Centre for Women's Studies - Honduras (CEM-H) and the Local Networks of Feminist Expression: Declaration: State of Women's Rights in Honduras Since the Coup D'Etat

Source: 
Central America Women's Network (CAWN)
Duration: 
Sunday, January 24, 2010 - 19:00
Countries: 
Americas
Central America
South America
PeaceWomen Consolidated Themes: 
Human Rights
Initiative Type: 
Statements

"This Declaration marks the 25th of January, Honduran Women's Day, which commemorates the winning of women's right to vote; and the 8th of March, International Women's Day, a date that has been celebrated since 1912 by feminist organisations and women internationally of struggling for equality and the recognition of the human rights of women:

In Honduras, the coup d'etat of 28th June, 2009 ruptured the institutional order and caused the advancements achieved for the rights of women to fall back decades. A report on the violations of women's Human Rights during the coup d'etat, was presented to the Interamerican Human Rights Court of the Organisation of American States (OAS). It reveals the grave violations of human rights committed by the state security agencies during this seven month period, from 28th June 2009 to 27th January 2010; including physical aggression, illegal detentions, sexual assaults, threats, harassment, criminalization and the imprisonment of sisters who were protesting against the de facto regime.
In this period, the de facto regime proposed to the National Congress that they consider reforming the municipal law and withdraw legal recognition of the municipal offices of women (OMM), leaving the 154 municipal Women's Offices without any legal backing. The Secretary of Health (under the executive decree of the 29th of June 2009) prohibited the use and distribution of the Emergency Birth Control Pill, increasing the risks of teenage pregnancy and deaths due to unsafe abortions, and restricting Honduran women's rights to contraception.
Under the regime's administration of the National Institute of Women (INAM), policies and approaches relating to sexual and reproductive rights were eliminated from the Second Gender Equality and Equity Plan, PIEG 2008-2010. This plan had been developed in a long consultative process at the national level, but its final approval was truncated by the coup d'etat. There are existing proposals aimed at reforming the INAM creating the risk of it being merged with other institutions such as the Honduran Institute of Children and Family given the tendency of the present government. This would bring with it the disappearance of the national machinery for women, and would mean an enormous step back in fulfilling the obligations of international conventions for the advancement of women's rights such as CEDAW and the Inter-American Convention of Belem do Para.

We denounce the attacks by the Mayor of Choluteca Quitin Soriano against the Women's Holistic Support Centre (CAIM) de Choluteca, which has been a strong hold of the National Network of Women against Violence in this department, for the prevention of violence, and the defence and protection of the rights and the lives of the women in the southern zone of the country.
We note, with great concern, the constant increase in the statistics of femicides in the country which now total more than 1,000 cases over the last few years, with impunity prevailing and a clear failure to apply justice: in 72 percent of the crimes the identity of the aggressor is unknown. Honduras holds fourth place in Latin America amongst the countries with the highest increases in the levels of femicides in recent years, after Guatemala, Mexico and El Salvador.

The weapon most commonly used in these crimes against women is the gun (70.2%), and no measures are being taken so far to establish a general disarmament, on the contrary, the law actually encourages the arms race because it permits a person to legally own up to 5 guns.
There has also been an increase in the number of reports of sexual crimes against women and children registered, whose monthly average increased from 141 in 2008 to 156 in 2009. One in every four attacks is a rape.

With the inauguration of the nationalist government of Porfirio Lobo Sosa, and the false promise of national reconciliation, they want to close the most disastrous chapter in Honduran history, leaving in impunity all the crimes and human rights violations committed against the people and against the women in resistance. Most of all the amnesty approved by the National Congress benefits and protects those responsible for the coup d'etat. The current government has also incorporated people who participated in the coup within public office.

Only a few days after the new government emerged from elections, that were questioned at both the national and international level, a woman active in the Front of National Resistance was murdered in Tegucigalpa. Vanessa Zepeda, whose body was found close to the Loarque neighbourhood was only 29 years old, a nurse, employed in the Social Service, and who leaves behind 3 small children as orphans as a result of the violence unleashed on the Honduran people in resistance.

For all of the above reasons, we demand the immediate dismissal of the officials who participated in the coup d'etat, whether by action or omission, who are now in the different offices of the Public Ministry, Supreme Court of Justice, the Executive Branch of Government, and other institutions of government.

We demand that international institutions such as the International Criminal Court push for sanction mechanisms and the application of universal justice against those that have assaulted human rights and made attempts on women's lives in the context of the coup d'etat in Honduras.
We urge international human rights organisations and institutions to continue to demand that the current government halt the violations of the human rights of women and femicides, and to investigate these crimes.
We are calling all Honduran women to maintain a constant protest and condemnation of the violations of the rights of women and the Honduran people.

NO COUP D'ETATS, NO BEATING OF WOMEN
THE CONSITUTION WON'T WORK WITHOUT WOMEN 
THE MURDERED WOMEN HAVE NAMES, SO DO THEIR MURDERERS, STOP THE IMPUNITY, NOT ONE MORE MURDER.
NI GOLPES DE ESTADO, NI GOLPES A LAS MUJERES
SI LA MUJER NO ESTA, LA CONSTITUYENTE NO VA
LAS ASESINADAS TIENEN NOMBRE, SUS ASESINOS TAMBIEN, ALTO A LA IMPUNIDAD, NI UNA ASESINADA MAS.
- End of Declaration-