Peace Brigades International teams are supporting an advocacy tour with LGBTIQ+ activists Esdra Sosa (the Arcoíris LGTB Association of Honduras) and Daniela Mondragón (the Centre for LGTBI Development and Cooperation – SOMOS CDC) in Norway, the Netherlands, Germany, France and Switzerland.
UPR discussions in Geneva
PBI-Switzerland played a crucial role in facilitating the participation of defenders in UPR discussions in Geneva.
Criterio.hn now reports: “The Honduran civil society delegation actively participated in the pre-session of the Fourth Cycle of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) in Geneva, presenting a critical overview of the current human rights situation in Honduras before the UN Human Rights Council.”
The article explains: “The UPR is the UN’s international mechanism that regularly reviews the human rights situation of the 193 member countries. Honduras will be officially reviewed in November 2025 and, in this cycle, state representatives and civil society actors present key reports and recommendations to the international community.”
The Criterio.hn article then highlights: “Against this backdrop, LGBTIQ+ organizations have presented a series of urgent recommendations: implement national awareness campaigns in education and the media, pass laws that ensure gender equality and compliance with sentences such as the Vicky Hernández case, and strengthen legal frameworks such as the Penal Code to typify hate crimes and strengthen the investigation of violent deaths. They also demand to reform the Health Code to guarantee access without discrimination, incorporate the differentiated care approach in the health and justice systems, as well as ensure that all protocols are validated by the LGBTIQ+ community. Such actions are considered essential to combat the culture of impunity and lay the foundations for a society that respects diversity and human rights.”
Arcoiris has also posted on Instagram:
“As part of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR), our director Esdra Sosa @esdrasosa actively participated in Geneva, raising awareness among the international community about the serious human rights violations faced by the LGBTIQ+ population in Honduras.
This work has been made possible thanks to the coordination with Peace Brigades International (PBI), who have accompanied and supported this international advocacy process.
During her intervention, she denounced the systematic violence, impunity, and lack of guarantees for human rights defenders in the country, reaffirming Arcoiris’ commitment to justice, truth, and dignity for our communities.
Participation in this international space is another step in the collective struggle for a diverse Honduras, free from violence and discrimination.”
The Centre for Research and Promotion of Human Rights (CIPRODEH) has also posted on Facebook an 11-minute video (that includes speaking) and notes:
“Presentation and participation by our executive director Javier Acevedo on “The Human Rights Situation in Honduras,” Civil Society in Geneva, during the Fourth Cycle of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR), Honduras.”
This past June, Daniela Mondragón, legal advisor to SOMOS CDC, called on the State to guarantee the full enjoyment of rights for the LGBTIQ+ population, recalling the +190 violent deaths since 2020 and an impunity rate exceeding 90% “we demand the same rights that the entire Honduran population has”.
We continue to follow this.
Further reading: Canada comments on human rights in Honduras at its universal periodic review at the United Nations (PBI-Canada, November 5, 2020).
