Experts of the Committee on Enforced Disappearances Commend Honduras’ Migration Reception Centres, Ask about Disappearances of Migrants and Illegal Intercountry Adoptions

The Committee on Enforced Disappearances today concluded its consideration of Honduras’s initial report on additional information under article 29 (4) of the International Convention on the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance. Committee Experts commended the State’s progress in establishing migration reception centres, while asking questions about investigations into disappearances of migrants and illegal intercountry adoptions.

Juan Pablo Alban Alencastro, Committee Expert and Country Co-Rapporteur, said Honduras’ migration reception centres represented huge progress, considering that migrants were formerly processed in tents. What human and financial resources were available for the centres?

Mr. Alban Alencastro noted that an estimated 850,000 migrants traversed through Honduras in 2023, where they were at risk of enforced disappearance and other human rights violations. What actions had been taken to investigate cases of disappearance of migrants? What search activities for disappeared migrants had been initiated in the reporting period?

Carmen Rosa Villa Quintana, Committee Expert and Country Co-Rapporteur, asked about the outcomes of investigations into cases of illegal intercountry adoptions. What guarantees were in place to ensure that children were not disappeared? How did the Prosecution Service investigate these cases?

Introducing the report, Rodolfo Pastor de María, Secretary of State, Office of the Presidency of Honduras, and head of the delegation, said the current Government of Honduras represented a return to democratic and constitutional order after a corrupt and repressive dictatorship of 12 years. The President had courageously taken on the challenge of rebuilding Honduras on the pillars of democracy and respect for human and civil rights.

The delegation said the Government had created one reception centre that could receive 400 migrants per day, and there were two other centres in place. Migrants received documents at such centres that allowed them to stay in Honduras legally for five days. The centres offered various support services and also carried out monitoring of migrants.

Mr. Pastor de María said that, in response to the humanitarian crisis resulting from internal displacement and migration, the National Congress passed a law for the prevention, care and protection of internally displaced persons. Repeated migratory amnesties had been granted for persons in an irregular situation in their transit through Honduras. The delegation added that a protocol for the search of missing persons had been developed with the International Committee of the Red Cross. It would be implemented after broad consultation.

On adoptions, the delegation said the State party had activated a comprehensive system to guarantee the rights of children and adolescents, headed by the Secretariat of State for Children and Adolescents. There were no cases of illegal intercountry adoption. There were various laws regulating the adoption process. The Public Ministry investigated irregular adoptions. There had been two reports of this crime that the police were currently investigating.

In concluding remarks, Mr. Pastor de María said Honduras was in a critical, calamitous state. The Government had inherited problems from the previous regime and it would take time and resources to address these. The State party was ready and willing to heed the advice of the Committee. It called for the Committee’s support to implement the changes required in Honduras.

Olivier de Frouville, Committee Chair, in his concluding remarks, said the Committee’s concluding observations would pay particular attention to the developing situation in the country and the issues raised in the constructive dialogue. The State party could count on the Committee’s support in its efforts to implement the Convention.

The delegation of Honduras consisted of representatives of the Office of the Presidency; Ministry of Security; Office of Immigration and Consular Affairs; Public Ministry; Office of National Defence; Office of Human Rights; Supreme Court of Justice; and the Permanent Mission of Honduras to the United Nations Office at Geneva.

The Committee will issue its concluding observations on the report of Honduras at the end of its twenty-sixth session, which concludes on 1 March. Summaries of the public meetings of the Committee can be found here, while webcasts of the public meetings can be found here. The programme of work of the Committee’s twenty-sixth session and other documents related to the session can be found here.

The Committee will next meet in public on Friday, 1 March at 5 p.m. to close its twenty-sixth session.

Report

The Committee has before it Honduras’ initial report on additional information submitted under article 29 (4) of the Convention (CED/C/HND/AI/1).

Presentation of Report

RODOLFO PASTOR DE MARÍA, Secretary of State, Office of the Presidency of Honduras, and head of the delegation, said Honduras was still facing the great challenge of having to rebuild democracy and the rule of law following the collapse of a drug dictatorship whose top leader, the former President of Honduras, was currently on trial on drug trafficking charges in a United States court. Today's Honduras was the product of a long history marked by structural problems and conflicts. The deep inequality and poverty that anchored the nation impeded democratic development and reproduced violence and insecurity. Serious human rights violations and multiple forced disappearances were perpetrated during military dictatorships in the Cold War from 1963 to 1980; in the context of the application of an imported national security doctrine during the 1980s and 1990s; during the coup d'état of June 2009; and in the post-electoral crisis that resulted from the fraud of the November 2017 general elections. The current Government had demonstrated a clear will to defend and guarantee human rights, reduce violence, and fight corruption and impunity.

The current Government represented a return to democratic and constitutional order after a corrupt and repressive dictatorship of 12 years. At the end of 2021, Honduras’ first woman President, Xiomara Castro, was elected. The President had courageously taken on the challenge of rebuilding Honduras on the pillars of democracy and respect for human and civil rights. Actions had been undertaken to recover the democratic essence of State institutions and to implement the Government Plan for the Refoundation of the Homeland and the Construction of the Socialist and Democratic State 2022-2026. The Secretariat for Transparency and the Fight against Corruption was created for that purpose. The Secretariat of Culture, Arts and Humanities was reinstituted; the National Coordination Body for Indigenous and Afro-Honduran Peoples was established; and in January 2024, the Secretariat of State in the Office of Children, Adolescents and Family was created. All these bodies aimed at guaranteeing rights as a priority for those living in conditions of poverty and vulnerability and combatting systemic corruption.

In response to the humanitarian crisis resulting from internal displacement and migration, the National Congress passed the law for the prevention, care and protection of internally displaced persons. Repeated migratory amnesties had been granted for persons in an irregular situation in their transit through Honduras. The Government understood migration as a human right, not as a crime. It was working on harmonising national legislation with international standards in the fight against corruption. It had established regulations for trust fund agreements, a key tool in the corruption network, repealed the “secrecy law”, and declassified information archived as confidential, including related to cases of enforced disappearances. Further, to confront violence in regions such as Bajo Aguán, it had signed agreements with local organizations, established the Commission for Agrarian Security and Access to Land, and facilitated dialogue with poor populations.

In the first days of her mandate, the President issued the law for the reconstruction of the constitutional rule of law, which benefited 217 victims of the coup d'état in 2009. March 24 was established as the National Day for the Right to Truth, Memory and Justice, with the aim of honouring the memory and dignity of the victims. The Social Programme for Attention to the Families of the Martyrs of the Resistance was created in 2022, which offered comprehensive reparation and protection measures and guaranteed education for the families of the victims of the coup d'état. Another programme was launched in 2023 to guarantee the right to truth for victims of human rights violations in various historical contexts.

The Public Prosecutor's Office had clarified 11 cases of people who survived enforced disappearance in the 1980s. An injunction had also recently been issued against a military police colonel for his alleged responsibility in the deaths of five people during the post-election protests of 2017. To pay tribute to the victims, the Plaza Isis Obed Murillo was inaugurated in June 2022 and the establishment of the Museum of Memory was ordered in June 2023. The State had also recognised its responsibility in the extrajudicial execution of Herminio Deras, a social leader who disappeared in the city of El Progreso Yoro in 1983. Further, in 2024, it approved the creation of the National Centre for Historical Memory, which would preserve and promote the memory of the victims for their comprehensive reparation.

It was imperative to continuously strengthen institutions, democratic dynamics and the rule of law by approving the necessary protocols and allocating adequate human and financial resources to ensure the effective implementation of the resolutions and measures adopted. The State party would continue to work to overcome its challenges and move towards a future in which the human rights of all people were fully respected and protected.

Questions by Committee Experts

CARMEN ROSA VILLA QUINTANA, Committee Expert and Country Co-Rapporteur, said that in 2018, the Committee made a series of recommendations to the State, including regarding the harmonisation of legislation with the Convention. What measures had the State party taken to implement changes to the Penal Code to reflect the Committee’s concluding observations? How was the State party working to make enforced disappearance a stand-alone crime? What were the extenuating circumstances for the crime? There was currently a statute of limitations for enforced disappearance; were there plans to remove this? The Penal Code did not provide for criminal responsibility for higher command. How would the State party address this? There was also a need to align the definition of “victims” in the Penal Code with the broader definition in article 24 of the Convention.

Human rights defenders and particularly environmental defenders reportedly constantly fell victim to harassment. Some had been murdered. What was being done to protect human rights defenders and to mainstream a human rights and gender perspective in protection policies? What resources were allocated to national institutions in this regard?

What historical memory programmes for human rights violations were in place related to the national security doctrine? There were various programmes and institutions for memory and justice for human rights violations. What resources were allocated to these? What was the status of the bill on memory and justice? What measures were in place to legally recognise the status of disappeared persons? What measures were in place to increase the judiciary’s efficiency in investigating cases of enforced disappearance?

Were registers of persons deprived of liberty in line with the provisions of the Convention? How was the State party implementing Convention provisions on access to information for such persons? What were the functions of the Ombudsman and how did it work to protect the rights of persons deprived of liberty?

JUAN PABLO ALBAN ALENCASTRO, Committee Expert and Country Co-Rapporteur, said an estimated 850,000 migrants traversed through Honduras in 2023, where they were at risk of enforced disappearance and other human rights violations. What actions had been taken to gather information on migrant victims of enforced disappearance and missing persons, and to investigate cases of disappearance of migrants? What judicial outcomes had such investigations reached? What preventive mechanisms were being implemented to prevent violations of migrants’ rights? How was the State party guaranteeing that migrants could stay in touch with their families and that there were competent institutions to deal with their cases?

What measures were in place to prevent pushbacks and refoulement? What guarantees of due process were offered to migrants? What search activities for disappeared migrants had been initiated in the reporting period, and what had been the results of search efforts? What measures were in place to ensure migrants’ families had access to truth, justice and reparation? What progress had been made in eliminating fines for migrants who entered the country illegally? How was the State party sharing information on mechanisms for reporting cases of enforced disappearance of migrants?

Impunity continued to be prevalent in Honduras. This was a main factor in violence and instability. There was a lack of strategies to identify patterns of human rights violations, and many judiciary officials suffered reprisals from organised crime. There were currently four cases of enforced disappearance under trial. How many decisions had been handed down for enforced disappearance cases and how many people had been prosecuted? How did the State party guarantee that officials suspected of committing enforced disappearance were not involved in searches, and that security and armed forces shared information about enforced disappearances? How did the State party ensure effective investigation and judicial proceedings regarding enforced disappearance? What measures were in place to eradicate corruption in the judiciary? What measures had the State party taken to implement the recommendations of the Truth Commission in relation to disappearance cases from the 1990s?

Responses by the Delegation

The delegation said the National Congress had set up a special commission to review the Penal Code, but the process was not approved by the Supreme Court. A subsequent reform of the Code had been suspended. A draft bill on search and legal protection for the disappeared had been submitted in 2023 and was awaiting approval. The new law broadened the definition of “victims” of enforced disappearance and sought to harmonise legislation with the Convention. A law in line with international standards on victims of violence during the 1980s and 1990s had also been drafted. The law included measures promoting access to housing, healthcare and justice for victims and their families. Budgets for these laws were being determined.

The fine formerly imposed on migrants was up to 200 United States dollars. However, the President had implemented an amnesty on this fine for migrants who entered the country illegally until new migration legislation was developed. Migrants’ fingerprints were registered upon entering Honduras. They had access to reception centres that offered various support services. The centres also carried out monitoring of migrants. A centre for unaccompanied children had also been established to support these children to reunite with their families. All migrants were accepted in Honduras within five days; there were no pushbacks.

From 2021 to date, 891 non-nationals had been reported disappeared, and around 300 had been found; 220 investigation cases were active. It was suspected that many of these persons had left the country. In 2023, 21 foreigners had died in Honduras, while four foreigners had died so far in 2024. Bodies had been repatriated to migrants’ home countries. A protocol for the search of missing persons had been developed with the International Committee of the Red Cross. The protocol provided for the involvement of families in search operations. It would be implemented after broad consultation. There were procedures for embassies and other persons to meet with foreigners deprived of liberty.

There was a prosecution unit that carried out investigations into enforced disappearance cases. Prosecutors contacted family members to gain information on cases and cooperated with forensic laboratories to analyse evidence. A database of genetic information was now being set up, and a law on the database had been approved in 2023. The databases would assist migration officials and authorities working to find missing persons abroad. Its data would be cross matched with data from Mexico, Argentina and other States. A plan to establish the whereabouts of victims was also being devised. A national register of disappeared persons was in place, which informed efforts to identify victims.

In 2022, the national police had its constitutional authority returned to it. When police officers were suspected of being involved in an offence, the Police Service coordinated with the Prosecution Service to ensure that investigation processes were impartial. The State worked with Interpol to investigate cases of enforced disappearance. A national protocol to search for disappeared persons and an early warning system was in place.

In June 2023, the military was ordered to intervene in prison premises. Military police were ensuring that every person deprived of liberty was registered in a digital register. The President had since ordered the armed forces to progressively leave this mandate. The military was now cooperating to train new prison officials to carry out registration tasks. The armed forces had an “open door” policy regarding investigations in which security forces were implicated.

There was a law on the protection mechanism for human rights defenders. This law needed to be amended and harmonised with the Convention. Some protection measures were costly, so the Government was considering budgeting measures to implement those.

Questions by Committee Experts

CARMEN ROSA VILLA QUINTANA, Committee Expert and Country Co-Rapporteur, asked about strategies for conducting searches for missing persons. What protocols had been developed regarding the search for disappeared persons, including disappeared migrants? Six months had passed since the law on the genetic database had been approved. How were samples taken for the database? Had the State party worked to cross-check information in the database with victims’ families? Why was the burden of searches being transferred to victims’ families? Was there a database of remains of unidentified bodies? Eight remains had been identified. Were there more remains that had not been identified? What institution was responsible for the missing persons register? A draft bill had been developed on a national forensic science institution. Would this be an independent mechanism that assisted the public prosecution in investigations? How did the State party adopt differentiated approaches for searching for members of different vulnerable groups, including women, children and indigenous peoples? What mechanisms were in place for periodic reporting on the progress of investigations?

What were the outcomes of investigations into cases of illegal intercountry adoptions? Had criminal organizations involved in the wrongful removal of children and victims been identified? Did the State party help victims to return to their families? How did the State party ensure that institutions did not hand infants to persons who were not their biological parents without their permission? Why were there no guarantees of regular adoption proceedings, given that more than half of adoptions were international adoptions? What guarantees were in place to ensure that children were not disappeared? How did the Prosecution Service investigate these cases?

Could prison registers be consulted from outside of prisons? What budget had been allocated to the social welfare programme and was there a plan for its implementation? Was there a bill being prepared on the revision of the Penal Code? Was the State party consulting with civil society regarding its revision? Was there a register of persons who disappeared during the 1980s and 1990s? To what extent was the Prosecution Service involved in the 124 cases from the 1980s and 1990s? How did organised crime groups recruit members? Were there cases of forced recruitment? What barriers were in place for the appropriate investigation of enforced disappearance of indigenous peoples?

JUAN PABLO ALBAN ALENCASTRO, Committee Expert and Country Co-Rapporteur, asked until when amnesties for migration fines would be implemented. What criteria were used to differentiate between vulnerable and non-vulnerable illegal migrants? What human and financial resources were available for migration reception centres? The centres represented huge progress, considering that migrants were formerly processed in tents. The Committee had information that there had been expulsion proceedings for some migrants. What due process guarantees were provided to migrants subjected to this process? Were they detained during court proceedings? What was the capacity of prosecutors dealing with investigations into the enforced disappearance of migrants?

What efforts had been made to recover other remains and identify more persons who had disappeared in the 1980s and 1990s? Was oversight of the prison system currently the responsibility of the armed forces? Would an independent body dedicated to prison monitoring assume this responsibility soon? How did the protection mechanism work? Was protection extended to witnesses? What efforts was Honduras making to investigate disappearances carried out by individuals, as well as disappearances carried out by organised crime groups?

Responses by the Delegation

The delegation said the national protection system was underpinned by the protection law, which had a budget and an appropriate framework for providing protection to human rights defenders. The Human Rights Secretariat coordinated the system. Requests for protection were immediately responded to by the State. There was protection for witnesses in criminal cases who did not fall under the witness protection programme. Around 35 million lempiras had been budgeted for the programme this year. More staff were needed for the system.

A gender sensitive model was used to evaluate risks for threatened people. The needs of different groups, including lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex people, were considered. Temporary housing, food benefits and hygiene products were provided to those who were internally displaced as a result of violence. From 2022 to date, 352 persons had received protection. Overall, 155 million lempiras were being invested in tackling internal displacement and forced recruitment. Various capacity building projects were in place to improve State officials’ ability to support internally displaced persons.

One mass grave had been identified in a northern region containing persons who had died in the 1960s. The State had been working with the anthropology institute to find a way of exhuming these remains and investigating the identities of the deceased. The interinstitutional committee on truth, justice and reparation would work to support victims’ families to access reparations and justice.

One thousand new prison staff were now working in penitentiaries, and 1,000 additional staff were currently being trained. This would allow the armed forces to gradually withdraw from prisons. The Penitentiary Service would eventually be completely independent of the armed forces. Training for prison staff addressed gender issues and human rights. Every family member of persons deprived of liberty could find out where their family member was being held by contacting the Penitentiary Service.

The National Congress had commissioned a study on the revision of the Penal Code in line with international standards. The statute of limitations on enforced disappearance would be addressed during the revision, and liability for enforced disappearance would also be reconsidered. The State was also developing a draft law on the disappeared to establish a “special missing” status to protect the rights of disappeared persons, and to establish databases of disappeared persons and of unidentified deceased persons. The Ministry of Finance was considering whether there was a sufficient budget to implement this law.

Honduras respected the rights of migrants and the principle of non-refoulement. The Government had created one reception centre that could receive 400 migrants per day, and there were two other centres in place. Migrants received documents at such centres that allowed them to stay in Honduras legally for five days. The Honduran Transport Service provided transportation through the country for migrants to prevent abuse in transit. A package of reforms to the law on migration had been prepared to regulate the current migration situation. The law defined vulnerable and non-vulnerable migrants. The State party was completely overwhelmed by the number of people passing through Honduras, and was depending on support from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and other partners to process migrants.

The State party had activated a comprehensive system to guarantee the rights of children and adolescents, headed by the Secretariat of State for Children and Adolescents. There were no cases of illegal intercountry adoption. Due process guarantees were provided for abandoned children who were adopted. There were various laws regulating the adoption process. The State committee on adoptions was made up of government officials as well as representatives of civil society, psychologists and doctors. There was a pathway to legal adoption. Fifty per cent of adoptees were Honduran nationals. The international community needed to cooperate to address cases of trafficking of children. The Public Ministry investigated irregular adoptions. There had been two reports of this crime that the police were currently investigating.

Honduras planned to launch its forensic database in June. Genetic profiles of adopted children were being added to the forensic database.

Questions by a Committee Expert

CARMEN ROSA VILLA QUINTANA, Committee Expert and Country Co-Rapporteur, asked whether the State party would accept the Committee’s competence to receive individual and inter-State communications. What measures were in place to prevent violations by the armed forces and preserve human rights during states of emergency?

Responses by the Delegation

The delegation said measures to monitor the implementation of states of emergency had been approved, and a roundtable on monitoring and follow-up that included representatives from various ministries had been set up. More than 43,000 armed forces had participated in training on human rights and the use of force in 2022, and there were more than 49,000 participants in 2023. Gender units had been set up in each section of the armed forces.

The State party had been considering acceptance of the Committee’s competence to receive individual and inter-State communications and would continue to do so.

Concluding Remarks

RODOLFO PASTOR DE MARÍA, Secretary of State, Office of the Presidency of Honduras, and head of the delegation, expressed thanks for the Committee’s rigour. Its questions would help to improve the State party’s governance. Honduras was in a critical, calamitous state. There had been destruction of institutions and the rule of law. Institutions did not have the capacity to do the work that the Committee was asking for. The Government had inherited problems from the previous regime and it would take time and resources to address these. The foreign debt of the State amounted to more than 50 per cent of gross domestic product. This impacted the State party’s ability to implement basic rights. There was a large amount of work required to reform the Police Service. The State party was ready and willing to heed the advice of the Committee. It called for the Committee’s support to implement the changes required in Honduras.

OLIVIER DE FROUVILLE, Committee Chair, said it was important for the Committee to take into account the difficulties faced by the State party. The Committee and the State party shared a common goal: the protection of human rights, and specifically the prohibition of and protection from enforced disappearance. The Committee’s concluding observations would pay particular attention to the developing situation in the country and the issues raised in the constructive dialogue. The State party could count on the Committee’s support in its efforts to implement the Convention.

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