His Excellency Mr. António Guterres,
Secretary-General
United Nations
480 East 42nd Street
New York, New York 10017
Your Excellency,
As members of the International Honduran Diaspora (DHI) in the face of the conditions such as extreme poverty, violence, and militarization that we Hondurans experience, we would like to share our realities with you.
The 2009 coup d’état in Honduras marked the onset of political and economic policies that continue to limit human rights and have insidiously weakened institutions. Through observation, one can see how the arbitrary creation of laws, policies, and institutions favor the country’s business and political sector while ceding large territorial concessions and violating our sovereignty. Control of the country and its institutions have become the spoils of the economic and political elite. Moreover, these same individuals hold a direct link to organized crimes such as narco-trafficking which limits the state’s effectiveness in providing social benefits to the population.
The looting of resources in Honduras has only increased since the arrival of the illegitimate government, chaired by Juan Orlando Hernández and the National Party. They imposed themselves through fraud, repression, murder and continue using the armed forces to maintain order. Additionally, they have aimed to spread misinformation via the mass media they control.
The stripping of public funds, among them the Honduran Social Security Institute, social security institutions, and the Secretary of Livestock and Agriculture (SAG), limit the population’s access to better health and as well as their ability to improve their general living conditions via agriculture. In addition to this, the collusion between the Honduran Department of Justice, the Public Prosecutor’s Office, and the Supreme Court prevented the efficacy of MACCIH (an OAS installed commission in Honduras to investigate cases of corruption in the government) with the clear intention of obstructing the investigation of illicit acts.
Serious damage to the Honduran government’s institutionalism has led to the deterioration of justice and the privatization of public goods and of state-owned enterprises. This lack of justice and accountability has also allowed for the killing of social leaders and human rights defenders such as Berta Cáceres among other indigenous leaders, Garífunas, journalists and those who speak out against the coup d’état of 2009 and the voter frauds of 2013 and 2017.
In the absence of impartial and principled justice, corruption in the country has continued to increase significantly and has been made worse with the onslaught of the pandemic. The plundering of resources which were originally approved for the pandemic places Honduras among the most corrupt countries in the world. This can be evidenced by examples such as the purchase of 7 overpriced mobile hospitals with public funds. Eight months after their purchase, and to this day, the hospitals remain non-functional, a clear sign of inefficiency and disinterest that the current Honduran government has for the disadvantaged populations of our country.
As a way to gain control of governmental institutions and unbridled corruption, the government continues to appoint incompetent and unqualified people to fulfill the duty of commissioners. A relevant example is that of the minister of the Permanent Committee on Contingencies (COPECO) who without experience and skill, was given the position. As a result, this agency responded ineptly to the disasters posed by hurricanes ETA and IOTA as they devastated Honduras in November of 2020. These two hurricanes were the cause of landslides and floods, which destroyed much of the country’s transportation infrastructure and communities such as La Reyna and Santa Bárbara; places where the government has still not provided aid. The poor economic policy that the government perpetuates continues to weaken the purchasing power of the population while unemployment reaches record highs, the country slips into a state of extreme poverty and conditions worsen every day.
The consequences of what we are exposing is reflected by the massive increase in migration. 2021 has begun with a large caravan that encapsulates the humanitarian crisis in Honduras, where minimum conditions to sustain dignified life are not met. According to official UN data, the number surpasses one million and is on an upward trajectory.
In the face of the above conditions, we urge you through the organization you represent, to mobilize all your efforts to avoid the unnecessary suffering of so many people, to appoint commissions with investigative powers to pressure the Honduran state and demand the application of equitable justice.
Thanking you for your kind attention and response,
Coordinating Committee of the Honduran International Diaspora (DHI)
Cc:
Abdulqawi Ahmed Yusuf – President of the International Court of Justice
Elizabeth Odio Benito – President in the Inter-American Court of Human Rights
Carlos Alvarado – Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean
Henrietta H. Fore – Executive Director of UNICEF
Qu Dongyu – Director-General of the Food and Agriculture