Honduras: New Reports of AbusesDe Facto Government Should Refrain From Excessive Force Against Zelaya Backers
September 22, 2009
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Police officers and soldiers stand guard after dispersing supporters of ousted Honduras President Manuel Zelaya outside the Brazilian embassy in Tegucigalpa on September 22, 2009.
© 2009 Reuters
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Given the reports we have received, and the poor track record of the security forces since the coup, we fear that conditions could deteriorate drastically in the coming days.
José Miguel Vivanco, Americas director at Human Rights Watch
Honduras's de facto government should refrain from using excessive force against supporters of the ousted president, Manuel Zelaya, Human Rights Watch said today. The authorities should also refrain from abusing emergency powers to undermine the basic rights of protesters, journalists, and others in Honduras.
Human Rights Watch has received credible reports that police used excessive force - wielding truncheons and firing tear gas and rubber bullets - today to disperse thousands of Zelaya supporters who gathered outside the Brazilian embassy in Tegucigalpa, where the deposed president has obtained refuge. Since Zelaya returned to Honduras on September 21, the de facto government has imposed a nationwide curfew.
"Given the reports we have received, and the poor track record of the security forces since the coup, we fear that conditions could deteriorate drastically in the coming days," said José Miguel Vivanco, Americas director at Human Rights Watch.
Human Rights Watch and other rights monitors have documented repeated violations by security forces since the coup d'état in June 2009. The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights issued a report on August 21 documenting violations under the de facto government that included excessive use of force, arbitrary detention, sexual violence, and attacks on the media, as well as several confirmed deaths and possible "disappearances." The commission also documented the absence of effective legal protections from abuse.
In June, following the coup, the Honduran Congress approved an emergency decree that provides for the temporary suspension of basic rights, including the right to "personal liberty," freedom of association, freedom of movement, and protections against arbitrary detention. International law recognizes that states may temporarily derogate from some of their human rights obligations, but only under exceptional circumstances, including in time of war, public danger, or another emergency that threatens the independence or security of the state.
http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2009/09/22/honduras-new-reports-abuses
Honduras:NGOs call for ICC to investigate political persecution
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| 2009-09-23 12:52:34 FIDH Press release Tuesday 22 September 2009 The Asociación Pro Derechos Humanos de España (APDHE) and the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) urge Roberto Micheletti’s de facto government to withdraw and allow the reinstatement of the elected president. APDHE and FIDH condemn the fact that, once again, the de facto government has resorted to a curfew as a way to suppress civic mobilisation claiming reinstatement of democracy. Tomorrow the NGOs will submit a communication to the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague. Through this communication, they will call for the ICC to investigate and punish those most responsible for the crime of persecution on political grounds, which has been perpetrated by those who led the coup d’Etat since 28 June 2009. APDHE and FIDH will submit numerous testimonies to the ICC Office of the Prosecutor. Those testimonies highlight the generalised and systematic manner in which the highest de facto officials in Honduras have been committing serious human rights violations since the coup d’Etat . Those violations include thousands of arbitrary arrests, systematic persecution of independent press, extrajudicial killings, inhuman and degrading treatment, physical and psychological torture, death threats, unlawful deportation or expulsion, persecution of foreigners especially Nicaraguans, as well as persecution of civil servants, members of parliament, mayors, judges and prosecutors who have opposed the coup. The communication also calls for the ICC to investigates mass media owners and religious officials who have made statements calling for political persecution against those who have supported a national constituent assembly or who have advocated for the return of President Zelaya. According to its policy, the ICC Office of the Prosecutor must identify those who bear the highest responsibility for the crimes within ICC jurisdiction. In this regard, APDHE and FIDH consider that the following persons would be criminally liable: Roberto Micheletti, de facto ruler and other members of his government; General Romeo Vásquez Velásquez, Military Chief of Joint Staff and other military commanders; Police Chief Salomón de Jesús Escoto Salinas and other law enforcement commanders; Billy Joya Améndola, Security Advisor for the de facto government and former soldier accused of serious human rights violations during the 80’s; Jorge Alberto Rivera Avilez, President of the Supreme Court of Justice; Luis Alberto Rubí Avila, Attorney General and other judges and prosecutors who have been trying to legitimise the coup through judicial actions and/or by failing to meet their constitutional or legal obligations, thereby becoming responsible for the crime of persecution on political grounds; José Alfredo Saavedra Paz, President of the National Assembly and other members of Parliament who promoted the coup and have encouraged political persecution of those who have opposed it. APDHE and FIDH recall that the crime of persecution on political grounds, as a crime against humanity, falls under the jurisdiction of the ICC and that Honduras is a State party to the ICC Statute. They call upon the Office of the Prosecutor to take into account that the coup was led with the aim of preventing millions of Hondurans who advocated for a constitutional change, from exercising their political rights. They also call upon the ICC Prosecutor to take all measures within his power and authority to deter further commission of crimes and prevent the worsening of the situation in Honduras. PRESS RELEASE N° 65/09 Washington, DC, September 22, 2009 – The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) strongly condemns the excessive use of force in the repression of protests that have taken place in Tegucigalpa, near the Embassy of Brazil, the current location of President Manuel Zelaya Rosales. According to the information received, after President Zelaya returned to Honduras on September 21, 2009, the de facto government imposed a curfew which is still in place and ordered the airports to be closed. In this context, police and military forces repressed the protests in the vicinity of the Embassy with excessive use of force, using tear gas and rubber bullets. Moreover, information was received indicating that hundreds of individuals had been detained and that State agents threw tear gas canisters into the headquarters of the Committee of Relatives of Detained-Disappeared in Honduras (COFADEH), at the time that the organization was attending to complaints and witness statements by individuals injured during the repression. The IACHR was also informed that the Embassy of Brazil in Honduras is surrounded by State security forces and cut off from all external communication following the application of a power outage in the area. Other power outages interrupted the broadcasts of radio Globo and TV Channel 36. The IACHR calls on the de facto regime to urgently adopt all appropriate measures to guarantee the rights to life, integrity and security of all persons. In particular, the Commission urges the de facto authorities to respect the right to life and integrity of the individuals who have been detained, as well as of President Manuel Zelaya Rosales, the members of his family and his cabinet who have taken refuge in the Embassy, the Brazilian diplomatic staff, and all persons who are currently in the Embassy. The Inter-American Commission urges the de facto authorities to investigate the excessive use of force used to repress the demonstrations in support of President Manuel Zelaya and to punish those responsible for the human rights violations that are determined to have taken place following the appropriate investigations. Moreover, the IACHR reiterates its call on the de facto government of Honduras to respect public demonstrations and reiterates that all individuals without distinction must be equally protected in the exercise of their rights of freedom of expression, assembly and political participation. In this sense, the Inter-American Commission once again expresses its deep concern over the repeated use of various states of emergency in Honduras, in this case a curfew, to suspend fundamental rights and to prevent public protests. In particular, the Commission expresses its deep concern over the restrictions to freedom of expression through indirect means such as power outages that, in practice, lead to the interruption of the broadcasting of certain media outlets. The IACHR and the Special Rapporteurship for Freedom of Expression demand absolute respect of the right to freedom of expression, and call on the de facto authorities to ensure all guarantees so that journalists and media outlets may freely and securely perform their work of informing the public. A principal, autonomous body of the Organization of American States (OAS), the IACHR derives its mandate from the OAS Charter and the American Convention on Human Rights. The Inter-American Commission has the mandate to promote respect for human rights in the region and acts as a consultative body to the OAS in this matter. The Commission is composed of seven independent members who act in a personal capacity, without representing a particular country, and who are elected by the OAS General Assembly. Useful links: |
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