Your safety is your responsibility, so be vigilant. A revision to the penal code that entered into force in June 2020 broadly reduces criminal penalties for corruption by officials. TRANSPORT & TAXIS RISK : HIGH Public transport is highly risky in Honduras. Honduras' young adult population - ages 15 to 29 - is projected to continue growing rapidly for the next three decades and then stabilize or slowly shrink. Independent Monitoring: The government generally permitted prison visits by independent local and international human rights observers, including the International Committee of the Red Cross. It was unclear how many of these threats were related to the victims professions or activism. - March 2003 Non-Government Organization Reports Human Rights Watch Most of the abusers were reported to be male classmates, but there were also reports of sexual abuse by community members. The secretariat reported assisting 127 IDPs as of August. Congressional Research Service - Honduras - 2019, 2020. The safety situation in Honduras has been deteriorating in recent years due to gang violence and organized crime. Mar 23, 2021. However, Nicaragua was hit with renewed political trouble in 2018, and it was hit hard. The number of inspections increased significantly as the STSS resumed normal inspections, suspended in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Public-sector trade unionists raised concerns regarding government interference in trade union activities, including its suspension or ignoring of collective agreements and its dismissals of union members and leaders. 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. Organized criminal groups, such as drug traffickers and local and transnational gangs including MS-13 and the 18th Street gang, committed killings, extortion, kidnappings, human trafficking, and intimidation of police, prosecutors, journalists, women, human rights defenders, and others. The law also requires that public-sector workers involved in the refining, transportation, and distribution of petroleum products submit their grievances to the Secretariat of Labor and Social Security (STSS) before striking. Received a complaint about honduras crime and safety report 2021 at Pioneer Park with murder November 2017 shorter! The government closed two pretrial detention centers in April due to low numbers of these types of pretrial detainees. There was no information available on any major industrial accidents. The government investigated and prosecuted some of these crimes, but impunity was widespread. Security Alert: "La Embajada" Bar (12 January, 2023) Message for U.S. Citizens regarding Extension to the State of Exception in Honduras (9 January, 2023) Message for U.S. Citizens regarding State of Exception beginning December 6 (5 December, 2022) Weather Alert for U.S. Citizens - Tropical Storm Lisa (2 November, 2022) Although the law prohibits such practices, government officials received complaints and investigated alleged abuses by members of the security forces on the streets and in detention centers. 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011: DOS International Religious Freedom Report - 2021, 2020, . The government cooperated with UNHCR and other humanitarian organizations that provide protection and assistance to refugees and other persons of concern. As a result, criminals linked to organized crime operate with a high degree of impunity throughout Honduras. The Directorate of Disciplinary Police Affairs investigated abuses by police forces. Presuming we use common sense and take taxis is there anything here we should . The law states that a womans employment should be appropriate according to her physical state and capacity. Honduras crime rate & statistics for 2019 was 42.01, a 7.91% increase from 2018. The country was a destination for child sex tourism, particularly in the tourist area of the Bay Islands. The government launched a new Ministry of Transparency in November 2020 to address some of these concerns. There were no credible reports of disappearances by or on behalf of government authorities. 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. Local police and emergency services lack sufficient resources to respond effectively to serious crime. Some NGOs reported irregularities, including late delivery of technology needed to transmit results, late opening of the polls, poll workers with varying degrees of preparation and knowledge of the electoral law and processes, and lack of transparency in campaign financing. Despite incremental progress, government capacities remained relatively nascent and limited. Both the secretariat and the commission focused on developing policies to address IDPs. The government maintained the Interinstitutional Commission for the Protection of Persons Displaced by Violence and created the Directorate for the Protection of Persons Internally Displaced by Violence within the Secretariat of Human Rights. Abusers caught in the act may be detained for up to 24 hours as a preventive measure. The law provides for the right to a fair and public trial; however, the judiciary did not always enforce this right. Periodic medical evaluations had not found Lobo healthy enough to proceed. In some industries, including agriculture, domestic service, and security, employers did not respect maternity rights or pay minimum wage, overtime, or vacation. The government failed to control pervasive gang-related violence and criminal activity within the prisons. The government of Honduras lacks sufficient resources to properly respond to, investigate and prosecute cases. 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. These conditions contributed to an unstable, dangerous environment in the penitentiary system. Number. Most children who worked did so without STSS permits. Tourists in Belize are often victims of theft, but few experience real violence. In 2020, 278 women were murdered in the country and, as of November 2021, more than 240 women have lost their lives violently. The armed forces, which report to the Secretariat of Defense, are responsible for external security but also exercise some domestic security responsibilities in support of the national police and other civilian authorities. On October 7, in a special session held during the Francisco Morazan national holiday, the National Congress passed a change to the penal code expanding the definition of encroachment (trespassing) by designating streets and parks as protected spaces and redefining groups of protesters to include as few as two persons. There were reports that the government or its agents committed arbitrary or unlawful killings. The government provided victims of sexual violence access to other health-care services. The Military Police of Public Order report to military authorities but conduct operations sanctioned by civilian security officials as well as by military leaders. There were no credible reports of political prisoners or detainees. The government investigated violence and threats of violence against union leaders. . Crime in Honduras in 2012, according to the U.N., Honduras experienced. Latest News Profile Criminal Actors Investigations News Latest News The directorate issued 1,379 recommendations to the Ministry of Security for disciplinary actions as of September following internal investigations of national police members. The law permits fines, and while the monetary penalty is commensurate with those for other laws involving denials of civil rights, such as discrimination, the failure of the government to collect the fines facilitated continued labor law violations. The Honduran National Police maintain internal security and report to the Secretariat of Security. Employers rarely paid the minimum wage in the agricultural sector and paid it inconsistently in other sectors. The constitution provides for the freedoms of peaceful assembly and association, and the government generally respected these rights. The law places restrictions on these rights, such as requiring that a recognized trade union represent at least 30 workers, prohibiting foreign nationals from holding union offices, and requiring that union officials work in the same substantive area of the business as the workers they represent. Powerful special interests, including organized criminal groups, exercised influence on the outcomes of some court proceedings. The law prohibits members of the armed forces and police, as well as certain other public employees, from forming labor unions. International observers acknowledged some of these irregularities but reported they were not systematic and not widespread enough to affect the outcome of the presidential election. Bogran was arrested in October 2020 on two corruption charges for embezzling an estimated 1.14 billion lempiras ($47 million) in public funds and funneling a contract for mobile hospitals to his uncle, Napoleon Corrales. The World Bank reported in 2018 that the adolescent birth rate was 72 births per 1,000 girls ages 15 to 19. 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. However, crime and violence are serious problems throughout Honduras and the country has one of the highest homicide rates in the world. Authorities did not generally segregate those with tuberculosis or other infectious diseases from the general prison population; as of September the National Prison Institute reported 106 prisoners had been treated for tuberculosis. Oral updates and . There were no reports of anti-Semitic acts. Authorities continued to investigate the incident. These reporting centers were in addition to the 298 government-operated womens offices one in each municipality that 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. If a victims physical injuries do not reach the severity required to categorize the violence as a criminal act, the legal penalty for a first offense is a sentence of one to three months of community service. 'Free Associated State of Puerto Rico'), is a Caribbean island and unincorporated territory of the United States.It is located in the northeast Caribbean Sea, approximately 1,000 miles (1,600 km) southeast of Miami . honduras crime and safety report 2021. The findings highlight the potential power these four manufacturers have to combat trafficking; if these four manufacturers took action on their own, the national impact could be substantial. The STSS did not approve any authorizations through September. According to UNDP data, informal workers played a large role in nearly every industry, including agriculture and fishing; mining; manufacturing; utilities; construction; wholesale retail, hotels, and restaurants; transport and storage; and personal services. HND41066.E - Whether there is a law in Honduras that criminalizes the wearing of tattoos; reports of state agents arresting, detaining, mistreating or murdering people with tattoos that do not belong to gangs (2001 to March 2003). Authorities often did not effectively enforce the law. Penalties for facilitating child sex trafficking are six to 12 years in prison and monetary fines. The safety and well-being of our passengers and crew is aviation's highest priority. The Secretariat of Human Rights reported three prisoner deaths due to COVID-19 through September. And in February, 19 years after she went missing, billboards will help The law prohibits all the worst forms of child labor. The law provides for freedom of peaceful assembly, and the government generally respected this right. Long periods of pretrial detention remained common and problematic, with many other pretrial detainees held in the general population with convicted prisoners. While all formal workers are entitled to social security, there were reports that both public- and private-sector employers failed to pay into the social security system. The law permits strikes by workers in export-processing zones and free zones for companies that provide services to industrial parks, but it requires that strikes not impede the operations of other factories in such parks. CONAPREV reported 13 violent deaths in prisons as of September. Her most recent evaluation was in August, and the court declared her fit to stand trial in September. Children, including from indigenous and Afro-descendant communities, particularly Miskito boys, were at risk for forced labor in the agriculture, manufacturing, fishing, mining, construction, and hospitality industries. See. January 26, 2022 At a glance Population: 10.1 million 2.8 million people in need of humanitarian aid The homicide rate in Honduras was 42 per 100,000 people in 2019, making it one of the most violent countries in the world. There was limited support for persons with mental illnesses or disabilities. The overwhelming majority of violent crime victims in Belize are Belizeans themselves, but recent years have seen an increase in these types of crimes against tourists and expats. Rape and Domestic Violence: The law criminalizes all forms of rape of women or men, including spousal rape. The STSS has the power to declare a work stoppage illegal, and employers may discipline employees consistent with their internal regulations, including by firing strikers, if the STSS rules that a work stoppage is illegal. Traveling around the country is a more complicated matter. Arbitrary Deprivation of Life and Other Unlawful or Politically Motivated Killings, c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, Arrest Procedures and Treatment of Detainees, f. Arbitrary or Unlawful Interference with Privacy, Family, Home, or Correspondence, a. The government had a nascent system to provide legal protection to refugees. Funding will be drawn from the 2023 Additional Ukraine Supplemental Appropriations Act passed in . Authorities generally respected these rights. On June 17, a riot between alleged members of the 18th Street and MS-13 gangs in the maximum-security prison La Tolva in Moroceli, El Paraiso Department, resulted in five dead and 39 injured. Safety and security Crime There are high levels of crime in Honduras. Her retrial was scheduled for February 2022. The government generally respected these provisions. As of September inspectors conducted 8,846 total inspections, compared with 4,102 total inspections for the same period in 2020. The STSS is responsible for enforcing the national minimum wage, hours of work, and occupational health and safety law, but it did so inconsistently and ineffectively. Indigenous groups included the Miskito, Tawahka, Pech, Tolupan, Lenca, Maya-Chorti, and Nahua. 03 / Select Countries You can add more than one country or area. Denying me access . A wide variety of domestic and international human rights groups generally operated without government restriction, investigating and publishing their findings on human rights cases. Roads have poor lighting and markings. 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