There were reports that the government or its agents committed arbitrary or unlawful killings. Rape and Domestic Violence: The law criminalizes all forms of rape of women or men, including spousal rape. 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. Estimates of the number of children younger than 18 in the countrys workforce ranged from 370,000 to 510,000. Some employers either refused to engage in collective bargaining or made it very difficult to do so. Both the secretariat and the commission focused on developing policies to address IDPs. U.S. The 58th edition of the Annual Safety Report (2021), is a comprehensive review and analysis of the industry's . On July 6, unknown assailants shot and killed land rights defender Juan Manuel Moncada in Tocoa, Colon Department. Most children who worked did so without STSS permits. The government ended the curfew on October 1. Most women in the workforce engaged in lower-status and lower-paying informal occupations, such as domestic service, without the benefit of legal protections. Number. Women - Honduras has the fifth-highest rate of violence against women in the world. Censorship or Content Restrictions: Media members and NGOs stated the press self-censored due to fear of retaliation from organized criminal groups or corrupt government officials. The law prohibits members of the armed forces and police, as well as certain other public employees, from forming labor unions. There were numerous reports of government corruption during the year. Her most recent evaluation was in August, and the court declared her fit to stand trial in September. The center, administered by the National Prison Institute, was on a military installation and received some support services from the military. Indigenous groups included the Miskito, Tawahka, Pech, Tolupan, Lenca, Maya-Chorti, and Nahua. 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011: DOS International Religious Freedom Report - 2021, 2020, . That's mainly to visit islands like Roatan. By law women have equal access to educational opportunities. Global AIDS Coordinator and Global Health Diplomacy, Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs, Special Representative for Syria Engagement, U.S. Security Coordinator for Israel and the Palestinian Authority, Office of the U.S. . Access to Asylum: The law provides for granting asylum or refugee status. This report provides a snapshot of the U.S. Executive Branch priorities via daily schedules and the prior day’s press releases. The law provides for the right to a fair and public trial; however, the judiciary did not always enforce this right. Occupational Safety and Health: The government did not effectively enforce occupational safety and health standards, particularly in the construction, garment assembly, and agricultural sectors, as well as in the informal economy. There were credible reports that members of the security forces committed some abuses. Thousands of Hondurans affected by hurricanes Eta and Iota, violence and poverty were forced to leave the country and headed north. The armed forces, which report to the Secretariat of Defense, are responsible for external security but also exercise some domestic security responsibilities in support of the national police and other civilian authorities. The law provides for freedom of peaceful assembly, and the government generally respected this right. The government continued to prosecute individuals allegedly involved in the 2016 killing of environmental and indigenous activist Berta Caceres. The law presumes an accused person is innocent. 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. Periodic medical evaluations had not found Lobo healthy enough to proceed. The constitution provides for the freedoms of peaceful assembly and association, and the government generally respected these rights. The findings highlight the potential power these four manufacturers have to combat trafficking; if these four manufacturers took action on their own, the national impact could be substantial. As a result, criminals linked to organized crime operate with a high degree of impunity throughout Honduras. A study by the National Violence Observatory of the National Autonomous University of Honduras (UNAH) placed the country as the most violent territory in Central America, with a homicide rate of 38.5 per 100,000 inhabitants. Administrative penalties were insufficient to deter violations and were rarely enforced. Government Human Rights Bodies: A semiautonomous commissioner for human rights, Blanca Izaguirre, served as an ombudsperson and investigated complaints of human rights abuses. Gangs/Organized Crime; Guatemala-Honduras Border; Guerrilla and Paramilitary Groups; Land Reform; Temporary Protected Status . World Report 2021 - Honduras Violent organized crime continues to disrupt Honduran society and push many people to leave the country. Ethnic minority rights leaders, international NGOs, and farmworker organizations claimed the government failed to redress actions taken by security forces, government agencies, private individuals, and businesses to dislodge farmers and indigenous persons from lands over which they claimed ownership based on land reform law or ancestral land titles. Recent Elections: In November Xiomara Castro of the LIBRE Party won a four-year presidential term in elections that were generally considered free, fair, and transparent. Prisoners suffered from overcrowding, insufficient access to food and water, violence, and alleged abuse by prison officials. The Honduran National Polices Special Victims Investigations Unit, formerly known as the Violent Crimes Task Force, investigated crimes against high-profile and particularly vulnerable victims, including journalists as well as judges, lawyers, and members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and intersex (LGBTQI+) community. Download Historical Data. Penalties for facilitating child sex trafficking are six to 12 years in prison and monetary fines. Driving in Honduras can be dangerous. Such an order may be effective for up to six days, after which the judge must hold a pretrial hearing to examine whether there is probable cause to continue pretrial detention. Victims were primarily impoverished individuals in both rural and urban areas (see section 7.c.). Persons with disabilities, indigenous and Afro-descendant persons, LGBTQI+ persons, and persons with HIV or AIDS also faced discrimination in employment and occupation (see section 6). honduras crime and safety report 2021frankie ryan city on a hill dead. They had limited representation in the national government and consequently little direct input into decisions affecting their lands, cultures, traditions, and the allocation of natural resources. Honduras: Freedom in the World 2021 Country Report | Freedom House UPDATES: THE INVASION OF UKRAINE Our Issues Perspectives Policy Recommendations Explore the Map Donate Freedom in the World 2021 Honduras Partly Free 44 100 Last Year's Score & Status 45 100 Partly Free Global freedom statuses are calculated on a weighted scale. Safety and security Crime There are high levels of crime in Honduras. The Public Ministry is responsible for prosecuting violations. As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the unemployment rate increased from 1.8 percent in 2019 to 3 percent in 2020 but improved to 2.2 percent as of the fourth quarter of 2021. There were no reports of this law being used to limit womens employment. According to the secretariat, the system was designed for approximately 10,600 inmates. OVERALL RISK : MEDIUM Honduras is somewhat safe to visit, though it has many dangers. This was the result of strong legislation, low cybersecurity exposure (how exposed the digital infrastructure is) and the exceptional top score at the Global Cybersecurity Index, one of the . However, Nicaragua was hit with renewed political trouble in 2018, and it was hit hard. The government had a nascent system to provide legal protection to refugees. The law provides that police may make arrests only with a warrant unless they make the arrest during the commission of a crime, there is strong suspicion that a person has committed a crime and might otherwise evade criminal prosecution, or they encounter a person in possession of evidence related to a crime. This is the second consecutive year that the murder rate falls below 40 per 100,000 population since 2014, which. May Be Getting Away With It. Informal Sector: According to the STSS, approximately 75 percent of workers worked in the informal economy, equivalent to approximately 2.7 million persons. The law prohibits arbitrary arrest and detention and provides for the right of any person to challenge the lawfulness of his or her arrest or detention in court. The government did not effectively enforce these laws and regulations, although penalties were commensurate with laws related to civil rights, such as election interference. The government cooperated with UNHCR and other humanitarian organizations that provide protection and assistance to refugees and other persons of concern. In most prisons only inmates who purchased bottled water or had water filters in their cells had access to potable water. Long periods of pretrial detention remained common and problematic, with many other pretrial detainees held in the general population with convicted prisoners. Several anonymous social media sites, possibly linked to political parties, criticized journalists (as well as activists and civil society organizations) who were critical of the government or opposition party policies. No cases were reported during the year. Basic administration '06 '22 10 1 5 6 5 Political Participation The security situation is expected to continue to deteriorate in 2020 and 2021. CONAPREV reported every prison had a functioning health clinic with at least one medical professional, but basic medical supplies and medicines were in short supply throughout the prison system. Despite incremental progress, government capacities remained relatively nascent and limited. There is also a Human Rights Committee in the National Congress. The safety situation in Honduras has been deteriorating in recent years due to gang violence and organized crime. The most recent national and local elections were held in November. Discrimination and Societal Abuses, Systemic Racial or Ethnic Violence and Discrimination, Acts of Violence, Criminalization, and Other Abuses Based on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity, a. A large percentage of the population in Honduras is armed. 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. An independent press and a functioning democratic political system combined to promote freedom of expression, including for members of the media. It was unclear how many of these threats were related to the victims professions or activism. However, More than 2 million tourists visited in 2017. Persons suspected of any of 21 specific felonies must remain in custody, pending the conclusion of judicial proceedings against them. Libel/Slander Laws: Citizens, including public officials, may initiate criminal proceedings for libel and slander. The lack of space for social distancing combined with the lack of adequate sanitation made prison conditions even more life threatening during the COVID-19 pandemic. Most foreign crime victims don't realize they're victims until they wake up and . In September police arrested Denis Abel Ordonez, Michael Andre Mejia, and Walter Antonio Matute Raudales in connection with her murder. Puerto Rico (Spanish for 'rich port'; abbreviated PR; Taino: Boriken, Borinquen), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico (Spanish: Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit. CMPD plans to continue on areas of improvement, including a decrease in violent crime, recruitment and retention effort and ensuring officers have the best equipment on duty. There were credible complaints that police occasionally failed to obtain the required authorization before entering private homes. These efforts were insufficient due to limited political will, inadequate staffing, 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. The Secretariat of Human Rights reported three prisoner deaths due to COVID-19 through September. Nonetheless, many prisoners remained in custody after completing their full sentences, and sometimes even after an acquittal, because officials failed to process their releases expeditiously. Between January and November 2022, vehicle prowls totaled 114, up from 94 in that same timeframe in 2021 and 91 in 2020. Plan your outings in advance and enjoy Roatan. The law provides for freedom of internal movement, foreign travel, emigration, and repatriation, and the government generally respected these rights. It also provides for paid national holidays and annual leave. Low salaries and a lack of internal controls rendered judicial officials susceptible to bribery. 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