, and along the eastern border than in the north . These conditions contributed to an unstable, dangerous environment in the penitentiary system. 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. On August 5, an appeals court dismissed charges against 22 defendants indicted in the so-called Pandora case, a 2013 scheme that allegedly funneled 289.4 million lempiras ($12 million) in government agricultural funds to political campaigns. 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. Iota weather conditions favored a 15-25% incidence of leaf rust in five departments of Honduras by the end of 2020. Some nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) expressed concern about weak implementation of the law and limited resources available to operate the governments protection mechanism. The government tasks CONAPREV with visiting prisons and making recommendations for protecting the rights of prisoners. The law establishes prison sentences of up to three years for child abuse. The West Bank and Gaza Strip. The government limited freedom of peaceful assembly under the national curfew imposed in reaction to the COVID-19 pandemic. The law permits workers in public health care, social security, staple food production, and public utilities (municipal sanitation, water, electricity, and telecommunications) to strike as long as they continue to provide basic services. The law requires a judge to issue an eviction order for individuals occupying public and private property if security forces have not evicted the individuals within a specified period of time. The government continued to prosecute some officials who committed abuses, but a weak judicial system and corruption were major obstacles to gaining convictions. In all of 2019, the STSS levied fines of more than 38.1 million lempiras ($1.58 million) but collected only 755,000 lempiras ($31,300). Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit, sed diam . Honduras's peak of violent crime was in 2012, where the country experienced about 20 homicides per day, typically carried out by gun-toting gangs such as Barrio 18 or Mara Salvatrucha. Voters elected Juan Orlando Hernandez of the National Party as president for a four-year term beginning in January 2018. International observers generally recognized the elections as free but disputed the fairness and transparency of the results. The law provides for the right to a fair and public trial; however, the judiciary did not always enforce this right. 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. There were no reports of such cases during the year, although authorities charged some protesters with sedition. 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. Persons suspected of any of 22 specific felonies must remain in custody, pending the conclusion of judicial proceedings against them. The National Prison Institute (INP) reported 12 violent deaths. The Public Ministrys Office of the Special Prosecutor for Human Rights handled cases involving charges of human rights abuses by government officials. Campbell was an LGBTI activist and member of the Rainbow Dolls, an organization that fought violence and discrimination against members of the LGBTI community. About Us; Staff; Camps; Scuba. The number of inspections dropped severely from 2019 as a result of the national curfew imposed during the COVID-19 pandemic. An independent press and a functioning democratic political system combined to promote freedom of expression, including for the press. The law criminalizes domestic violence and provides penalties of up to four years in prison for domestic violence. "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 . 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. Josue Alvarado was assigned to Task Force Maya Chorti.