or the United States Government, except as otherwise noted (e.g., travel advisories, public statements). You can add more than one country or area. OSAC 2022-S-0024, Best Practice Recommendations for Evaluative Forensic DNA Testimony. Honduras requires proof of Yellow Fever immunization if coming from another country endemic with Yellow Fever. Penalties for violations of OSH law were commensurate with penalties for similar crimes but rarely applied against violators and rarely collected. Honduras is a constitutional, multiparty republic. Sexual Harassment: The law criminalizes sexual harassment, including in employment, and stipulates penalties of one to three years in prison and possible suspension of the abusers professional licenses. International non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and USAID implementing partners have reported threats and violence when visiting some rural communities. There were no reports of political prisoners or detainees. The Honduran National Police maintain internal security and report to the Secretariat of Security. According to government estimates, children with disabilities attended school at a lower rate than the general population. OSAC provides the latest safety- and security-related information, public announcements, travel advisories, terrorist group profiles, country crime and safety reports, and more to its constituency of more than 4,600 U.S. companies and organizations with overseas interests. Review the State Departments webpage on security for. Failure to register resulted in denial of public services, including access to health services or school enrollment. The Office of the Inspector General of the Armed Forces and the Humanitarian Law Directorate investigated abuses by the military. Official data on forced displacement, especially displacement due to violence, was limited in part because gangs controlled many of the neighborhoods where individuals were forced from their homes and communities (see section 6, Displaced Children). Review OSACs report, Security In Transit: Airplanes, Public Transport, and Overnights. On January 13, National Police officials in Trujillo, Coln Department, allegedly detained and tortured Luis Alberto Gutirrez and Leonard Brown, beating Gutirrez and Brown in the police station. the Copan Mayan ruins and Roatn). The law grants workers the right to form and join unions of their choice, bargain collectively, and strike. Gangs control some of the taxi services. Avoid using. The law permits workers in public health care, social security, staple food production, and public utilities (municipal sanitation, water, electricity, and telecommunications) to strike if they continue to provide basic services. 08 Jul. The government had a nascent system to provide legal protection to refugees. CONAPREV reported 17 violent deaths in prisons as of September. A wide variety of domestic and international human rights groups generally operated without government restriction, investigating and publishing their findings on human rights cases. There were reports that members of the security forces committed some abuses. Crisis in Honduras: Ongoing violence and climate shocks Here are three reasons the International Rescue Committee's Emergency Watchlist ranks Honduras among 20 countries most at risk of worsening humanitarian crisis in 2022. In April 2019, one or more individuals attempted a surreptitious breach of perimeter fencing at a U.S. Embassy residence. There are no legal cases involving instances of terrorism affecting U.S. citizens or facilities brought before the Honduran judicial system, and no reports of judicial developments that would have a negative impact on U.S. counterterrorism efforts. CONADEH received no reports of racial or ethnic discrimination as of August. Always carry a mobile phone in case of emergency. However, kidnapping figures are likely lower than reality, as families of kidnapping victims often pay ransoms without reporting these crimes to police out of fear of retribution. Most women in the workforce engaged in lower-status and lower-paying informal occupations, such as domestic service, without the benefit of legal protections. - July 2019 CSO Report - Northern Triangle Country Conditions: Ranking the Highest and Lowest Areas of Reported Homicides, Disappearances, and Extortion - May 2019 Northern Triangle and Mexico Country Conditions - May 2019 Foreign Government Reports Canada - The Research Directorate The Ministries of Security and of Defense both have human rights offices that coordinate human rights-related activities with the Secretariat of Human Rights. In most prisons, only inmates who purchased bottled water or had water filters in their cells had access to potable water. Long periods of pretrial detention remained common, with many pretrial detainees held with convicted prisoners. There are no legal cases involving instances of terrorism affecting U.S. citizens or facilities brought before the Honduran judicial system, and no reports of judicial developments that would have a negative impact on U.S. counterterrorism efforts. Corruption and Lack of Transparency in Government, Section 5. Honduras lacks the infrastructure to maintain water purity and food safety. Civil unrest in Tegucigalpa and other parts of Honduras remains a constant challenge. Due to a planned power outage on Friday, 1/14, between 8am-1pm PST, some services may be impacted. Overseas Security Advisory Council (OSAC) - United States Department of Gangs are not reluctant to use violence, and specialize in murder-for-hire, carjacking, extortion, and other violent street crime. The municipalities in which kidnappings were reported include: Districto Central (4), Jacaleapa (1), Trojes (1), Siguatepeque (1), Puerto Cortes (1), Lejamani (1), Tocoa (1), Tela (1), and Comayagua (1). The law applies equally to citizens and foreigners, regardless of gender, and prescribes a maximum eight-hour shift per day for most workers, a 44-hour workweek, and at least one 24-hour rest period for every six days of work. The law establishes an independent and impartial judiciary in civil matters, including access to a court to seek damages for human rights violations. On September 6, the Public Ministry charged former Minister of National Risk and Contingency Management Gabriel Rub and two other government officials with fraud and violation of official duties for the nearly six million lempira ($239,000) purchase in 2020 of a mobile hospital and COVID-19 isolation unit that was only a tent. Only sealed commercial water containers (bottles) are considered safe to drink. The Public Ministrys Office of the Special Prosecutor for Human Rights handled cases involving charges of human rights abuses by government officials. World Report 2021: Honduras | Human Rights Watch DOS Trafficking in Persons Report - 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019. Some would-be muggers and gang members keep to a daily schedule, riding city buses from one stop to the next, committing criminal acts with impunity along the way. The Honduran National Police wear blue uniforms, while the PMOP normally wear green camouflage. There are no known international terrorist groups operating in Honduras. The Internal Displacement Monitoring Center estimated there were approximately 247,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) due to violence in the country as of 2021. Its support focused on providing training to officers of the National Institute for Migration, ensuring support to deal with the backlog of asylum claims submitted during the COVID-19 lockdown, and supporting the improvement of reception conditions for asylum seekers. Thefts, break-ins, assaults, rapes, and murders do occur. The reported killings took place during law enforcement operations or were linked to criminal activity by government agents. Unions also raised concerns that employers used temporary contracts to prevent unionization and to avoid providing full benefits. Advisory Commission on Public Diplomacy, 2022 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices, Section 1. Discrimination: The law criminalizes discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity characteristics and includes crimes committed against individuals because of their sexual orientation or gender identity as aggravating circumstances to increase penalties for criminal offenses. Limited inspections could facilitate movements of terrorists. The Public Ministry reported 11 cases of alleged illegal detention or arbitrary arrest as of September. Prisoners can submit complaints through a lawyer that may emerge from an NGO before the Public Ministry. NGOs reported the government did not effectively combat discrimination or promote equal access to government services and employment opportunities. 04 Jan. fire department utv grants 1 Comment. The law provides citizens the right to choose their government in free and fair periodic elections held by secret ballot and based on nearly universal and equal suffrage. However, there can be communal tension over land ownership, natural resource allocation, and exploitation. 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. Media reported violent confrontations and killings between gang members in prisons throughout the year. Child, Early, and Forced Marriage: The minimum legal age of marriage for both boys and girls is 18. Administration: The judicial system is legally responsible for monitoring prison conditions and providing for the rights of prisoners. The law prohibits the use of children younger than 18 for exhibitions or performances of a sexual nature or in the production of pornography. Nevertheless, discrimination against LGBTQI+ persons throughout society persisted. Travelers should be aware, however, that the assistance the Embassy can provide is limited to making sure U.S. citizens are not treated differently from local detainees and providing them with a list of local attorneys. Contact OSACsLatin Americateam with any questions or to join. Find contact information for available medical services and available air ambulance services on the U.S. Embassy/Consulate, Travelers are responsible for ensuring that they have adequate health coverage while in Honduras. Country-specific Vaccination and Health Guidance. In addition, the law limits strikes in a wide range of sectors that the government designates as essential services or that it considers would affect the rights of individuals in the larger community to security, health, education, and economic and social well-being. Would you like to continue with this session or log out? Review OSACs reports, Hotels: The Inns and Outs and Considerations for Hotel Security. The country does not appear to be a terrorist safe haven. Air pollution can aggravate or lead to respiratory problems during the dry season due to widespread forest fires and agricultural burning. It was unclear how many of these threats were related to the victims professions or activism. Some nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) expressed concern regarding weak implementation of the law, limited resources available to operate the governments protection mechanism, and insufficient training for new personnel after significant personnel turnover during the year. Review the State Departments webpage on security for, Honduran law requires access to buildings for persons with disabilities; however, there are limited facilities for individuals with disabilities. Those planning travel to Gracias a Dios should consider postponing their travel. Authorities continued to investigate the incident. In the security and domestic service sectors, workers were frequently forced to work more than 60 hours per week but paid only for 44 hours. Indigenous groups included the Miskito, Tawahka, Pech, Tolupn, Lenca, Maya-Chort, and Nahua. Honduras 2020 OSAC Crime & Safety Report Since 2010, there have been approximately 60 murders of U.S. citizens reported in Honduras. Despite incremental progress, government capacities remained relatively nascent and limited. For more information, please visit OSAC.gov . Corruption: On June 10, Marco Bogrn, former director of INVEST-H, the government entity tasked with making COVID-19 pandemic relief contracts with private firms, was found guilty of aggravated fraud and sentenced to more than 10 years in prison and ordered to pay a fine of 1.475 billion lempiras ($58.7 million). Civil society had criticized the law for limiting transparency and allowing officials to use the classification of documents to hide corruption. See the Department of States International Religious Freedom Report at https://www.state.gov/religiousfreedomreport/. Arbitrary Deprivation of Life and Other Unlawful or Politically Motivated Killings, c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, and Other Related Abuses, Arrest Procedures and Treatment of Detainees, f. Arbitrary or Unlawful Interference with Privacy, Family, Home, or Correspondence, a. The law does not cover domestic workers, the vast majority of whom were women. As of September, CONAPREV reported the countrys detention center for high-profile suspects and those in need of additional security, including police and military officials, held 29 individuals. The U.S. Department of State's Overseas Security Advisory Council (OSAC) keeps Diplomatic Security Service representatives connected with private-sector security professionals from U.S. organizations operating abroad for ongoing threat awareness and crisis support. The government has an Office for Persons with Disabilities located within the Ministry of Development and Social Inclusion, but its ability to provide services to persons with disabilities was limited. The government attempted to enhance its response to domestic violence by elevating the National Womens Institute to a cabinet-level secretariat in March. Spurred by anger with the government over accusations of public corruption, allegations of involvement in narcotics trafficking, and efforts to pass controversial education reform, protests and demonstrations were near-daily occurrences at times during 2019. There have also been cases of police harassment of patrons in LGBTI+ nightclubs. The Public Ministry also has a Special Prosecutors Office for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, Journalists, Social Communicators, and Justice Officials. OSAC has developed into an enormously successful joint venture, with U.S. companies and organizations receiving the tools they need to cope with security issues in a foreign environment. Find contact information for available medical services and available air ambulance services on the U.S. Embassy/Consulate website. Media noted that family members often faced long delays or were unable to visit detainees. Honduran law requires access to buildings for persons with disabilities; however, there are limited facilities for individuals with disabilities.