Honduras

The Republic of Honduras, historical home to Mesoamerican cultures including the Maya, was conquered by Spain in the sixteenth century who imported Roman Catholicism which has been predominant culturally ever since. Honduras’ multi-party system has been turbulent and wracked with controversy. A long history of military rule, corruption and crime has made enforcement of basic human rights challenging in Honduras.[ref]https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2018/country-chapters/honduras[/ref]

Use of Conscientious Objection clauses resulting in the denial of lawful services to women and LGBTI+ people
Religious or ideological instruction is mandatory in all or most state-funded schools with no secular or humanist alternative
Insufficient information or detail not included in this report
Insufficient information or detail not included in this report

Countries: Kazakhstan

The state is secular, with separation of religious and political authorities, not discriminating against any religion or belief
Insufficient information or detail not included in this report
No fundamental restrictions on freedom of expression or advocacy of humanist values
Insufficient information or detail not included in this report

Countries: no countries relate to this boundary condition

No condition holds in this strand
No condition holds in this strand

Countries: Andorra

No condition holds in this strand
Religious courts or tribunals rule directly on some family or ‘moral’ matters; it is legally an opt-in system, but the possibility of social coercion is very clear
No condition holds in this strand

Countries: no countries relate to this boundary condition

Localised or infrequent but recurring and widespread social marginalisation or prejudice against the non-religious

This condition is unusual in that it is applied in cases where there is some social discrimination, but it is not pervasive or nationwide. This condition is applied when there is sufficient background evidence to warrant the assertion that discrimination is not anomalous but widespread, and this condition may be applied for example even where if there is no legislative discrimination or where the non-religious may have legal recourse against such discrimination. However, societal discrimination (i.e. discrimination by peers, as opposed to state or legal discrimination) is not easily measured, and for this reason the Report does not currently have similar more severe boundary conditions to capture higher levels of social discrimination per se. In principle these may be introduced in future. However, we consider that countries with actual higher levels of social discrimination against the non-religious will generally already meet other higher level (more severe) boundary conditions under this thematic strand.

The dominant influence of religion in public life undermines the right to equality and/or non-discrimination

Applied when the influence of religion on public life undermines others’ rights, such as SRHR, women’s rights, LGBTI+ rights.

May be applied when the influence is overt (i.e. when religious laws are applied to undermine others’ rights) or covert (i.e. where religious pressure groups exert influence to affect policy)

The non-religious are persecuted socially or there are prohibitive social taboos against atheism, humanism or secularism
Complete tyranny precludes all freedoms of expression and thought, religion or belief

Applied when overriding acts of oppression by the State are extreme, to the extent that the question of freedom of thought and expression is almost redundant, because all human rights and freedoms are quashed by authorities.

Countries: North Korea

Expression of core Humanist principles on democracy, freedom and human rights is brutally repressed
Expression of non-religious views is severely persecuted, or is rendered almost impossible by severe social stigma, or is highly likely to be met with hatred or violence
There is significant social marginalisation of the non-religious or stigma associated with expressing atheism, humanism or secularism
Religious or ideological indoctrination is utterly pervasive in schools
There is a nominal state church with few privileges or progress is being made toward disestablishment

Countries: Bulgaria, Norway, Peru, Rwanda

The non-religious are barred from some government offices (including posts reserved for particular religions or sects)
‘Apostasy’ is outlawed and punishable with a prison sentence

Countries: Bahrain, Comoros, Jordan, Kuwait

‘Apostasy’ or conversion from a specific religion is outlawed and punishable by death
Some religious courts rule in civil or family matters on a coercive or discriminatory basis
Religious authorities have supreme authority over the state

Countries: Iran

State legislation is partly derived from religious law or by religious authorities
Preferential treatment is given to a religion or religion in general

This condition is applied where there are miscellaneous indicators that organs of the state offer various forms of support for a religion, or to religion in general over non-religious worldviews, suggesting a preference for those beliefs, or that the organs of that religion are privileged.

There is a pattern of impunity or collusion in violence by non-state actors against the nonreligious
State-funded schools provide religious education which may be nominally comprehensive but is substantively biased or borderline confessional
Religious or ideological instruction in a significant number of schools is of a coercive fundamentalist or extremist variety

This condition highlights countries where schools subject children to fundamentalist religious instruction with no real opportunity to question fundamentalist tenets, or where lessons routinely encourage hatred (for example religious or ethnic hatred). The wording “significant number of schools” is not given a rigid quantification (sometimes the worst-offending schools are unregistered, illegal, or otherwise uncounted); however the condition is not applied in cases where only a small number of schools meet the description and may be anomalous, as opposed to being indicative of a widespread problem.

State legislation is largely or entirely derived from religious law or by religious authorities
Anomalous discrimination by local or provincial authorities, or overseas territories
Religious or ideological instruction is mandatory in at least some public schools (without secular or humanist alternatives)
‘Blasphemy’ or criticism of religion is outlawed and punishable by death
Government figures or state agencies openly marginalize, harass, or incite hatred or violence against the non-religious
Government authorities push a socially conservative, religiously or ideologically inspired agenda, without regard to the rights of those with progressive views
It is illegal to advocate secularism or church-state separation, or such advocacy is suppressed
Prohibitive interreligious social control (including interreligious marriage bans)
Quasi-divine veneration of a ruling elite is enforced, or a single-party regime holds uncontested power, subject to severe punishment
Legal or constitutional provisions exclude non-religious views from freedom of belief
It is illegal to register an explicitly Humanist, atheist, secularist or other non-religious NGO or other human rights organization, or such groups are persecuted by authorities
There is a religious tax or tithing which is compulsory, or which is state-administered and discriminates by precluding non-religious groups
The non-religious are barred from holding government office
Some concerns about children's right to specifically religious freedom

This condition may apply if specifically religious education, religious materials, or specific religious denominations are so tightly controlled that children are in fact over-protected from exposure to religion and are likely unable to explore or construct their own worldview in accordance with their evolving capacities. This condition helps us to classify states (perhaps with secular constitutions) which have criminalized specifically religious beliefs or practices. This condition is not applied if the restricted beliefs or practices are found to be outlawed due to their being of an extremist variety. While this condition does not directly reflect discrimination against non-religious persons or non-religious ideas, it does represent an overall threat to freedom of thought, conscience, religion or belief; such restrictions could spill over to affect non-religious beliefs later; and they pose a risk of backlash against over-zealous secular authorities or even against non-religious individuals by association.

It is illegal or unrecognised to identify as an atheist or as non-religious
It is made difficult to register or operate an explicitly Humanist, atheist, secularist or other non-religious NGO or other human rights organization
 
Severe Discrimination
Systemic Discrimination
Free and Equal
No Rating

Constitution and government

The Constitution establishes Honduras as a secular state and protects freedom of thought, conscience and religion, as well as freedom of expression, assembly and association.[ref]https://www.oas.org/dil/esp/Constitucion_de_Honduras.pdf (Spanish); https://www.constituteproject.org/constitution/Honduras_2013.pdf?lang=en (English)[/ref] However, military coups and social strife, including the world’s highest murder rate, mean that in practice many of these rights cannot be safely exercised. Under the Constitution, religious leaders are prohibited from holding public office or making political statements. Despite this prohibition, some Protestant pastors have nonetheless been elected to government positions and serve on government advisory bodies.[ref]https://www.state.gov/reports/2018-report-on-international-religious-freedom/honduras/[/ref]

Religious privilege

Although Honduras has been nominally a secular state since 1880, the legislature declares the Roman Catholic Church and the Evangelical Confederation of Honduras as legally recognized churches, and these churches only.

The Constitution allows other religious bodies to register as non-profit associations with the benefits of non-profit status. And all citizens are free to practice the religion or belief of their choice. But the two official churches receive a range of additional privileges and benefits available to them alone, such as tax exemption for clergy salaries and state recognition of religious marriages.

Education and children’s rights

Public education must teach a secular curriculum, however private schools may include religion as part of the curriculum. While private religious schools are allowed to operate, they reportedly receive no special privileges from the government. Access to education is a significant problem in Honduras, as the government only provides funding for education up until the 6th grade.[ref]https://www.state.gov/reports/2019-report-on-international-religious-freedom/honduras/#:~:text=The%20constitution%20states%20public%20education,as%20part%20of%20the%20curriculum[/ref]

Family, community and society

Women’s rights

Murder remains the second-leading cause of death for women of childbearing age. The government, with backing from the Catholic and Evangelical churches, exacerbates this crisis by limiting women’s options after sexual violence. Honduras is the only nation in Latin America that bans emergency contraception outright, including for rape victims. Abortion is also outlawed, with no exceptions for rape, incest, severe fetal abnormality or the life of the pregnant woman. Women who seek abortions put themselves at risk of imprisonment. The country’s criminal code imposes prison sentences of up to six years on women and girls who induce abortions and on the medical professionals who assist them with obtaining abortions.[ref]https://www.hrw.org/news/2019/06/06/life-or-death-choices-women-living-under-honduras-abortion-ban[/ref]

LGBT rights

The constitution explicitly bans same-sex marriage. Honduran society is hostile to LGBT people and violence against the LGBT community is endemic. It is reported that between 2009 and 2019, at least 322 members of the LGBT community in Honduras were murdered. Honduras also had the highest per capita number of transgender murders in the world between 2008 and 2014, according to a report by Transgender Europe.[ref]https://www.worldpoliticsreview.com/articles/27840/i-knew-i-had-to-get-out-to-survive-violence-drives-lgbt-central-americans-north[/ref]

In March 2019, a new adoption law prohibiting same-sex couples from adopting children went into effect.[ref]https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2020/country-chapters/honduras[/ref]

Freedom of expression, advocacy of humanist values

Although the Constitution guarantees freedom of expression and press freedom, these rights have been systematically violated since the most recent coup in 2009.[ref]https://pen-international.org/app/uploads/Honduras-Journalism-in-the-Shadow-of-Impunity1.pdf[/ref] The security forces, especially the military police and army, are responsible for most of the abuses and violence against media personnel.[ref]https://rsf.org/en/honduras[/ref]

Most large broadcasters and publishers are owned by powerful businessmen and politicians who supported the coup. Opposition and community media that dare to report human rights violations or land conflicts are exposed to serious reprisals, with the direct complicity of the police, armed forces and private militia controlled by businessmen and politicians. Harassment includes police surveillance, assaults, threats, blocked transmissions, and power outages. This has been seen in the persecution of opposition media such Radio Uno, Radio Globo and Canal 36, and community radio stations such as Radio Coco Dulce and La Voz de Zacate Grande.

Endemic violent crime suppresses freedom of expression and the work of human rights activists. Approximately 80 percent of crimes committed in Honduras are never reported, according to the government, and only 3.8 percent of reported crimes are investigated by police.

Crackdown on protests & new restrictions on freedoms

The outbreak of protests in March 2019 were met with a heavy-handed crackdown that resulted in at least six deaths, 80 wounded, and 48 arbitrary detentions between March and July.[ref]https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2020/country-chapters/honduras[/ref]

In May 2019, a revised penal code was adopted by the Honduran government. Human rights groups have raised concerns that its vaguely-worded provisions could criminalize the lawful exercise of the rights to protest and assembly. This includes the crime of “public disturbances,” vaguely defined to include “violence or serious intimidation [that] frightens a population or part of it.” The code also uses overly broad language in defining the crimes of “illicit assembly,” “demonstrations,” and “terrorism.” [ref]https://pen-international.org/es/noticias/carta-al-congreso-nacional-de-honduras-de-organizaciones-internacionales; https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2020/country-chapters/honduras[/ref] In July 2019, the IACHR expressed concern over these provisions and called for their review.[ref]http://www.oas.org/es/cidh/expresion/informes/ESPIA2019.pdf[/ref] The new penal code entered into force on 25 June 2020.[ref]https://criterio.hn/plagado-de-contradicciones-el-nuevo-codigo-penal-entra-en-vigencia-por-decision-politica/[/ref]