Honduras

Mine Ban Policy

The Republic of Honduras signed the Mine Ban Treaty on 3 December 1997 and ratified on 24 September 1998, becoming a State Party on 1 March 1999. National implementation legislation, Decree No. 60-2000, was published in the Official Gazette on 29 June 2000.^[1]

As of July 2008, Honduras had not yet submitted its annual updated Article 7 report, due 30 April 2008. It has submitted six previous reports.^[2]

Honduras attended the Eighth Meeting of States Parties in Jordan in November 2007 and the intersessional Standing Committee meetings in June 2008, but did not make any statements at these meetings.

Honduras has not engaged in the discussions that States Parties have had on matters of interpretation and implementation related to Articles 1 and 2. Thus, it has not made known its views on the issues of joint military operations with states not party to the treaty, foreign stockpiling and transit of antipersonnel mines, and antivehicle mines with sensitive fuzes or antihandling devices.

Honduras has never produced or exported antipersonnel mines. On 2 November 2000, Honduras completed destruction of a total of 7,441 stockpiled antipersonnel mines.^[3]

Honduras has retained 815 mines for training purposes.^[4] This includes 458 M4, 159 M969, and 198 FMK-1 mines.^[5] It originally retained 826 mines, but destroyed 11 M-4 mines during training activities in 2005.^[6] In May 2006, Honduras said it will use all retained mines gradually.^[7]

Honduras has stated that the retained mines are needed for two main purposes: to help train military personnel assisting other countries in their demining programs, and to study areas where landmines may have been laid in the country.^[8] However, Honduras has yet to provide details on the intended purposes and actual uses of its retained mines, as agreed by States Parties in 2004. Honduras has not used the expanded Form D on retained mines agreed by States Parties in 2005.

Honduras is party to the Convention on Conventional Weapons (CCW) and its Amended Protocol II on landmines. It did not participate in the Ninth Annual Conference of States Parties to the protocol in November 2007 nor did it submit a report in accordance with Article 13. Honduras is not party to CCW Protocol V on explosive remnants of war.

Honduras participated in the Dublin Diplomatic Conference on Cluster Munitions in May 2008 and adopted the final treaty text.

Landmine/ERW Problem

Despite the closure of its mine action program, Honduras is still affected by residual contamination from mines and unexploded ordnance (UXO). Its mine contamination was the result of mine-laying along its borders with Nicaragua and El Salvador by warring parties in the armed conflicts in those two countries during the 1980s. The departments of Choluteca, El Paraíso, Gracias a Dios, and Olancho were affected by both mines and UXO.^[9]

Formal mine clearance operations in Honduras ended in 2004.^[10] On 29 October 2004, the United States Department of State reported that Honduras was “mine-free,” noting that Honduran deminers had cleared 2,191 landmines, 214 items of UXO, and 60,521 other explosive remnants of war (ERW) on the borders with El Salvador and Nicaragua.^[11] In 2007, however, the Organization of American States (OAS) reported that a mine killed a Honduran man on 25 November 2005 in San Francisco de la Lodosa close to the Nicaraguan border while he was on a hunting trip.^[12]

On 16 April 2007, the OAS announced it “will continue supporting that country’s efforts to respond to reports about the presence of landmines, documented through preventive education efforts in the area bordering Nicaragua,” while at the same time stating that it considered Honduras safe from landmines.^[13] It repeated this statement in July 2007.^[14] In 2006–2007, the OAS provided mine/ERW risk education to 1,439 people in 18 communities in Olancho and El Paraíso departments, demonstrating a fear of further incidents.^[15]

A Canadian government travel advisory accessed in August 2008 warned: “Unmarked landmine fields are located on both sides of the Honduras-Nicaragua border, especially in the Rio Coco region, the Choluteca and El Paraíso provinces, and in the area near the Atlantic Coast. Although significant progress was made in clearing these areas, landslides and floods have scattered many of the remaining mines, making the border area unsafe. Extreme caution is advised if travelling in this area.”^[16]

Demining

At the Sixth Meeting of State Parties in Zagreb in December 2005, Honduras made a statement that it had completed its mine clearance program.^[17] As a result of clearance, according to a US government media note, Honduras estimated that more than 67,000 families would move into the demined areas and farm them.^[18]

Between September 1995 and June 2004, Honduras cleared almost 450,000m² of land along its border with Nicaragua.^[19] Honduras reported the destruction of two antipersonnel mines and 99 items of UXO in 2005 and five more antipersonnel mines in 2006—with a sixth mine awaiting destruction as of April 2007—as well as five items of UXO (with a further 52 items awaiting destruction).^[20] In January and February 2007, following reports from the public, Honduras found four mines.^[21] No details of any mine finds or destruction have been reported by Honduras since, however the OAS issued a summary of results for 2007, which noted the destruction of 11 mines and 76 items of UXO.^[22] The destruction of these mines and UXO took place in two phases, one in March and April with the support of the OAS, and the second in July carried out with national resources.^[23]

Summary of Efforts to Comply with Article 5

Under Article 5 of the Mine Ban Treaty, Honduras is required to destroy all antipersonnel mines in mined areas under its jurisdiction or control as soon as possible, but not later than 1 March 2009. Honduras declared its compliance with Article 5 obligations in December 2005. There continues to be a residual mine/ERW problem that includes a threat from antipersonnel mines. As of 1 August 2008, Honduras had not reported on results of demining since February 2007.

Landmine/ERW Casualties

In 2007, there were eight casualties from three incidents involving grenades; three were killed (all children) and five were injured (three children and two men).^[24] One of the grenades was found in a goat pen in San Lorenzo (Valle department); another grenade was found in an abandoned house near Tegucigalpa (the capital).^[25] The third incident, in San Marcos de Colón (Choluteca department), occurred when two builders attempted to defuse the grenade to use as a tool.^[26] No mine/ERW casualties were reported in 2006; the last reported mine casualty occurred in November 2005.^[27] In 2008, no casualties were reported through June.

Data collection

As part of a mine/ERW RE campaign, the OAS Assistance Program for Demining in Central America (Programa de Asistencia para el Desminado en Centroamérica, PADCA) started collecting casualty data and entering it into the Information Management System for Mine Action (IMSMA) in August 2006.^[28] As of 5 March 2008, it had identified 58 casualties from 43 incidents, including 10 people killed and 48 injured who had never been officially registered or received assistance. Four casualties were military and 54 civilian.

All but two incidents occurred in two departments bordering Nicaragua: El Paraíso (46 casualties, in Danlí, El Paraíso, and Trojes municipalities) and Choluteca (six casualties, in Choluteca, Orocuina, and San Marcos de Colón). The remaining two incidents occurred in 2007 in Tegucigalpa and in San Lorenzo (Valle department).^[29]

Previously reported casualty information indicated that there may be as many as 200 mine/ERW survivors in Honduras.^[30] It is estimated that 10% of the population is disabled.^[31]

Landmine/ERW Risk Education

In 2007, OAS PADCA continued its RE campaign in communities previously suspected of being mine-affected; it reached 637 people in seven communities in the department of Olancho.^[32] This is a decline from the 1,400 people who were reached in 2006,^[33] but in line with the level of residual mine/ERW threat. The RE campaign resulted in 20 reports of areas affected by explosive devices.^[34]

Victim Assistance

Mine/ERW survivors are not treated differently from other persons with disabilities. The healthcare system in Honduras lacks coordination and has weak information and surveillance systems, and access in rural areas and among ethnic minorities is limited. Government officials are often unaware of disability issues and lack the means to develop services or to support service providers.^[35] In 2006, approximately 30% of the population had no access to healthcare.^[36]

There are four Teletón physical rehabilitation centers in Honduras, although access to these centers is limited, especially for people in remote areas. Only 17% of persons with disabilities received rehabilitation services.^[37] Psychosocial and socio-economic reintegration programs are limited and hampered by the country’s poverty.^[38] It was estimated that 68% of persons with disabilities were unemployed (compared with 49% of the general population),^[39] and that 51% were illiterate (compared with 19% of the general population).^[40]

Despite the adoption of legislation prohibiting discrimination against persons with disabilities in 2005, the law is not implemented.^[41] Honduras ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities on 14 April 2008 and signed its Optional Protocol on 23 August 2008, but as of 31 July 2008 had not ratified it.

The Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Governance and Justice funded organizations working with persons with disabilities but the International Committee of the Red Cross Special Fund for the Disabled (SFD) noted that support was insufficient and that service providers were dependent on external donors and limited contributions from patients.^[42]

OAS PADCA has facilitated and covered the costs of physical rehabilitation for 45 of the registered 48 mine/ERW survivors who required assistance. Assistance was provided at the Vida Nueva (New Life) center in Choluteca and several rehabilitation centers in Nicaragua.^[43]

The Vida Nueva center continued to provide prosthetic devices and socio-economic reintegration. It refers people to the Teletón rehabilitation center in Choluteca for physiotherapy. In 2007, the Vida Nueva center assisted 308 persons with disabilities, including 10 mine/ERW survivors, all of whom received new prosthetic devices, with four also receiving assistance to develop a small business. Since its establishment in 2003, the center has assisted a total of 27 survivors.^[44] It is believed to be the only facility providing specialized mine/ERW victim assistance and socio-economic reintegration in Honduras.^[45] It is funded by the Ananda Foundation, Grapes for Humanity, the OAS, the Polus Center for Social and Economic Development, the US Department of State, and voluntary contributions.^[46]

In 2007, the Coffeelands Landmine Victims’ Trust provided socio-economic support to two mine survivors through the Vida Nueva center. One woman who had lost her arm while picking coffee received educational support for one of her children. A farmer, who lost his leg while working near the Nicaraguan border, received a micro-credit loan to improve his pig farm.^[47]

The SFD provides materials to produce prosthetics and orthotics to Nueva Vida and two additional physical rehabilitation centers in San Pedro Sula and Tegucigalpa. In 2008, it also brought three technicians to Nicaragua for training and initiated an assessment of the quality of care.^[48]