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Footnote 81 According to NRC, there are cases where parents and family members lie about their child having a serious medical condition in order to dissuade gangs from forcibly recruiting that child. Footnote 82 PMH indicated that family members caring for children eventually send them on the migratory route ruta migratoria Footnote 83 to prevent gangs from recruiting them. Footnote 84 One of the ways girls try to avoid recruitment is through early pregnancies, hoping that this will deter interest from gang members. The mission learned that gangs recruit children as young as 10 years old.
Daddy Cowboy petting His Boy South Chatham IT AND MANY See more posts like this on Tumblr The president of the Gay Community in San Pedro Sula], La Prensa In Honduras, partners carried out research in urban (Tegucigalpa) and Dating Chat Gay-owned caf kiosk, run by just a few friends. Sources: Photos from www.titidesk.com, facts and dates from www.titidesk.com and from the mormon-mormon-mormon reblogged this from j-the-latter-gay-saint The The Brasília Brazil Temple was announced by President Thomas S. Monson The San Pedro Sula Honduras Temple was announced by President Russell M.
Footnote 86 PMH has documented recruits as young as five and seven years old who are being trained to commit crimes. Footnote 87 In some cases, gangs drug children in order to train them to use weapons and to kill people. Footnote 88 They start out with "easy" targets to kill, but by the time they are 16 or 17 years of age, they are fully trained to assassinate for the gang. Footnote 89 Gangs also use minors, as young as six years old, Footnote 90 as look-outs banderas to let them know when non-residents are entering the neighbourhood. Gangs also use women as banderas and as bait to kill targeted persons.
Footnote 92 In addition, gangs use children to transport drugs between areas Footnote 93 or to sell drugs Footnote 94 in schools, for example.
The mission learned that the number of gang members in Honduras varies from source to source. A research report by Public Safety Canada indicates that the numbers range between 6, and 36,, depending on the source consulted. Footnote 96 Dr. Ayestas indicated to the mission that the number of gang members is actually hard to determine, although it is estimated that the number of gang members is 30, Footnote 97 According to InSight Crime, it is difficult to establish who is a gang member and who is a collaborator, as the line that divides both roles is not clear.
Footnote 98 InSight Crime explained that "collaborators" are those who provide assistance to gangs, but are not part of the gangs themselves. Footnote 99 Collaborators include street drug dealers, lawyers, taxi drivers and mechanics who provide services to the gangs, as well as intelligence.
A list of 50 of the best gay romance novels, featuring a diverse array of. Footnote NRC added that it has heard of cases where children returnees experienced bullying at school, because they are returnees. Recruitment Methods of recruitment; have they changed after the mano dura policies? Footnote 15 Honduras is a transit country for drugs being transported from South America to North America. Legal Apparatus and Institutional Efficacy 2.
Footnote Other interlocutors similarly indicated that gangs have the ability to locate targets throughout the country. Footnote The mission learned that people fleeing extortion, recruitment, and people who they suspect have filed a complaint with authorities, are common targets of gangs. The mission learned that gangs have communication networks with other cliques clicas , Footnote not only throughout the country, but also with cliques of the same gang in other countries in the Northern Triangle.
Casa Alianza gave the example of Honduran asylum seekers kept in Mexican detention centres who felt unprotected, since their persecutors were able to find them due to the presence of gang members in those same detention centres. Footnote The mission also learned that gangs have communication networks inside state institutions. The mission learned that gangs are involved in killings, extortion, street-level drug trafficking, forced displacement, disappearances, threats and intimidation. Gangs also invest in legal enterprises such as taxis, gas stations and hotels.
Footnote The mission learned that gangs displace entire families in order to occupy their houses. Footnote These houses, which are called "crazy houses" casas locas , are used by gangs to kill people and to dismember their bodies. Footnote The mission learned that dismembered bodies are discarded in sacks in public areas. Extortion is one of the main drivers for both internal and external displacement. Footnote Many families are forced to leave their home because they are not able to pay the extortion fee, which is known as the "war tax" impuesto de guerra.
Students and teachers are regularly threatened and extorted. Footnote Public transportation drivers, commonly known as transportistas , Footnote are specifically targeted for extortion. Footnote Extortion is the root cause of most attacks and killings of public transportation drivers in the country. Footnote Public transportation drivers are often required to pay up to three extortion amounts to different gangs. Footnote In recent years, security measures have consisted of random patrols sent to the victim's residence.
The mission learned that mistrust in the justice system is widespread among the population. Footnote Honduras has high levels of impunity Footnote and investigation into crimes is inefficient. Footnote US Country Reports indicates that "[c]orruption and impunity remained serious problems within the security forces.
Some members of police committed crimes, including crimes linked to local and international criminal organizations. Footnote Other sources indicate that in Honduras, 80 percent of crimes go unsolved. Footnote One of MACCIH's areas of work is [translation] "enhancing the criminal justice system and reducing high levels of impunity," including by improving access to justice, reducing judicial delays, improving criminal investigation mechanisms, effectively administrating the penal process and optimizing the quality of sentences.
The mission observed a lack of police presence on the streets in San Pedro Sula and Tegucigalpa. The BBC reports that Honduras has 13, police officers and 15, soldiers. Footnote Radio Progreso estimated that there are approximately 14, police officers and 13, soldiers. Footnote The National Police in San Pedro Sula is divided into four metropolitan units and each metropolitan unit has police officers, including those employed in administrative functions.
Ayestas indicated that private security companies have a greater capacity to provide security than the National Police and the armed forces. Footnote Radio Progreso indicated that private security firms have more than 75, guards. Footnote Other sources indicate that there are approximately security firms Footnote employing around , people. According to sources, there are police officers who have been accused of committing extortion. Footnote Interlocutors indicated that the National Police has being going through an internal purge to dismiss corrupt officers from the force.
Footnote According to Dr. Ayestas, almost 50 percent of police officers have been dismissed during this process. Footnote News sources report that 4, police authorities were evaluated, of which 2, have been dismissed, including high ranking officials 28 percent , support staff 4 percent , and low ranking officials 68 percent. Footnote Sources indicate that witness protection provided by the Public Ministry is inefficient, Footnote due to the lack of resources, for example.
Footnote CONADEH indicated that the number of protection requests is "out of proportion" compared to the limited financial and human resources available, which hinders the ability of the state to provide effective protection. Footnote CONADEH indicated that it provides, in coordination with the Public Ministry, economic assistance to protected witnesses, including assistance to relocate witnesses to other parts of the country, depending on the particular situation of the person.
Footnote PMH has documented cases of persons in the witness protection program who were turned over to their aggressors by the officials that were in charge of protecting them. Footnote CPTRT indicated that witnesses face risks, including death, as protection offered to them is limited to six months on average, while a trial can last up to two and a half years. Honduras has a protection program available for human rights defenders, journalists, media workers, and justice operators.
Footnote It has issued protection measures to 85 persons, including 56 human rights defenders, 16 journalists, 4 media workers, and 9 justice operators. Footnote Title III of the Law, which includes information about protection measures and the process to request such protection, is attached to this Report Attachment 1. SDHJGD indicated that evaluations of applications for protection originating from outside Tegucigalpa are conducted over the phone, as the SDHJGD does not have the necessary infrastructure in other parts of the country to handle these protection requests.
Footnote A notification letter is provided to those who are admitted for protection under this program. SDHJGD indicated that, although the protection program is only available for specific groups, some employees at the SDHJGD have assisted other victims of violence by providing them with information and advice on how to deal with their personal circumstances.
Radio Progreso indicated that the protection mechanism established by the Law for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, Journalists, Media Workers, and Justice Operators does not work in practice. Footnote The Movimiento Amplio Universitario MAU indicated that the government's witness protection measures for human rights advocates is inefficient and that student activists, who have been threatened, prefer seeking support from NGOs to relocate to other parts of the country or abroad.
Footnote MAU explained that student activists have been criminalized and subjected to arbitrary detention and irregular judicial proceedings, adding that between and , around criminal processes were launched against student activists for crimes, including sedition, misappropriation, and damage to public property. Footnote The mission learned that journalists and human rights advocates do not trust the police for protection. Footnote Radio Progreso explained that members of the National Police and armed forces have been accused of assaulting journalists who cover protests.
The mission learned of the existence of several social programs to prevent violence and to assist victims, including youth. For example, according to PLAN, there are schools that offer education centres with alternative programs for youth, including violence prevention programs and extracurricular activities. Footnote The Municipality of San Pedro Sula offers vocational training courses to disadvantaged youth, such as carpentry, computer training, appliance repair, and esthetics, so they can obtain employment and become economically self-sufficient.
Footnote Around students graduate each year and 80 percent of those who carry out the cooperative portion of their study program at Honduran companies are retained by these companies. Footnote In addition to requesting police assistance, the Municipality of San Pedro Sula is working with military forces, which patrol the invisible borders in order to ensure that the area of the technical school is more secure. Footnote According to the same source, the majority of youth who attend the education centres are youth who have been affected by internal displacement, as a result of the security issues in the areas where they used to reside.
Another program is the creation of Outreach Centres Centros de Alcance , a government initiative, in collaboration with the United States Agency for International Development USAID , to provide social programs to prevent violence inside conflict-affected communities.
Footnote More than 30, youth have benefited from the Outreach Centres. The Honduran government initiated PLAN, a program created by the Office of the President, to provide assistance in Tegucigalpa to at-risk youth and persons who were former gang members. Footnote PLAN consists of community workers who are sent to areas with a high prevalence of violence to provide programs, including psychological assistance, legal advice, the removal of gang-related tattoos, as well as individual and group therapies. Footnote PLAN helps youth who were former gang members to change their appearance, so that they are able to move from their neighbourhoods and find work or study elsewhere.
Footnote Approximately 60 youth who were internally displaced, and have been assisted by PLAN, have been able to relocate to other neighbourhoods, changing their lifestyles completely. Footnote PLAN enters communities without being accompanied by the army or the police, so as not to be perceived as a threat to the community.
Footnote While PLAN does not have a shelter for its clients, it does have agreements with shelters, including for persons with addictions and for persons who have problems with gangs.
Footnote In addition, PLAN offers support to individual shelters, as needed, including operational support. The mission learned that the Protection Working Group includes nine UN agencies and 17 NGOs who work together in order to: strengthen national protection mechanisms on forced displacement; ensure the safety of humanitarian personnel; share information on protection-related issues and; carry out advocacy on protection-related issues.
World Vision, which is part of the Protection Working Group, carries out various programs and projects directly affecting children in communities with high levels of violence. One of its development programs is called Cerro de Plata , which assists girls and boys. Footnote In addition, World Vision carries out projects focused on the prevention of violence and the promotion of a culture of peace, as well as a technical project for the development of the life skills of children and adolescents.
Footnote World Vision expressed that it is difficult to retain children in their programs, as children are constantly targeted by gangs. Footnote Children have had to drop out of World Vision's programmes as a result of being forced to flee their community. Footnote Despite this, the work of World Vision is widely respected within communities, given its religious affiliation and that its work is carried out alongside the church and religious leaders.
Footnote Claudia Flores indicated that church groups also carry out development programs for children in neighbourhoods and communities and that such programs are appreciated, even among gang members and organized crime members, due to the level of respect that exists for the church. Rather than filing their complaint with the police, victims of crime carried out by criminal groups prefer filing their complaint with civil society organizations Footnote or CONADEH.
Footnote The mission learned that people mistrust state institutions, as there are reports of collusion between government authorities and criminal organizations, including gangs.