IACHR found ineffective legal remedies in Honduras after coup

Ineffectiveness of legal remedies to protect human rights, which  have been seriously violated with the institutional legitimization from previous June 28, said the report "Human Rights and Honduras coup" by the Interamerican Commission on Human Rights, IACHR , published this January 20.

The IACHR conducted a site visit to Honduras from 17 to 21 August, establishing offices of complaints in Tegucigalpa, Comayagua, El Paraiso, San Pedro Sula and Tocoa, Colón, arriving hundreds of people who reported the harassment they suffered by the de facto government , through the repressive forces.

In this document the international human rights body condemns that despite the efforts of the international community  the return of President Zelaya of Honduras to the presidency has not been allowed. Therefore, the Commission considers that the return to democratic institutions in Honduras is necessary so that the conditions exist for effective protection and enforcement of human rights of all inhabitants of that country.

In this context, the report highlights the many complaints had been received concerning information that many defenders of human rights were at risk for the leading role they have played since the coup.

And hinder the work of human rights defenders

Judicial authorities and hindering the work of human rights defenders

Also, defenders made reference to the barriers to entry to detention centers and other locations not authorized by law where arbitrary arrests were made, and hospitals. They also denounced the difficulties of access to judicial records, as required bureaucratic procedures that were not necessary before the coup.

To hamper its state media have been used to perpetrate harassment against women and men who defend fundamental rights, through mechanisms such as the initiation of police investigations and judicial, arbitrary arrests, assaults, intimidation, surveillance and monitoring.

The Commission received complaints that some of these human rights organizations suffered power outages in their offices, interruption of communications and intercepting their e-mail accounts. Some sites were gunned down by heavily armed and they dropped bombs, while others were recorded.

On 22 September some 15 police fired tear gas against the Committee of Relatives of Detained and Disappeared in Honduras, COFADEH. That day the repressive forces carried out a violent eviction against thousands of people who were outside the Brazilian embassy, where he arrived to President Manuel Zelaya Rosales, the day before. After that repression over a hundred people ran to the office of this organization, as far as the police attempted to enter, following the release of toxic gases. See background to this case.

Due to various acts of repression against members of COFADEH, the IACHR issued precautionary measures before November 17 for the staff of this organization and their families, for which the Honduran State requested information in the space of 20 days, however in this period there have been more acts of harassment, intimidation and threats against the people.

Tolerance to human rights violations by Justice System

In the report, the IACHR notes that along with the institutional legitimization caused by the coup, there have been serious human rights violations, including killings, arbitrary declaration of emergency rule, suppression of public demonstrations through a disproportionate use of force, criminalization of social protests, arbitrary arrests of thousands of people, cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment and poor conditions of detention, militarization of the area, increase in situations of racial discrimination, violations of women's rights, arbitrary restrictions the right to freedom of expression and serious violations of political rights.

The de facto authorities and the Supreme Court of Honduras consistently denied the existence of such violations

Violations of the rights to life, personal integrity, partnership, personal liberty, fair trial, freedom of expression, political rights, rights of women and minority groups were exacerbated by the lack of an institutional mechanism to handle complaints, investigation, punish those responsible and compensate the victims, according to what is expressed in a general note on the report.

International body also said that the sectors of Honduran society to condemn the coup  expressed fear of reprisals by security agents and mistrust in the actions of the institutions that have strongly condemned the disruption of the democratic institutions and have been inactive in response to allegations made public.

The de facto authorities and the Supreme Court of Honduras consistently denied the existence of such violations, a fact which resulted in a situation of inaction and tolerance that facilitates the repetition of these acts with impunity.

The bodies of the American human rights system have argued repeatedly that the democratic system is the main guarantee for the enjoyment of human rights. Indeed, the report shows that human rights violations that are reported are a direct result of the rupture of constitutional order.

The IACHR is an autonomous organ of the Organization of American States (OAS), whose mandate is the Charter of the OAS and the American Convention on Human Rights. The Commission consists of seven independent members who serve in person, not representing any particular country and who are elected by the OAS General Assembly. See full report.

Source: Defenders online