Lawmakers Ask State Dept. to Review Support for Honduras
Source: New York Times
Lawmakers Ask State Dept. to Review Support for Honduras
By ELISABETH MALKINMAY 29, 2014
MEXICO CITY More than 100 members of the House of Representatives, outlining the deteriorating human rights situation in Honduras, urged the State Department on Wednesday to press the Honduran government to protect human rights and ensure the rule of law.
In the past few months, international organizations have raised renewed concern over the targeted killings of journalists and advocates for human and land rights.
The letter to Secretary of State John Kerry was signed by 108 members of Congress, led by Representative Jan Schakowsky, Democrat of Illinois. In it, the lawmakers argued that the government of President Juan Orlando Hernández has adopted policies that threaten to make the human rights situation even worse by promoting a militarized police force and using its army for domestic law enforcement.
The letter called on the State Department to evaluate Washingtons support and training for the Honduran police and military.
In its 2013 human rights report, the State Department acknowledged the severity of human rights abuses in Honduras. It described the corruption, intimidation, and institutional weakness of the justice system leading to widespread impunity, along with unlawful and arbitrary killings by security forces, organized criminal elements, and others.
Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/29/world/americas/lawmakers-ask-state-dept-to-review-support-for-honduras.html