PRELIMINARY OBSERVATIONS OF THE INTER-AMERICAN COMMISSION ON HUMAN RIGHTS ON ITS VISIT TO HONDURAS, MAY 15 TO 18, 2010

 

 

I.         EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

 

1.       The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (hereinafter the “Inter-American Commission,” the “IACHR” or the “Commission”)[1] visited Honduras from May 15 to 18, 2010,[2] as a follow-up to the in loco visit it made in August 2009 and to the report titled Honduras: Human Rights and the Coup d’état.[3]

 

2.       The delegation was composed of the President of the IACHR, Felipe González; its First Vice-President, Paulo Sérgio Pinheiro; the Executive Secretary, Santiago A. Canton; the Commission’s Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression, Catalina Botero; the Coordinator for Meso-America and the Spanish-speaking Caribbean, Isabel Madariaga; the attorney with the Special Rapporteurship for Freedom of Expression, Ramiro Álvarez-Ugarte, and the Documents Technician, Gloria Hansen.

 

3.       During the visit, the IACHR met with officials in the three branches of government: the Minister Special Commissioner for Human Rights; the Office of the Attorney General and the Office of the Special Prosecutor for Human Rights; the Vice Minister of Security and the Bureau of National Police; the Supreme Court of Justice; the officers of the National Congress and the Congressional Human Rights Commission; the Minister of Defense and the Head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the Armed Forces; and the Inter-institutional Human Rights Commission.  It also met with human rights defenders, members of the media, representatives of civil society and members of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.  It also had an opportunity to meet with representatives of the United Nations system in Honduras and with ambassadors in the Stockholm Declaration Follow-up Group (G 16).

 

4.       The visit was accorded all the necessary tools to conduct its mission. The IACHR would like to thank the representatives of the State, civil society organizations and international agencies for the information and cooperation they provided.  The Commission recalls that under the terms of the American Convention on Human Rights and its own Rules of Procedure, no reprisals of any kind are to be taken against any person or entity that has cooperated with the IACHR by providing information or testimony.

 

5.       At the end of its visit, the Commission issued press release 54/10[4] in which it expressed its deep concern over the continuation of human rights violations in the context of the coup d’état that occurred in Honduras on June 28, 2009, notwithstanding the progress made toward the restoration of democratic institutions.

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[1] A principal, autonomous body of the Organization of American States (OAS), the IACHR derives its mandate from the Charter of the OAS and the American Convention on Human Rights.  The Commission is composed of seven independent members who act in a personal capacity, without representing a particular country.  They are elected by the OAS General Assembly.

[2] IACHR, Press Release 60/09: IACHR presents preliminary observations on its visit to Honduras, August 21, 2009Available at: http://www.cidh.oas.org/prensa.eng.htm. Released at a press conference held in Tegucigalpa.

[3] IACHR, Press Release 5/10: IACHR Publishes Report on Honduras, January 20, 2010.  Available at:   http://www.cidh.oas.org/prensa.eng.htm. See Report: http://www.cidh.oas.org/countryrep/Honduras09eng/Toc.htm

[4] IACHR, Press Release 54/10: IACHR Expresses Concern about Human Rights Violations at the Conclusion of its Visit, May 19, 2010.  Released at a press conference that IACHR President Felipe González and Executive Secretary Santiago A. Canton held in Tegucigalpa. Available at: http://www.cidh.oas.org/prensa.eng.htm.