Since the June 28, 2009 military coup d’etat that ousted President Manuel Zelaya, CCR has been involved in advocacy aimed to address systemic human rights violations in Honduras. CCR has advocated against the US government's current dangerous policy towards Honduras that rewards illegal, anti-democratic, and violent regime change. CCR is a member of the Honduras Solidarity Network in the United States and is partnered with Comité de Familiares de Detenidos Desaparecidos en Honduras (COFADEH) and has worked to support the efforts of the Comisión de Verdad established by the Honduran Human Rights Platform.
CCR's efforts have involved a combination of litigation, investigation, reporting and advocacy, including a case brought on behalf of the parents of Isis Obed Murillo, a youth killed by Honduran military in the afternath of the coup, litigation seeking the release of records from the Department of Defense and Central Intelligence Agency relating to the coup, and periodic reports documenting the escalating violence and targeting of opponents of the coup regimes.
LITIGATION
Submission to International Criminal Court
On November 15, 2012, the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) and International Federation of Human Rights (FIDH) filed a submission to the International Criminal Court urging an investigation into ongoing crimes against humanity.
Read the submission here.
Alien Tort Statute Lawsuit - Murillo v. Micheletti
On June 23, 2011, the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) filed a complaint in the Houston Division of the Southern District of Texas, on behalf of David Murillo and Silvia Mencías, the parents of Isis Obed Murillo who was a teenager when he was shot and killed by Honduran military forces during a peaceful demonstration against the military coup d’etat of June 28, 2009. The defendant is Roberto Micheletti Baín, former president of the Honduran National Congress who assumed the role of head of the de facto government immediately following the coup d’etat ousting President Zelaya. The complaint details extrajudicial killing, crimes against humanity of murder and persecution, wrongful death and other gross human rights violations that occurred in Honduras under the authority and/or direction of Micheletti.
For more information, see the Murillo v. Micheletti case page.
Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)
One aspect of our advocacy is using the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) to request materials from the United States government regarding knowledge of events in Honduras in order to support the True Commission’s efforts to establish genuine truth and reconciliation. In these efforts CCR represents both the True Commission well as an independent journalist seeking to elicit this information. Please see our Honduras FOIA webpage for more information.
CCR ADVOCACY
FEBRUARY 2013: Memo regarding Reports Received by CCR of Human Rights Violations in November and December 2012
NOVEMBER 2012: Memo regarding Reports Received by CCR of Human Rights Violations in September and October 2012
OCTOBER 2012: Memo regarding Reports Received by CCR of Human Rights Violations in June, July and August 2012
JUNE 2012: Memo regarding Reports Received by CCR of Human Rights Violations in Honduras in April and May 2012
APRIL 2012: Memo regarding Reports Received by CCR of Human Rights Violations in Honduras in February and March 2012
MARCH 2012 - Press Release: CCR Supports House and Senate Letters to Secretary of State Clinton Urging Concrete Actions to Promote Human Rights in Honduras
FEBRUARY 2012: Memo regarding Reports Received by CCR of Human Rights Violations in Honduras in December 2011 and January 2012
JANUARY 2012 - Press Release: CCR Sends Letter to State Department Urging Actions to Ensure Safety of Murillo Family, All Human Rights Defenders in Honduras
NOVEMBER 2011 - Press Release: Total Impunity in Honduras Underscores Need for U.S. Court to Hear Lawsuit Against Honduras Coup Leader
SEPTEMBER 2011 - Memo regarding Reports Received by CCR of Honduran Police and Military Involvement in Human Rights Violations in the Aguan Region between March 2011 and September 2011
JUNE 2011 - Press Release: Parents of Activist Teen Shot and Killed after Illegal Honduras Coup File Suit against Micheletti (English/Spanish)
MAY 2011: CCR Statement on Return of President Zelaya to Honduras [This statement argued against readmittance into the Organization of American States (OAS) due to ongoing and systemic human rights abuses with impunity, including those with clear evidence of state involvement. The OAS voted to readmit Honduras on June 1, 2011.]
MARCH 2011 - Press Release: Honduran Commission of Truth and CCR Launch Effort to Obtain Information from U.S. About 2009 Coup
JUNE 2010: CCR Executive Director Vince Warren's Open Letter to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton regarding Honduras and the OAS
CCR ACTIONS
Please take action today: Tell Congress: No US Support for Repression in Honduras
You can see our past action alerts regarding March 2012 and May 2011 Congressional sign-on letters, urging an end to US aid to Honduras police and military here. The May 2011 sign-on letter garnered the support of 87 members of Congress! Please see the final letter from 87 members of Congress to Secretary of State Clinton here.
See a letter from U.S. trade unions, representing nearly 15 million members, in support of suspending U.S. aid to Honduran police and military in English and in Spanish.
CCR ARTICLES ON HONDURAS
NOVEMBER 2011: Citing Total Impunity in Honduras, Human Rights Attorneys Push Forward Case Against Coup Regime Leader in U.S. by Laura Raymond
JANUARY 2011: Seems Like Old Times in Honduras by Bill Quigley and Pam Spees
DECEMBER 2010: The Murder of Walter Trochez: Political Violence and Impunity in Honduras by Vincent Warren
OCTOBER 2010: Honduras: Crisis and Progress by Bill Quigley and Laura Raymond
JUNE 2010: One Year Later: Honduras Resistance Strong Despite US-Supported Coup by Bill Quigley and Laura Raymond
LINKS TO OUR PARTNERS IN HONDURAS
The True Commission (Comisión de Verdad) is in the midst of investigations and is compiling a report on the coup d'etat and subsequent human rights violations (please see our factsheet below). CCR represents the True Commission in FOIA requests. CCR also has helped to organize international accompaniments teams for the Commission's ongoing investigations in Honduras.
El Comité de Familiares de Detenidos Desaparecidos en Honduras COFADEH
CCR is a member of the US-based Honduras Solidarity Network (website under construction).
THE INTER-AMERICAN COMMISSION ON HUMAN RIGHTS
January 2010: The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights published Honduras: Human Rights and the Coup d'etat
- Factsheet: Parents of Assassinated Activist sue Honduran Coup Leader: The Case against Roberto Micheletti Baín (english)
- Padres de activista asesinado demandan líder del golpe militar en Honduras: El caso contra Roberto Micheletti Baín (español)
- Factsheet: Alien Tort Statute (english)
- El Estatuto de Agravios a Extranjeros (español)
Factsheet: The Struggle for Truth in Honduras, The Truth and Reconciliation Commission vs. The True Commission
The Truth and Reconciliation Commission (CVR for its acronym in Spanish) was formed on April 13, 2010. Honduran and international human rights organizations immediately criticized the CVR for its lack of compliance with international standards for truth commissions. These concerns prompted the Human Rights Platform of Honduras and other civil society groups to create an alternative truth commission that they agreed to call the True Commission “Comisión de Verdad” (CDV for its acronym in Spanish). Read more...
Gerardo Torres, a spokesperson for the True Commission and a member of the National Front of Popular Resistance, spoke to CCR about the True Commission on a June 2010 visit to New York:
Dr. Luis Castillo, one of Honduras's top doctors and a member of the National Front of Popular Resistance, spoke to CCR while in New York in the spring of 2010. He discusses the various communities and movements that make up the National Front of Popular Resistance-- including Garifuna, indigenous, LGBT, feminist and youth movements-- as well as the systemic repression against the movement.
The mother of Isis Obed Murillo holds a photograph of her son, shot and killed by Honduran security forces on July 5, 2009 at the Tegucigalpa airport as ousted President Zelaya’s plane unsuccessfully attempted to land.