23 de February de 2010 Press Release

CEJIL requests minimum conditions for the establishment of a mechanism to search for the truth in Honduras

Washington D. C., February 16^th, 2010

Given the hurried steps to establish a Truth Commission in Honduras and comply, at the discretion of state authorities, with the Guaymuras’ Agreement / San Jose, CEJIL considers that there needs to be a framework of minimum conditions to initiate a process of finding the real truth in this country. This set of conditions should mainly include the investigation of thousands of human rights violations that were found by various organizations, in particular the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights.

Due to the fact that there have been more than 30 truth commissions worldwide, it is possible to identify good practices and principles for setting up an entity that can meet the expectations of society and victims.

In that sense, the Truth Commission should be autonomous, independent, and professional; it must have no restrictions in order to carry out its work; it should count with human capital, economic and legal means to successfully complete its mandate; and its findings must have some type of consequences within Honduran system (eg. Establishing adequate reparation measures, the expressed political will to generate structural reforms in order to prevent recurrence of the events, and the initiation of investigations that tend to punish those responsible for human rights violations).

Among other functions, the work of a Truth Commission should contribute to: i) clarify the facts; ii) the moral and ethical recognition of victims of human rights violations, and iii) the presentation of policy recommendations to ensure non-repetition of human rights violations.

Because of its relevance, and the importance of the tool’s legitimacy and the process itself, the design, establishment, implementation and evaluation should be done after extensive consultations with civil society organizations and victims. For such processes, it is essential to count with proper time in order to ensure a work thoroughly, which retakes all necessary factors for this Commission to make the most out of its functions.

Finally, the State should review the findings and recommendations of the reports given by the Truth Commission and respond formally to them. Therefore, it must provide mechanisms to implement these recommendations. To that end, it is recommendable the creation of an institution to monitor the implementation of the work of the Truth Commission, in order to meet the needs of victims and to be able to address any outstanding issues regarding this topic.

In the case of Honduras, this challenge is important because several officials involved in the coup are either still in office, or part of power groups involved in decision making. Hence, this situation could prevent the recommendations of a Truth Commission to become a reality.

CEJIL believes that if the above minimum requirements are not met, the establishment, operation and results of a Truth Commission would be seriously compromised, and thereby, the path towards true reconciliation in Honduras.

CEJIL calls upon the various social actors who are now pushing for a Truth Commission in Honduras, to take into account the feelings of a large part of Hondurans, particularly human rights organizations and victims of human rights violations. That way, it would be possible to ensure that any mechanism created ought to have as core principles protection and redress for those who have personally suffered the consequences of the coup. Ultimately, it urges the international community to provide follow-up on this process which could be historic if it is lead properly.

 

Press Contact in Washington D.C.

Mauricio Herrera Ulloa
[email protected]
Tel: (202) 319-3000
(202) 445-4676

www.cejil.org

The Center for Justice and International Law (CEJIL) is an advocacy of human rights in the Americas. CEJIL’s main objective is to ensure full implementation of international human rights standards in the Member States of the Organization of American States (OAS), through the effective use of the Inter-american human rights system and other international protection mechanisms. CEJIL is a nongovernmental nonprofit with consultative status at the OAS, the Organization of the United Nations (UN) and observer status with the African Commission on Human Rights.