Background
The creation of an international commission against impunity and corruption was still pending.
Excessive and unnecessary use of force
The government took steps to acknowledge state responsibility for the persecution and repression of social movements and protests in the 1980s and between 2009 and 2021, but obstacles to justice persisted.
Despite the concerns of human rights organizations, the government extended the state of emergency aimed at combating insecurity and organized crime, and announced disproportionate new counterterrorism measures. By October the Ombudsperson (CONADEH) had received more than 700 complaints against the police and security forces since the start of the state of emergency in December 2022.
Detainees’ rights
Overcrowding and the militarization of prisons continued. UN experts reported that conditions in many prisons amounted to cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment. The government announced the construction of a “mega prison”.
Human rights defenders
Honduras was the most lethal country in the world for defenders of land and environment, according to Global Witness. They faced stigmatization, intimidation, arbitrary detention and criminalization, most of which went unpunished. Attacks mainly occurred in the context of disputes relating to mining projects, land-tenure insecurity, and violations of the rights of Indigenous Peoples and Afro-descendants, including Garifuna human rights defenders.
Local organizations raised concerns over the weakness and ineffectiveness of the national protection mechanism for human rights defenders. In September, Juan López of the Municipal Committee for the Defence of Common and Public Goods of Tocoa was shot dead.1
In November, the Supreme Court of Justice confirmed sentences against eight men responsible for the murder of Indigenous defender Berta Cáceres in 2016.
By the end of the year, the state had not signed the Escazú Agreement.
Indigenous Peoples’ rights
In October, land recovery for the Garifuna community of Punta Piedra began, as part of the implementation of the ruling by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights.
Right to a healthy environment
Communities in the Gulf of Fonseca reported negative impacts on their livelihoods caused by rising sea levels, coastal erosion and environmental pollution. Prolonged drought in the Central American Dry Corridor in western Honduras affected access to water and food security. Climate change impacts, exacerbated by high levels of inequality, contributed to forced migration from Honduras.
Sexual and reproductive rights
Abortion remained prohibited in all circumstances and access to the emergency contraception pill was hampered due to limited availability at public health facilities. The UN Human Rights Committee received a complaint against Honduras about an Indigenous woman and human rights defender who was denied an abortion after she was raped.
Gender-based violence
Congress passed a Safe Houses Law for women victims of gender-based violence, but the Integral Law against Violence against Women Bill was still pending at the end of the year.
LGBTI people’s rights
Same-sex marriage remained prohibited. There was no progress towards a procedure for the recognition of gender identity, which had been ruled by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights.
