The Right to Defend Rights in Honduras: Report on the situation of Human Rights Defenders

The Right to Defend Rights is a tool to monitor progress in the enabling environment for human rights defenders in accordance with human rights norms and standards. In 2023, the Danish Institute for Human Rights worked together with Honduran state institutions and human rights defender networks to assess the situation for human rights defenders using this monitoring framework. This study highlights the main findings from this process in five keys areas: general framework for the protection and promotion of human rights and fundamental freedoms; freedom of opinion and expression; freedom of association and assembly; participation in public affairs; and liberty and security of person. 

Honduran civil society organizations provided data from their own monitoring systems on the violations and abuses faced by human rights defenders and validated the data presented in this report as reflective of their experience and the immense challenges to exercise the right to defend rights in Honduras.

Please note that this publication is only available in Spanish. English summary below.

Título en español: El Derecho a Defender Derechos en Honduras: Informe sobre la implementación de la herramienta de monitoreo “El Derecho a Defender Derechos” del Instituto Danés de Derechos Humanos 

Este informe da cuenta del proceso de implementación de la herramienta de monitoreo “El Derecho a Defender Derechos” en Honduras, la cual evalúa el ambiente propicio para la defensa de los derechos humanos en este país durante los años 2020, 2021 y 2022. Este documento resalta los hallazgos en cinco áreas claves para la defensa de los derechos humanos, los cuales fueron validados por diferentes actores interesados en talleres que se realizaron durante el año 2023. Algunos de los hallazgos clave son:

• Honduras obtuvo un puntaje de 30/100 en relación con el marco general para la protección y promoción de los derechos humanos. Si bien tiene un robusto marco jurídico para la protección de defensores y defensoras, en la práctica persisten los hechos de violencia y amenazas en su contra, generando lagunas entre la normatividad y su implementación. 

• Existe desarticulación entre las organizaciones de la sociedad civil y una marcada desconfianza hacia las instituciones del Estado. Es necesario incentivar un diálogo nacional para crear puentes y acuerdos entre los diversos actores interesados con el objetivo de proteger de manera efectiva a quienes defienden los derechos humanos en Honduras. 

• Hay dificultades en el acceso a la información pública. No hay un sistema público unificado de registro sobre las violaciones de derechos humanos en contra de defensores y defensoras, lo cual dificulta las acciones de monitoreo y veeduría.

• A pesar de las barreras encontradas, existe un fuerte compromiso por parte de las personas defensoras y sus organizaciones, con la generación  de soluciones que conduzcan a la garantía de un ambiente seguro y propicio para la defensa de los derechos humanos. 

Nuestra Herramienta no pretende sistematizar toda la información disponible sobre el derecho a defender derechos en Honduras, pero si es un aporte importante en el proceso de consolidación de un ambiente seguro y propicio para la defensa de los derechos humanos en este país.

English summary:

This report gives an account of the implementation process of The Right to Defend Rights monitoring tool in Honduras, which evaluates the enabling environment for human rights defenders in this country during the years 2020, 2021 and 2022. This document highlights the findings in five key areas for the defense of human rights, which were validated by different stakeholders in workshops that were held during 2023. Some of the key findings are:

• Honduras scored 30/100 for the overall framework for the protection and promotion of human rights. Although it has a robust legal framework for the protection of human rights defenders, in practice acts of violence and threats against these defenders persist, generating gaps between the regulations and their implementation. 

• There is a lack of coordination among civil society organizations and a marked distrust towards state institutions. It is necessary to encourage a national dialogue to build bridges and agreements between the various stakeholders with the aim of effectively protecting human rights defenders in Honduras. 

• There are difficulties in accessing public information. There is no an unified system for recording human rights violations against human rights defenders, which makes monitoring and oversight actions difficult.

• Despite the barriers encountered, there is a strong commitment on the part of defenders and their organizations to generate solutions that lead to the guarantee of a safe and enabling environment for the defense of human rights. 

Our tool does not intend to systematize all the available information on the right to defend rights in Honduras, but it is an important contribution to the process of consolidating a safe and enabling  environment for the defense of human rights in this country.