Honduras must seize historic opportunity to prevent and investigate unlawful deaths: UN expert

02 June 2023

TEGUCIGALPA (2 June 2023) – 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 and investigation of unlawful deaths,” said Morris Tidball-Binz, the UN Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, in a statement at the end of a 10-day visit to the country.

The Special Rapporteur assessed the progress Honduras has made since the visits of his two predecessors, Asma Jahangir and Christof Heyns, in 2001 and 2016, respectively.

"Effective investigations, access to information and justice for victims – which remain 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 peak after a military coup in 2009 and in the 2017 post-election crisis, are still a widespread phenomenon. It affects all sectors of society, but particularly groups in vulnerable situations, including indigenous and Afro-Honduran peoples,peasants, human rights and environmental defenders, journalists and LGBTIQ+ people.

More:
https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2023/06/honduras-must-seize-historic-opportunity-prevent-and-investigate-unlawful