Although 74 percent of births were attended by skilled health care personnel, NGOs reported that there were significant gaps in obstetric care, especially in rural areas. It also provides for paid national holidays and annual leave. The national curfew instituted in response to COVID-19, however, severely limited the freedom of internal movement. The law mandates that the Supreme Auditing Tribunal monitor and verify disclosures. TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras -- Honduras became the second country in Central America to declare a state of emergency to fight gang crimes like extortion. Honduras crime rate & statistics for 2017 was 40.98, a 26.23% decline from 2016. Children often worked alongside family members in agriculture and other work, such as fishing, construction, transportation, and small businesses. The Public Ministry reported 15 cases of alleged illegal detention or arbitrary arrest as of November. 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 legal process against Roberto David Castillo Mejia, one of the alleged intellectual authors of the killing, continued slowly due to motions and appeals by the defense, and Castillo remained incarcerated. Ethnic minority rights leaders, international NGOs, and farmworker organizations continued to claim the government failed to redress actions taken by security forces, government agencies, and 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. The Public Ministry also has the Special Prosecutors Office for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, Journalists, Social Communicators, and Justice Officials. honduras crime and safety report 2021 honduras crime and safety report 2021. google mountain view charge cash app; wect news bladen county; honduras crime and safety report 2021; honduras crime and safety report 2021. danville jail mugshots; marlin 1898 stock; 39 miles hunan impression . About Us; Staff; Camps; Scuba. Since 2020, the number of Hondurans in need of humanitarian assistance has more than doubled, while food insecurity has increased due to consecutive climate shocks, rising food prices and the economic impacts of COVID-19. The Ministry of Securitys Directorate of Disciplinary Police Affairs (DIDADPOL) investigated members of the Honduran National Police (HNP) accused of human rights abuses. There was no information available on any major industrial accidents. Media reports noted that family members often faced long delays or were unable to visit detainees. Both the STSS and the courts may order a company to reinstate workers, but the STSS lacked the means to verify compliance. The Secretariat of Human Rights served as an effective advocate for human rights within the government. The quasi-governmental National Committee for the Prevention of Torture, Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment (CONAPREV) received 210 complaints of the use of torture or cruel and inhuman treatment, many related to the enforcement of the national curfew during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Public Ministry reported five such cases undergoing trial, with four cases in the sentencing phase of trial. The law provides for freedom of expression, including for the press, with some restrictions, and the government generally respected this right. 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. According to Autonomous University of Honduras Violence Observatory statistics, killings of women decreased under the national curfew in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Association for a Better Life and the Cattrachas Lesbian Network both reported 16 violent deaths of LGBTI persons as of September. 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 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 government limited freedom of peaceful assembly under the national curfew imposed in reaction to the COVID-19 pandemic. The IACHR expressed concern in 2019 regarding the "critical levels of. There were allegations that companies used collective pacts, which are collective contracts with nonunionized workers, to prevent unionization and collective bargaining because only one collective contract may exist in each workplace. Some Hondurans reported being beaten as they attempted to cross the country. Nearly 3.3 million people, or one in three Hondurans, were experiencing crisis or worse levels of food insecurity by late 2021. See the Department of States Trafficking in Persons Report at https://www.state.gov/trafficking-in-persons-report/. The law also requires that public-sector workers involved in the refining, transportation, and distribution of petroleum products submit their grievances to the Secretariat of Labor and Social Security (STSS) before striking. The constitution provides for the freedoms of peaceful assembly and association. Low salaries and a lack of internal controls rendered judicial officials susceptible to bribery, although the Supreme Court significantly raised salaries during the year and made improvements in transparency. (72 percent of these resulted in a conviction). 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. A federal grand jury on Friday indicted the man accused of shooting two Jewish men in February with hate crime and firearm offenses, the US Attorney's Office for the Central COFADEH reported police beat and smeared a tear gas-covered cloth on the face of an individual detained for violating the national curfew in April in El Paraiso. A specialized anticorruption sentencing tribunal ordered her release from pretrial detention on July 23. Police were investigating the killings. Improvements: Through August, CONAPREV trained 494 technical, administrative, and security personnel on topics including prison management and human rights. Child, Early, and Forced Marriage: The minimum legal age of marriage for both boys and girls is 18. I have some answers. Download Historical Data On November 23, the court halted the presentation of evidence hearing after the defense filed an appeal. If the STSS grants permission, children between 14 and 16 may work a maximum of four hours a day, and those between 16 and 18 may work up to six hours a day. Defendants may receive free assistance from an interpreter. DIDADPOL investigated abuses by police forces. 03 / Select Countries You can add more than one country or area. You have questions. On April 2, a private security guard for the sugar company La Grecia shot and killed land rights defender Iris Argentina Alvarez Chavez during a confrontation between land rights defenders and private guards. Female victims of domestic violence are entitled to certain protective measures, such as removal of the abuser from the home and prohibiting the abuser from visiting the victims work or other frequently visited places. DOUGLAS COUNTY The Douglas County Sheriff's Office has released the results of the Click-It or Ticket Enforcement Campaign which took place between Jan. 30 and Feb. 12. The government relies heavily on the . Significant human rights issues included credible reports of: unlawful or arbitrary killings, including extrajudicial killings; torture and cases of cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment by government agents ; harsh and life-threatening prison conditions; arbitrary arrest or detention; serious restrictions on free expression and The Honduran National Police maintain internal security and report to the Secretariat of Security. Statistics from the National Emergency Systems call center showed the country was on pace for more than 100,000 reports of domestic violence during the year. The Secretariat of Human Rights noted an exponential increase in gender-based violence and domestic violence during the national curfew. Farmers markets and local food networks aren't new to Minnesota. Independent Monitoring: The government generally permitted prison visits by independent local and international human rights observers, including the International Committee of the Red Cross. The law prohibits the use of children younger than 18 for exhibitions or performances of a sexual nature or in the production of pornography. 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 government considers rape a crime of public concern, and the state prosecutes rapists even if victims do not press charges. Under the national emergency and corresponding curfew, the government suspended the constitutional right to peaceful assembly. 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. Inspectors suspended inspections in March under the national curfew in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. With offices throughout the country, the ombudsman received cases that otherwise might not have risen to national attention. The collapse of this empire left the territories of what we now understand to be Central America, to split off into separate regions. Most women in the workforce engaged in lower-status and lower-paying informal occupations, such as domestic service, without the benefit of legal protections. 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 curfew severely limited freedom of movement and banned large gatherings. There were no reports of this law being used to limit womens employment. Josue Alvarado allegedly shot Marvin Alvarado after a heated discussion over Marvin Alvarados failure to wear a mask during the COVID-19 pandemic. Although the country experiences one of its lowest homicide rates in the last decade, authorities recorded 3,496 violent deaths in 2020. Poverty rates are higher among rural and indigenous people and in the south, west, and along the eastern border than in the north . Both the ministry and the commission focused on developing policies to address IDPs. Transgender individuals noted their inability to update identity documents to reflect their gender identity. On July 10, unidentified assailants shot and killed transgender activist Scarleth Campbell in Tegucigalpa. The STSS has the power to declare a work stoppage illegal, and employers may discipline employees consistent with their internal regulations, including by firing strikers, if the STSS rules that a work stoppage is illegal. It stipulates that a prosecutor has 24 additional hours to decide if there is probable cause for indictment, whereupon a judge has 24 more hours to decide whether to issue a temporary detention order. The . Abuse of Migrants, Refugees, and Stateless Persons: Transiting migrants and asylum seekers with pending cases were vulnerable to abuse by criminal organizations. 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). The whereabouts of four Indigenous Garifuna members of the Black Fraternal Organization of Honduras (OFRANEH) forcibly disappeared in July 2020 remained unknown. Members of the security forces committed some abuses. Latest News Profile Criminal Actors Investigations News Violent gang activity, such as extortion, violent street crime, rape, and narcotics and human trafficking, is widespread. As of December 2020, internally displaced people in Honduras represented almost 80 percent of the internally displaced population in Central America and Mexico. The law prohibits all forms of forced labor, but the government did not effectively implement or enforce the law. There were no reports of such cases during the year, although authorities charged some protesters with sedition. Abusers caught in the act may be detained for up to 24 hours as a preventive measure. The law provides for criminal penalties for corruption by officials, but authorities did not implement the law effectively, and officials continued to engage in corrupt practices with impunity. The end of the civil war ushered in new and complex forms of violence: El Salvador used to have a high crime rate, but that is not the case anymore. In many industries, including agriculture, cleaning, and security, employers did not respect maternity rights or pay minimum wage, overtime, or vacation. The West Bank and Gaza Strip. The Public Ministry created a new anticorruption unit, the Special Prosecution Unit against Corruption Networks, which is charged with pursuing MACCIH legacy corruption cases. The Public Ministry is responsible for prosecuting violations. The director of Invest-H, Marco Antonio Bogran Corrales, resigned from his position in July and was indicted in October on two corruption charges for embezzling an estimated 1.3 million lempiras ($54,000) in public funds and funneling a contract for mobile hospitals to his uncle. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including: a. Peace Brigades International (PBI) reported more than 34,000 persons were detained for violating the curfew. Powerful special interests, including organized-crime groups, exercised influence on the outcomes of some court proceedings. The regional [] Individuals and organizations may appeal adverse domestic decisions to the Inter-American Human Rights System. CRIME AND INSECURITY IN GUATEMALA JULY 2020 | 8 CRIME AND INSECURITY IN GUATEMALA Evaluating State Capacity to Reduce Violence and Combat Organized Crime THE PROBLEM OF VIOLENCE AND ORGANIZED CRIME IN GUATEMALA In Guatemala, organized crime has been a problem for decades. Honduras crime rate & statistics for 2018 was 38.93, a 5.01% decline from 2017. The law permits defendants to confront witnesses against them and offer witnesses and evidence in their defense. 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. 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. The law requires overtime pay, bans excessive compulsory overtime, limits overtime to four hours a day for a maximum workday of 12 hours, and prohibits the practice of requiring workers to complete work quotas before leaving their place of employment. 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. By law the STSS may fine companies that violate the right to freedom of association. The country was a destination for child sex tourism. Nam Y. Huh - staff, AP. The law grants workers the right to form and join unions of their choice, bargain collectively, and strike. In response to the pervasive violence in the prison system, the government declared an emergency in the National Penitentiary System in December 2019. Bernardez was a leader in the Punta Piedra 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. There were several reports that the government or its agents committed arbitrary or unlawful killings. The police will make their situation more difficult. 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. Sexual Exploitation of Children: The commercial sexual exploitation of children, especially in sex trafficking, remained a problem. Some employers either refused to engage in collective bargaining or made it very difficult to do so. U.S. citizens have been the victims of a wide range of crimes, including murder, kidnapping, rape, assault, and property crimes. Josue Alvarado was assigned to Task Force Maya Chorti. 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. The Refugee Commission suspended operations shortly after the onset of the pandemic but began reviewing applications again as of June. The EU mission agreed there were serious irregularities in the process but concluded that safeguards built into the system, including posting of voting results forms on a public website, helped promote transparency. Child Abuse: Child abuse remained a serious problem. It was unclear how many of these threats were related to the victims professions or activism. Overview: The IDF, under the Israeli Ministry of Defense, is responsible for the West Bank, but PA security forces were granted security control of 17.5 percent (called Area A) under the 1993 Oslo Accords. The Organization of American States (OAS) and EU observer teams agreed the margin of victory separating incumbent president Hernandez from challenger Salvador Nasralla was extremely narrow. The law prohibits all of the worst forms of child labor. The Autonomous University of Honduras Violence Observatory reported 13 arbitrary or unlawful killings by security forces during the year. Although it is outside the period of study for this report, it is worth noting that the reduction of penalties for violent crimes against women included in the new Criminal Code (adopted in 2018) sends a contradictory message from the government in its ight . The law provides for freedom of peaceful assembly, and the government generally respected this right. 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. An independent press and a functioning democratic political system combined to promote freedom of expression, including for the press. COFADEH reported an increase of complaints regarding the use of excessive and disproportionate force by security forces under the national curfew. On July 1, unknown assailants on a motorcycle shot and killed television journalist German Vallecillo and cameraman Jorge Posas in La Ceiba. Scuba Certification; Private Scuba Lessons; Scuba Refresher for Certified Divers; Try Scuba Diving; Enriched Air Diver (Nitrox) In the agricultural sector, companies frequently paid less than minimum wage to most workers, with fewer than 1 percent of agricultural workers receiving the minimum wage. Government officials were somewhat cooperative and responsive to their views, but some human rights organizations criticized government officials for lack of access and responsiveness. This is the second consecutive year that the murder rate falls below 40 per . The IACHR reported the government at times used a policy of arbitrary detentions or arrests to inhibit protest. There were credible complaints that police occasionally failed to obtain the required authorization before entering private homes. The law prohibits police from unionizing (see section 7.a.). Impunity, however, remained a serious problem, with significant delays in some prosecutions and sources alleging corruption in judicial proceedings. Impunity for such crimes was a problem, as was the impunity rate for all types of crime. The law establishes an independent and impartial judiciary in civil matters, including access to a court to seek damages for human rights violations. Honduras: homicide rate 2014-2021. On January 10, unknown assailants shot and killed Tolupan indigenous leader Vicente Saavedra in Morazan, Yoro Department. Of course, while it's not ever good to generalize an. Corruption along with a lack of investigative resources and judicial delays led to widespread impunity, including in security forces. There were numerous reports of government corruption during the year. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom from: a. 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. Arbitrary Arrest: In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the government instituted a national curfew, suspending constitutional provisions and limiting the free movement of individuals. Health-care workers protested the lack of adequate protective equipment and delayed salary payments during the COVID-19 pandemic. You can add more than one country or area. A stronger outbreak is expected during the 2021 rainy season (May-November) due to . By law workers may remove themselves from situations that endanger their health or safety without jeopardizing continued employment. The PBI reported an incident on April 23 near Tela, Atlantida Department, involving the alleged use of live rounds by police in response to a protest, injuring two individuals. Government Human Rights Bodies: A semiautonomous commissioner for human rights, Roberto Herrera Caceres, served as an ombudsman and investigated complaints of human rights abuses. Honduras' highest judicial body is the Supreme Court of Justice, which includes chambers for constitutional, criminal and civil cases. The law presumes an accused person is innocent. According to the arrest report, he "was threatening and abusive, challenging others to fight, and making loud, unusual noises." Additionally, he was charged with "impeding passengers' ability to safely board (an) American Airlines flight." He was taken to the county jail. The law requires police to inform persons of the grounds for their arrest and bring detainees before a competent judicial authority within 24 hours. Under the Regional Integral Framework for Protection and Solutions, with significant support from the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the government continued to build capacity to provide services to key population groups, including IDPs, those at risk of forced displacement, refugees, and returned migrants, through 14 commitments and 28 specific actions between 2018 and 2020. At the local level, only 7 percent of elected mayors were women, but women represented 76 percent of the elected vice mayors. Penalties for facilitating child sex trafficking are 10 to 15 years in prison, with substantial fines. There were no credible reports of disappearances by or on behalf of government authorities. 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. The Jewish community numbered approximately 275 members. 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. The accused has the right to an initial hearing before a judge, to ask for bail, consult with legal counsel in a timely manner, have a lawyer provided by the state if necessary, and request an appeal. Honduras registered over 120,000 cases of COVID-19 and 3,100 deaths by the end of 2020, according to University of Oxford researchers. Persons suspected of any of 22 specific felonies must remain in custody, pending the conclusion of judicial proceedings against them. Due to pandemic restrictions imposed in March, the STSS was very limited in its ability to conduct inspections. 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. World Bank statistics put net enrollment for primary school above 90 percent, but the National Center for Social Sector Information stated that 43 percent of persons with disabilities received no formal education. Unions also raised concerns about the use of temporary contracts and part-time employment, suggesting that employers used these mechanisms to prevent unionization and avoid providing full benefits. International Child Abductions: The country is a party to the 1980 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction. 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. Regulations for implementing the law remained under development as of September. Without a visa, Central Americans are routinely pulled from buses by authorities to prevent them from making their way. There is no statutory rape law, but the penalty for rape of a minor younger than 12 is 15 to 20 years in prison, or nine to 13 years in prison if the victim is 13 or older. Many prisons lacked sufficient security personnel. On average, children living in Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador are 10 times more likely to be killed than a child who lives in the United States. The law prohibits discrimination against persons with physical, sensory, intellectual, and mental disabilities. For years, street gangs have charged protection . CHICAGO (AP) Four years ago, Paul Vallas finished toward the bottom of the pack in a crowded race for Chicago mayor. If a victims physical injuries do not reach the severity required to categorize the violence as a criminal act, the legal penalty for a first offense is a sentence of one to three months of community service. That puts Roatan/Honduras a few points ahead of the U.S. Iceland holds the number one rated position and Afghanistan holds last place, ranked at 163. In January 2020, the president announced the dismantling of the Mission to Support the Fight against Corruption and Impunity in Honduras (Misin de Apoyo Contra la Corrupcin y la Impunidad en Honduras, MACCIH), which was backed by the Organization of American States (OAS).