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. Estimates of the number of children younger than 18 in the countrys workforce ranged from 370,000 to 510,000. Independent Monitoring: The government generally permitted prison visits by independent local and international human rights observers, including the International Committee of the Red Cross. Prisoners suffered from overcrowding, insufficient access to food and water, violence, and alleged abuse by prison officials. The law prohibits arbitrary arrest and detention and provides for the right of any person to challenge the lawfulness of his or her arrest or detention in court. The long-term history of gangs in Honduras can be traced all the way back to the fall of the Spanish Empire in the mid 1800s. The Public Ministry reported five such cases undergoing trial, with four cases in the sentencing phase of trial. Prison conditions were harsh and sometimes life-threatening due to pervasive gang-related violence and the governments failure to control criminal activity within the prisons. In many industries, including agriculture, cleaning, and security, employers did not respect maternity rights or pay minimum wage, overtime, or vacation. Transgender women were particularly vulnerable to employment and education discrimination; many could find employment only as sex workers, increasing their vulnerability to violence and extortion. Many prisoners had access to weapons and other contraband, inmates attacked other inmates with impunity, and inmates and their associates outside prison threatened prison officials and their families. By August it had provided protection to two journalists, among other types of activists and human rights defenders. There is also a Human Rights Committee in the National Congress. El Salvador is not dangerous for travelers as violence has declined to its lowest level in over 30 years. Official data on forced internal displacement was limited in part because gangs controlled many of the neighborhoods that were sources of internal displacement (see section 6, Displaced Children). The collapse of this empire left the territories of what we now understand to be Central America, to split off into separate regions. 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. Persons with disabilities, indigenous and Afro-Honduran persons, LGBTI persons, and persons with HIV or AIDS also faced discrimination in employment and occupation (see section 6). About Us; Staff; Camps; Scuba. Following months of negotiation, the government and the OAS did not reach an agreement to maintain the Mission to Support the Fight against Corruption and Impunity in Honduras (MACCIH), and its mandate expired in January. Through September the secretariat trained 2,764 law enforcement officials in human rights and international humanitarian law. The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) reported that authorities at times failed to enforce these requirements effectively. Honduras crime rate & statistics for 2018 was 38.93, a 5.01% decline from 2017. Invest-H, the agency in charge of purchasing medical supplies during the pandemic, purchased seven mobile hospitals for 1.13 billion lempiras ($47 million), more than 289.4 million lempiras ($12 million) above the manufacturers quoted price. The victims were land-rights defenders from the Afro-descendant Garifuna minority group. The World Bank reported in 2018 that the adolescent birth rate was 72 births per 1,000 15-19-year-olds. Every 18 hours, a woman is a victim of a violent death. 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. The law prohibits illicit association, defined as gatherings by persons bearing arms, explosive devices, or dangerous objects with the purpose of committing a crime, and prescribes prison terms of two to four years and a moderate fine for anyone who convokes or directs an illicit meeting or demonstration. A Texas man is speaking out about his experience following an attempted carjacking where two suspects, one of them armed, followed him home into his garage and tried to steal his car at gunpoint but ended up "bamboozled" and empty-handed. 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. Powerful special interests, including organized-crime groups, exercised influence on the outcomes of some court proceedings. Civilian authorities at times did not maintain effective control over security forces. The Ministry of Securitys Directorate of Disciplinary Police Affairs (DIDADPOL) investigated members of the Honduran National Police (HNP) accused of human rights abuses. The PA has administrative control over Area B (about 22 percent of the West Bank), but security control is . In terms of murder rate, it's the second most violent country in Central or South America, trailing only Venezuela. Child Abuse: Child abuse remained a serious problem. 10. The shutdown of government offices in response to the COVID-19 pandemic caused a substantial delay in the processing of asylum cases, with no cases fully adjudicated of 53 new applications received through August. The government continued to prosecute some officials who committed abuses, but a weak judicial system and corruption were major obstacles to gaining convictions. On September 16, the Public Ministry filed an indictment against army military police officer Josue Noe Alvarado Giron for the April 24 murder of Marvin Rolando Alvarado Santiago at a military roadblock in Omoa, Cortes. Under the national emergency and corresponding curfew, the government suspended the constitutional right to peaceful assembly. As of September 2020, the US had yet to begin deporting any third country nationals to Honduras under the agreement. On June 11, alleged members of the 18th Street gang in the National Womens Penitentiary in Tegucigalpa killed six alleged members of the MS-13 gang. A: Fans well remember the 1965-69 adventure series starring Robert Conrad The Office of the Inspector General of the Armed Forces and the Humanitarian Law Directorate investigated abuses by the military. In 2021, almost 39 homicides were committed per 100,000 inhabitants in Honduras. They practice "war taxing", which is essentially just demanding money from people. The law prohibits workers from legally striking until after they have attempted and failed to come to agreement with their employer, and it requires workers and employers to participate in a mediation and conciliation process. The country was a destination for child sex tourism. The law provides for freedom of peaceful assembly, and the government generally respected this right. Administration: The judicial system was legally responsible for monitoring prison conditions and providing for the rights of prisoners. The law prohibits members of the armed forces and police, as well as certain other public employees, from forming labor unions. 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. Freedom to Participate in the Political Process, Section 4. Police were investigating the killings. The constitution provides for the freedoms of peaceful assembly and association. Add data for Roatan Consider looking into aggregate data we have for Crime in Honduras Crime 0 120 51.16 Crime rates in Roatan, Honduras Safety in Roatan, Honduras Contributors: 7 Last update: October 2022 These data are based on perceptions of visitors of this website in the past 3 years. 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. Mike DeWine and the Ohio Bureau of Workers Compensation (OBWC) Administrator John Logue announced today that the state's private employers will pay nearly $90 million less Organized-crime groups, including local and transnational gangs and narcotics traffickers, were significant perpetrators of violent crimes and committed acts of homicide, torture, kidnapping, extortion, human trafficking, intimidation, and other threats and violence directed against human rights defenders, judicial authorities, lawyers, business community members, journalists, bloggers, women, and other vulnerable populations. The Jewish community numbered approximately 275 members. That is 2,607 fewer homicides. Persons with HIV and AIDS continued to be targets of discrimination, and they suffered disproportionately from gender-based violence. The Association for a Better Life and the Cattrachas Lesbian Network both reported 16 violent deaths of LGBTI persons as of September. 4 Defenders of the land, territory and environment continued to face unfounded criminal charges. The prosecution may request an additional six-month extension, but many detainees remained in pretrial detention much longer, including for more time than the maximum period of incarceration for their alleged crime. Honduras crime rate & statistics for 2019 was 42.01, a 7.91% increase from 2018. The law prohibits discrimination against persons with physical, sensory, intellectual, and mental disabilities. ANDERSON An Indiana man suspected of setting fire to an Anderson residence in 2020 is charged with attempted murder and first-degree arson, according to court records. Honduras was the fourth source country in the world of new asylum applications from January to June 2021 with 33,900 applications (30,100 in the same period in 2020), according to UNHCR s Mid . The grand jury subpoena that has been issued to Pence seeks documents and testimony related to the events of January 6, 2021, when the US Capitol was attacked by pro-Trump rioters as Congress . The vast majority of children who worked did so without STSS permits. 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. Rape and Domestic Violence: The law criminalizes all forms of rape of women or men, including spousal rape. The government failed to control pervasive gang-related violence and criminal activity within the prisons. 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. Although the law generally prohibits such actions, a legal exception allows government authorities to enter a private residence to prevent a crime or in case of another emergency. The Military Police of Public Order report to military authorities but conduct operations sanctioned by civilian security officials as well as by military leaders. The Secretariat of Human Rights provided training to security forces to increase respect for human rights. The law grants prisoners the right to prompt access to a lawyer of their choice and, if indigent, to government-provided counsel, although the public defender mechanism was weak, and authorities did not always abide by these requirements. The council presented 11 reports in a series called, Corruption in the Times of COVID-19. Scuba Certification; Private Scuba Lessons; Scuba Refresher for Certified Divers; Try Scuba Diving; Enriched Air Diver (Nitrox) Also see the Department of States Trafficking in Persons Report at https://www.state.gov/trafficking-in-persons-report/. More than half of the population lives in poverty and per capita income is one of the lowest in the region. Some judges, however, ruled that such suspects may be released on the condition that they continue to report periodically to authorities. In 2020, 278 women were murdered in the country and, as of November 2021, more than. The Refugee Commission suspended operations shortly after the onset of the pandemic but began reviewing applications again as of June. Coordinator for the Arctic Region, Deputy Secretary of State for Management and Resources, Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization, Under Secretary for Arms Control and International Security, Bureau of Arms Control, Verification and Compliance, Bureau of International Security and Nonproliferation, Under Secretary for Civilian Security, Democracy, and Human Rights, Bureau of Conflict and Stabilization Operations, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs, Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration, Office of International Religious Freedom, Office of the Special Envoy To Monitor and Combat Antisemitism, Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons, Under Secretary for Economic Growth, Energy, and the Environment, Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs, Office of the Science and Technology Adviser, Bureau of the Comptroller and Global Financial Services, Bureau of Information Resource Management, Office of Management Strategy and Solutions, Bureau of International Organization Affairs, Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs, Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs, U.S. Lori Lightfoot rode into the Chicago mayor's office in 2019 as a reform candidate, offering a break from the city's clubby political scene while making history as the first Black Home. NGOs reported irregularities, including problems with voter rolls, buying and selling of electoral workers credentials, and lack of transparency in campaign financing. The government considers rape a crime of public concern, and the state prosecutes rapists even if victims do not press charges. You can add more than one country or area. Sexual Harassment: The law criminalizes various forms of sexual harassment. These reporting centers were in addition to the 298 government-operated womens officesone in each municipalitythat provided a wide array of services to women, focusing on education, personal finance, health, social and political participation, environmental stewardship, and prevention of gender-based violence. Litigants may sue a criminal defendant for damages if authorized by a criminal court. David Pecker tried to blackmail Bezos in February 2019 with dick pics and so on stolen from his hacked phone and Bezos called him out. By law women have equal access to educational opportunities. LONDON (AP) Britain's domestic intelligence agency didn't act swiftly enough on key information and missed a significant opportunity to prevent the suicide bombing that killed 22 people at a Violators face penalties of one to three years in prison and possible suspension of their professional licenses, but the government did not effectively enforce the law. The law requires a judge to issue an eviction order for individuals occupying public and private property if security forces have not evicted the individuals within a specified period of time. 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. Displaced Children: Civil society organizations reported that common causes of forced displacement for youth included death threats for failure to pay extortion, attempted recruitment by gangs, witnessing criminal activity by gangs or organized-crime groups, domestic violence, attempted kidnappings, family members involvement in drug dealing, victimization by traffickers, rape including commercial sexual exploitation by gangs, discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity, sexual harassment, and discrimination for having a chronic medical condition. The law provides for the right to a fair and public trial; however, the judiciary did not always enforce this right. Freedom of Press and Media, Including Online Media: Independent media were active and expressed a wide variety of views without restriction. The reported killings took place during law enforcement operations or were linked to other criminal activity by government agents. Penalties include prison sentences of up to five years and monetary fines. Section 1. 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 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. On November 23, the court halted the presentation of evidence hearing after the defense filed an appeal. Nevertheless, social discrimination against LGBTI persons persisted, as did physical violence. Office of the Special Envoy for Critical and Emerging Technology, Office of the U.S. There were no credible reports of political prisoners or detainees. 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. I have some answers. 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. Mental health professionals expressed concern about social stigma by families and communities against persons with mental disabilities and a lack of access to mental health care throughout the country. This helps keep everyone in poverty. Prior to the twin shocks of 2020, 25.2 percent of the Honduran population lived in extreme poverty and almost half (4.4 million people) lived in poverty, based on the official poverty lines. The law prohibits all forms of forced labor, but the government did not effectively implement or enforce the law. The law does not permit active members of the military or civilian security forces to vote. COFADEH reported an increase of complaints regarding the use of excessive and disproportionate force by security forces under the national curfew.