Speech of Dr. Jorge Ramón Hernández Alcerrro Minister of Government and Justice Of Honduras to the 59th Commission on Human Rights

20 de marzo de 2003



Madam Chairperson, Ladies and Gentlemen:

Let me start by congratulating you and all the members of the Bureau on being elected to preside over the 59th session of the Human Rights Commission. I would also like to congratulate Mr. Sergio Vieira de Mello on his appointment as High Commissioner for Human Rights. And my thanks go to the interpreters, for their very important work.

I would like to take this opportunity to bring to the attention of the commission a very serious problem that we have been facing in Honduras over the last few years.

From 1998 until December 2002, 744 young people under the age of 18 have been murdered in my country. These killings have taken place mostly in urban areas, primarily in the two main cities, Tegucigalpa and San Pedro Sula, and so far, the perpetrators of most of these crimes have not yet been apprehended. A significant number of these killings can be attributed to a dramatic increase in gang violence over the last two years. Two factors to consider in the gang situation are the increased number of young Honduran deportees with criminal records from North America, and the disproportionate increase in the number of children that have been killed in the same time period.


The phenomenon of the gangs in Honduras started during the decade of the nineties. These gangs have established a pattern of behavior, modeled on the gang culture existing in large urban areas in certain developed countries. It involves mainly young adult males in urban areas.

With regard to this dramatic situation, allow me to categorically state that the government of Honduras does not tolerate, condone or by any means promote this type of criminal act. Indeed, determined to fully validate Honduras as a State of Law, the government is currently making great efforts to discover the truth behind these killings. We wish to bring to justice all those responsible, so that we may put an end to these criminal acts.

Last year, sixty six thousand and twenty one (66,021) crimes were reported to the authorities. Of these, four thousand seven hundred and sixty one (4,761) were homicides, but only three hundred and ten (310) of them involved children's deaths; this is equivalent to less than half of one percent (0.0047%) of the total crimes reported. At present, to face the workload imposed by these investigations, the Ministry of Security only has 300 full-time field investigators. Each investigator has an average of 221 cases per year, whereas by international standards, there should be only twenty (20) cases per agent. The Capital of Tegucigalpa has only 30 agents in the Crimes Against Life Unit of the Police, with only 2 vehicles at their disposal.

Soon after taking office last year, and facing the extent of this problem, President Ricardo Maduro established the Permanent Commission for the Protection of the Physical and Moral Integrity of Children, appointing me, in my capacity as Minister of Government and Justice of Honduras, to preside over it. He gave us specific instructions to proceed, by whatever means within the law, with the investigation of these crimes in order to prosecute to the fullest extent of the law those guilty of such heinous acts.

The Commission is integrated both by the relevant Government agencies and NGOs that cover all matters related to human rights. We are working together with great determination to fulfill this great responsibility. This is a daunting task, taking into consideration the lack of resources, both in financial and human terms, as well as insufficient institutional capacity.

The official results of the independent investigation led by the Permanent Commission appointed by President Maduro, was presented to the public by the President himself during a press conference before national and international media.

The President, acknowledging the gravity of the situation, instructed the Commission to create a plan of action to get to the root of the problem, and act swiftly with appropriate measures. Among the measures proposed, I would like to highlight the following:

1. The Creation of the Special Unit of Investigation into Violent Deaths of Children, under the authority of the Ministry of Security.

2. The integration of the relevant NGOs that deal with issues of children within the whole investigation and supervision processes. The representative of Casa Alianza has been chosen by the NGO community to represent them.

3. The establishment of a technical group, led by the National Commissioner of Human Rights which will elaborate a series of policy recommendations dealing with crime prevention, rehabilitation and reintegration of juveniles into mainstream society.

4. The appointment of an Executive Secretary to follow up on the Presidential Commission’s recommendations to monitor, register and classify all information necessary to design a pilot project for preventive action in low income neighborhoods with a high crime rate.

5. A Safer Community Program: This is a program of delinquency intervention based on the integration of the police and the community.

6. A program of prevention and rehabilitation in the Sula Valley (northwest Honduras): This program aims to improve security conditions in one of the highest areas of crime in the country. The Government of Honduras will invest twenty million dollars in seventeen municipalities to put into effect several massive prevention and rehabilitation projects.

7. A National Arms Registry Program.

8. National Disarmament: As a subsequent measure to registration, the Government will promote a national disarmament campaign that will include all types of unregistered weapons.

9. The creation of a Special Group for the Prevention of gangs (Maras): The Ministry of Security, working jointly with several NGOs in various parts of the country in different activities, aims to encourage young people to join social organizations in order to reduce the number of gangs, and

10. A National Plan for the Rehabilitation and Social Reintegration of Gang Members: This plan seeks to rehabilitate and reintegrate active gang members into society through different activities carried out both by state and private institutions.


With regard to the investigations I mentioned previously, which were carried out by the special unit of the criminal investigation directorate, I would like to emphasize the following: of the 310 cases reported last year involving children, thus far we have been able to establish without a doubt that 74 of the cases involved gang violence. Of these seventy four (74) cases, 43 are currently before the courts, nine are in the hands of the Attorney General’s Office, and 22 are in the process of investigation. Two (2) of the cases that involved police officers have been duly processed, and prosecuted under the law.

Regarding the cases reported to the authorities prior to 2002, investigators have encountered several difficulties that have precluded the determination of the causes. Among these difficulties, the most noteworthy are:

The lack of a centralized database that would allow corroboration of all the information received on the number of deaths. For this reason, the Presidential Commission conducted an independent investigation which established the number of deaths during the last five years at 744.

A shortage of specialized investigators.

A lack of equipment and logistical support for field work.


With regard to our obligations, I reiterate that the Government of Honduras accepts responsibility for the investigation of each and every one of these crimes. Much progress has been made to resolve and prosecute to the fullest extent of the law those responsible for these killings. There is clear evidence that since the early days of its mandate, the administration of President Maduro has been strongly committed to finding a permanent solution to these problems that are deeply rooted in poor social and economic conditions.

Madam Chairperson:

The Government of Honduras wishes to reiterate its commitment to make every possible effort to the prevention of juvenile delinquency, to assure the respect of the human rights of our young people, and to enforce our laws against those who violate them.

While the Government of Honduras is grateful to the governments and private institutions that have brought this problem to our attention, we need them to join forces with us to effectively address this matter.

In this regard, we make an appeal to the international community, both governmental and non governmental organizations, to join us in providing an adequate response to this situation which is of serious concern to the people and Government of Honduras.

We want to invite your support in the investigation efforts, and in strengthening the capabilities of our police force, that should include the improvement of their training, equipment and logistical resources. Working together would allow us to be more effective in our ongoing efforts to put an end to these killings, and to prosecute those responsible. Another area needing attention is in the effective application of our new penal code, which is very advanced, although still has many weaknesses, largely due to the lack of training and shortage of law enforcement officers. Indeed, much remains to be done in this area.

I thank you Madam Chairperson, Ladies and Gentlemen, for your attention.


* *** *