PBI-Honduras: “The other side of militarisation: human rights violations”

The Peace Brigades International-Honduras Project has written this article on the ways in which Honduran society has been militarized since the 2009 coup.

Some of the notable ways include:

Agriculture

1- In late 2019, the Government of Honduras announced that the Armed Forces would be assigned over one billion Honduran Lempiras (nearly 42 million US Dollars) for the management of the Agricultural Development Programme of Honduras (PCM 52-2019), placing the programme outside of the mandate of the country’s agricultural institutions.

Policing

2- The special militarised police unit, TIGRES (Special Comprehensive Governmental Security Response Unit), was created in 2013 (Decree 103-2013). Although this unit forms part of the country’s police, its officers wear camouflage uniforms, carry long-range firearms, and have specialised communications equipment. TIGRES performs hybrid security duties, such as patrolling streets and highways, maintaining order during public protests, and protecting mining and hydroelectric companies in cases of conflict with local communities.

Schools

3- In 2012 the military was assigned the administration of the Guardians of the Homeland programme, in which they entered into public schools to promote military, civic, and religious ideals. This was described by civil society organisations as “very disturbing”.

Prisons

4- In late 2019, following the declaration of a State of Emergency in the country’s prison system due to the violent deaths of several inmates, the Honduran Executive granted the Armed Forces responsibility over four maximum security prisons.

Lawyer and human rights defender Reina Rivera says: “Soldiers are intervening in matters of telecommunications, energy, justice… Moreover, we see that this militarisation seeks to entrench itself with a request to the next government for more funding for police and armed forces.”

To read the full article, please see The other side of militarisation: human rights violations or La otra cara de la militarización: vulneraciones de derechos humanos.