Human Rights in Honduras - Research Paper Example

Essay Report: Human Rights in Honduras The Sources Pine, Adrienne (Sep/Oct 2010). “Honduras: 'Reconciliation' vs. Reality”. NACLA Report on the Americas, 43: (5). This report was prepared for the North American Congress on Latin America (NACLA). The author is an Assistant Professor of Anthropology at American University and a Senior Research Associate at the Council on Hemispheric Affairs. Her faculty biography from American University describes her as “ a militant medical anthropologist who has worked in Honduras, Mexico, Korea, the United States, and Egypt” who believes “that the symbolic violence resulting from Hondurans’ embodied obsession with certain forms of 'real' violence is a necessary condition for the acceptance of violent forms of modernity and capitalism.” Honduras was suspended from the Organization of American States (OAS) shortly after the June 29, 2009, military coup that overthrew its elected government. Since January, nine journalists, most of them critical of the coup and its beneficiaries, have been killed in targeted assassinations. Military and paramilitary death squads have disappeared, tortured, and killed dozens of resistance leaders and their family members. As of August 22, 2010 the "Citizen Declaration," calling for an inclusive constituent assembly to rewrite the Honduran constitution, had garnered 944,330 signatures. This is more than the number of Hondurans who voted in the 2009 presidential election. He author concludes that the military government has trampled human rights since it took power but that opposition remains widespread and active. Stanley, Denise L (May 2010). “Outmigration, Human Development and Trade: A Central American Case Study”. Journal of Human Development and Capabilities. 11: (2), pp. 315-337, May 2010. The author is is Associate Professor of Economics at California State University-Fullerton, with a specialty in applied microeconomics. She previously received degrees from Occidental College, the London School of Economics and Oxford University. She has undertaken internship, missionary, and consulting assignments in the Dominican Republic and Central America for a variety of foundations and non-governmental organizations. This paper examines the motivation for the 75% out-migration rates from villages in southern Honduras between 1998 and 1997. Southwestern Honduras has some of the highest rates of unemployment, population densities and environmental damage in the country. It is one of the more capability-deprived zones of the country in many dimensions of poverty. The introduction of new crops and economic opportunities did nothing to stem out-migration In some cases these interventions seemed to foster out-migration by upsetting traditional social order. The lack of basic necessities such as potable water increases out-migration while their provision decreases out-migration The increased availability of basic necessities is less disruptive than introducing fundamental economic changes. The author concludes that out-migration in this region of the country was driven by poverty and the lack of basic necessities rather than repression and human rights violations. She concludes that many Hondurans who leave the country are fleeing poverty and underdevelopment rather than repression and human rights violations and, therefore, should be considered economic refugees. Gervais, Christine. (May 2010). “From Discovery to Dissidence: Honduran Women's Conceptions and Claims of Human Rights”. Journal of International Women's Studies. 11: (4), pp. 19-36. The author is an assistant professor of criminology at the University of Ottawa in Canada and a lecturer in criminology at Carlton University also in Canada. She is the founder of Acceso International which seeks to provide educational opportunities to students in economically disadvantaged countries. This article provides an overview and summary of women's involvement in anti-colonial and social justice movements since the fifteenth century and into the twenty-first century in Honduras. The article points out that women have played a leading role in the protection of indigenous rights and advocating for social justice for over five hundred hears and continue to play a leading role in opposition to the latest military government. The author notes that in rural society and indigenous communities women often exercise more control over the education of children and family finances than do men. In certain regions of the country and in certain sectors of the national economy Honduran women have more economic opportunities and the potential to earn more money than men. Not surprisingly the author concludes that women have played, play, and will play a prominent role in pursuit of social justice and the protection of human rights in Honduras. Ismi, Asad. (September 1, 2009). The Latin American Revolution (III): The U.S. Empire Strikes Back through a Coup in Honduras. The Monitor (Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives), Sep 1 2009. http://www.policyalternatives.ca/publications/monitor/latin-american-revolution-iii. Asad Ismi is the CCPA Monitor’s international affairs correspondent. He is author of the forthcoming radio documentary “The Latin American Revolution”. Asad holds a Ph.D. in War Studies from the University of London and is a writer on international politics specializing in U.S. policy towards the Global South and the role of Canadian corporations there. This article details the events of the military coup in Honduras in the on June 28, 2009. The elected progressive President Zelaya, was roused from his bed at gunpoint by masked Honduran army soldiers, who kidnapped him in his pajamas and put him on a plane to Costa Rica. He was lucky not to be assassinated. “The Committee of Families of Disappeared-Detainees in Honduras (COFADEH), a non-governmental human-rights organization, released a report in mid-July that identified 1,100 human rights violations committed by the new government since the coup, including murders, assaults, arbitrary detentions, and attacks on the media.” However, the United States State Department insists that no coup occurred and opposes Honduras suspension from the OAS. A US State Department media release quoted by Ismi states, "We also recognize that President Zelaya's insistence on undertaking provocative actions contributed to the polarization of Honduran society and led to a confrontation that unleashed the events that led to his removal." Decades of U.S. domination and foreign corporate exploitation have made Honduras one of the three poorest countries in the Western hemisphere, along with Nicaragua and Haiti. Nearly two-thirds (62%) of Hondurans live in poverty. The author concludes that American strategic and economic priorities inspired the coup leaders and that the US will continue to defend Honduras' human rights record regardless of the truth because of these other priorities. Economic and strategic globalization not human rights drive US policy in Honduras according to the author. Thompson, Ginger. (August 8, 2009). “A Cold War Ghost Reappears in Honduras, on a Solitary Quest”. New York Times, pp. A5. Ginger Thompson is the widely respected New York Times lead corespondent on Central American Affairs. Billy Joya “one of the most ruthless former operatives of an American-backed military unit, known as Battalion 316, responsible for kidnapping, torturing and murdering hundreds of people suspected of being leftists during the 1980s.” Today he is “a 52-year-old husband and father of four … [and] a political consultant to some of the most powerful people in the country, including President Micheletti installed as President following the military coup in June 2009. Only hours after the coup Joya appeared on Honduran national television justifying and defending the coup. Executives of American transnational corporations operating in Honduras such as Antonio Tavel, president of Xerox in Honduras, defend Joya: “He is like one of those guys who went to Vietnam. He had an ugly job to do once upon a time, and now he's a regular family guy.” However, Honduran human rights activists such as Edmundo Orellana, the former Honduran attorney general, are outraged that he is again a political player. ''Billy Joya is proof that civilian rule has been a cruel hoax on the Honduran people,'' Mr. Orellana said. ''He shows that ignorance and complicity still reign inside our courts, especially when it comes to the armed forces.'' The author, strictly a journalist, draws no conclusions in his profile of Billy Joya. Implicitly, however, the article demonstrates that the US military support repression and human rights violations in Honduras during the Cold War and that paramilitary leaders from that time remain influential in the new US backed government and are also supported by transnational corporations operating in Honduras today. Hellinger, Dan. (July/August, 2009). “Media Amnesia on Human Rights in Honduras”. The St. Louis Journalism Review [St. Louis], 39: (314). Daniel Hellinger is Professor of Political Science at Webster University and holds the Ph.D. from Rutgers University. Currently, he is the director of the Graduate School of International Relations at Webster University also. The author points out that the US government used Honduras as a key staging area in its covert war against leftist regimes and movements during the 1980s: “In the early 1980s, Honduras was used as a secure base for U.S. training and support of the Contras army trying to reverse the Sandinista, and for training and support of the Salvadoran military, which was fighting to repulse a leftist insurgency.” He also notes that the Honduran National Commission on Human Rights was appointed by the military -backed President when he was head of the Congress, before the coup, and reports to the government installed by the military coup. He concludes that it is not a trustworthy source for information on human rights in Honduras. He also accuses the Inter-American Press Association (IAPA) of maintaining a “stony silence” silence on the intimidation of journalists in Honduras and the general human rights situation since the coup in June 2009. This article does not conclude with any explicit conclusions. However, I makes plain that the United States has been involved militarily and strategically in Honduras at least since the 1980s. He also asserts that the present Honduran National Commission on Human Rights cannot be relied upon to present objective and accurate information on the current status of human rights in the country as it was installed by the military-backed government and continues to report to it. Sullivan, Mark P. and Peter J. Meyer. (September 25, 2008). Honduran-U.S. Relations. Congressional Research Reports for the People, Foreign Affairs, Defense and Trade Division. Mark P. Sullivan is a Congressional contract employee and a specialist in Latin American affairs. He graduated from Emory University in Atlanta and is also founder and president of ProNica Development (according to its website) “a consulting company dedicated to opening Nicaragua to a broader investment market by providing the highest standards of quality in research, accountability, professionalism, and responsiveness to clients. The company is based in San Juan del Sur, Rivas in southwestern Nicaragua.” The report provides a summary of US-Honduran relations less than one year before the military coup. It notes that the two countries have had a long economic and political relationship. It comments negatively on “President Zelaya’s move toward closer relations with Venezuela” and criticizes him for supporting Bolivia during a recent Bolivian-American diplomatic confrontation. It also criticizes President Zelaya for not improving economic conditions fast enough, not increasing government transparency, and losing popular support on the basis of these shortcomings. It also accuses the Zelaya government of muzzling the media and being implicated in murders of environmentalists and human rights workers. On the other side of the coin the report lauds US foreign aid and disaster relief efforts after Hurricane Mitch. Frankly, this report sounds like a precursor to a US-backed coup. In light of Honduran history it would seem that right-wing paramilitaries are more likely to be responsible for the murders of aid workers, human rights activists and environmentalists than a left wing government. It also seems paternalistic of the United States to be complaining about Honduran relations with other Latin American countries such as Bolivia and Venezuelan. One cannot but wonder that a coup only seven months later led by the military installed a new President who immediately garnered American approval. Lacy, Marc. (June 5, 2010). Latin America still divided over Coup in Honduras”. New York Times. . Marc Lacey opened the New York Time's first-ever Phoenix Bureau in the summer of 2010. As Phoenix bureau chief, Marc covers the immigration debate, border issues and other events in Arizona and the Southwest United States. He was preceded Ginger Thompson as Latin American bureau chief based in Mexico City. This article provides an overview of the military-backed government twelve months after the coup. Lacey describes the situation as one that “continues to divide Latin America and pose an unrelenting challenge to the Obama administration’s goals in the region.” President Michelletti held the elections scheduled for November 2009 and relinquished power when his party lost. However, newly elected President Lobo is viewed as also a product of the coup and has been shunned by many Latin American states although he has the firm support of the US. Former President Zelaya remains in exile in the Dominican Republic. In May the Supreme Court dismissed four lower-court judges who mounted a challenge to the legality of Mr. Zelaya’s ouster. Further, the government appointed Truth and Reconciliation Commission refuses to former President Zelaya's departure from the country. Months after this article was published the OAS refused to end Honduras suspension contending that the current government was illegitimate. In conclusion, this article notes that the US firmly supports the new government but opinion in Honduras and throughout Latin America grants far less legitimacy to the current government. Summary of Findings This survey of research into human rights and globalization evidences many trends about human rights in Honduras and the impact of globalization. Certainly not the central finding but one of interest and importance is the important role of women in society in Honduras. Evidence indicates that in rural areas they have social and economic power, to some degree, that is unexpected and seems to be neglected in most of the literature. Further, they seem notably absent from the political arena as all of the major political players are male and their seems to be no Honduran equivalent of Nancy Pelosi or Sarah Palin. Secondly, it is interesting to note that international aid projects that significantly alter socio-economic relationships within the country and ignore the cultural context may not have the intended consequences. On the other hand relatively simple intervention such as the provision of potable water do seem to have an impact. This suggests that international aid projects need to be attuned to specific local circumstances if they are to have a meaningful impact on developing countries. The major finding of this study, the elephant in the living room seems to be the role of the United States and US-based multinational corporations in the country (and the region). The United States seems to hover like a dark cloud over Honduran history. Also, its role seems to be driven by corporate economic interests and strategic considerations rather than any concern for human rights. In Honduras there seems to have been widespread dissatisfaction with the coup that deposed President Zelaya. This seems also to have been the sentiment throughout the region as the country remains suspended by the O.A.S. Also, the Dominican Republic was willing to provide an exile residency to the former President. Alone among O.A.S. states only the US seems to have had no qualms about the coup and to be strongly advocating the readmission of Honduras to the O.A.S. and the global community. Historically, the US government used Honduras as a key staging area in its covert war against leftist regimes and movements in the region during the 1980s Hellinger writes, “in the early 1980s, Honduras was used as a secure base for U.S. training and support of the Contras army trying to reverse the Sandinista, and for training and support of the Salvadoran military, which was fighting to repulse a leftist insurgency.” Also, the Congressional report considered in this literature review complained about Honduras relations with its neighbors when the US regarded those neighbors – Venezuela and Bolivia – to be not properly aligned with US policy in the region. The article about Billy Joya the ex-paramilitary turned political adviser was remarkably Machiavellian. The US seems to have no concern with his return to influence despite his leader of death squads during the 1980s. This is true not only of the government but the representative of Xerox (a multinational corporation) in Honduras who likened him to a US war veteran. US policy in the region seems to be amorally governed by strategic and economic interest with little regard for the will, or even the human rights, of the Honduran population. Finally, and frighteningly, the US Congressional report prepared six months before the coup seems like a justification for regime change rather than objective analysis. Read More