Geneva, The United Nations Subcommittee on the Prevention of Torture (SPT) expressed concerns about the militarization of prisons, substandard conditions for inmates, and significant barriers to accessing justice in Honduras following its latest visit to the country.
According to Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, the SPT delegation, led by Marco Feoli Villalobos, observed a considerable number of places of deprivation of liberty with conditions amounting to cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment. Feoli stated, “We observe, with concern, that conditions in a significant number of places of deprivation of liberty amount to cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment. We shared our preliminary findings with State authorities, and urged them to take action.”
During the visit, which took place from 14-20 April, the SPT delegation examined 19 detention centers across six departments in Honduras, including men’s and women’s prisons, adolescent centers, police stations, children’s homes, and a psychiatric hospital. They conducted confidential interviews with detainees and officials without the authorities’ supervision.
The delegation also visited several detention centers with the National Preventive Mechanism (NPM) – CONAPREV, the designated torture-prevention body in Honduras. Despite facing numerous challenges, CONAPREV continues to operate and is well-known among inmates and authorities. The SPT called upon Honduras to strengthen CONAPREV institutionally and financially to improve oversight and conditions in places of deprivation of liberty.
Feoli noted Honduras’ cooperation and willingness to facilitate access to detention centers during the mission. He called on the country to “promote a process of modernisation of the penitentiary system,” recognizing the authorities’ efforts and awareness of the challenges facing Honduras.
The SPT will submit its findings and recommendations to Honduras in an upcoming report and urged the country to publish this report along with the previous one from 2012. Feoli added that the reports would benefit all parties involved by providing solutions for the immediate future.
The SPT delegation was comprised of Marco Feoli, Massimiliano Bagaglini (Italy), Carmen Comas-Mata (Spain), and Maria Luisa Romero (Panama), along with two members of the SPT secretariat and two security officials. The SPT also met with civil society, international organizations, and other relevant stakeholders during its visit.
Honduras ratified the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture (OPCAT) in 2006; the SPT first visited the country in 2009 and again in 2012.