Honduras
20.09.01
Urgent Interventions
Honduras: new information on murder streetgirls
New information
The International Secretariat of OMCT has received information from Casa Alianza, a member of the OMCT network, of the arrest on 27 July 2001 at the place “El Trebol I y II” by the police of two people “El Trueno” and “El Tato”who are suspected to have been implicated in the murders of 15 people including the two streetgirls Cinthia Valeska Rivera and Wendy (surname unknown).
According to the information received, a third suspect “El Crimen” is still on the run. An arrest warrant has been issued against him. “El Trueno” and “El Tato” are detained in the national penitentiary Marco Aurelio Soto.
Brief reminder of the situation
The International Secretariat of OMCT was informed by Casa Alianza of the rape and murder of two teenage street girls in Tegucigalpa, Honduras. According to the information received, the bodies of the two girls, 14 year old Cinthia Valeska Rivera and her 15 year old friend Wendy (surname unknown), were discovered on Wednesday 23 May on the "El Estiquirin" hill in Comayaguela, a suburb of Tegucigalpa.
Cinthia and Wendy were last seen alive on the evening of Sunday 20 May. At approximately 6.30 pm, Cinthia, who was living in temporary accommodation constructed for the victims of hurricane Mitch more than two and a half years ago, left home with Wendy and another friend known as "El Trueno", a member of the 18th Street gang.
More than 720 children and youth were murdered in Honduras in the period January 1998- May 2001. Despite repeated requests to the President of Honduras to urgently address this situation, according to information received no action has been taken in over 60 % of these cases.
OMCT expressed its grave concern about the fact that authorities in Honduras may not exercise due diligence in the investigation, prosecution and punishment of the persons responsible for the rape and murder of Cinthia and Wendy. More generally, OMCT believes that the government must take urgent action to protect street children in Honduras from all forms of violence.
Remarks and Actions requested
Ms Asma Jahangir, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on extra-judicial, arbitrary and summary executions was in Honduras from 6 to 16 August 2001 to investigate the increasing and consistent reports of killings of children, some of which were directly attributed to the security forces. In a press release she expressed among other concerns: “There are documented reports of sixty-six minors killed in the first six months of this year. Human rights organizations put the number higher than official figures. There is a general perception that all such killings have been carried out by rival “gangs” of children. Statistics defy that perception. The vast majority of these cases remains unsolved. The perpetrators are unknown groups or individuals who target and kill street children. Government records show that some of these children have in fact been killed by the security forces, and I have received assurances that the accused will be brought to justice. My observation is that a number of such killings remain unreported.”
She further mentioned “The right to life includes due process of law. It must be granted on an equal footing to all individuals. Under the Convention on the Rights of the Child, to which Honduras is a party, children enjoy special rights and protection. Discrimination against them is a serious violation of human rights. No circumstances can justify the use of excessive force by the State.”
OMCT also would like to note that Casa Alianza transmitted 823 cases of extra-judicial executions ,perpetrated between 1 Jauary 1998 and 30 June 2001, to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights.
The International Secretariat of OMCT has received information from Casa Alianza, a member of the OMCT network, of the arrest on 27 July 2001 at the place “El Trebol I y II” by the police of two people “El Trueno” and “El Tato”who are suspected to have been implicated in the murders of 15 people including the two streetgirls Cinthia Valeska Rivera and Wendy (surname unknown).
According to the information received, a third suspect “El Crimen” is still on the run. An arrest warrant has been issued against him. “El Trueno” and “El Tato” are detained in the national penitentiary Marco Aurelio Soto.
Brief reminder of the situation
The International Secretariat of OMCT was informed by Casa Alianza of the rape and murder of two teenage street girls in Tegucigalpa, Honduras. According to the information received, the bodies of the two girls, 14 year old Cinthia Valeska Rivera and her 15 year old friend Wendy (surname unknown), were discovered on Wednesday 23 May on the "El Estiquirin" hill in Comayaguela, a suburb of Tegucigalpa.
Cinthia and Wendy were last seen alive on the evening of Sunday 20 May. At approximately 6.30 pm, Cinthia, who was living in temporary accommodation constructed for the victims of hurricane Mitch more than two and a half years ago, left home with Wendy and another friend known as "El Trueno", a member of the 18th Street gang.
More than 720 children and youth were murdered in Honduras in the period January 1998- May 2001. Despite repeated requests to the President of Honduras to urgently address this situation, according to information received no action has been taken in over 60 % of these cases.
OMCT expressed its grave concern about the fact that authorities in Honduras may not exercise due diligence in the investigation, prosecution and punishment of the persons responsible for the rape and murder of Cinthia and Wendy. More generally, OMCT believes that the government must take urgent action to protect street children in Honduras from all forms of violence.
Remarks and Actions requested
Ms Asma Jahangir, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on extra-judicial, arbitrary and summary executions was in Honduras from 6 to 16 August 2001 to investigate the increasing and consistent reports of killings of children, some of which were directly attributed to the security forces. In a press release she expressed among other concerns: “There are documented reports of sixty-six minors killed in the first six months of this year. Human rights organizations put the number higher than official figures. There is a general perception that all such killings have been carried out by rival “gangs” of children. Statistics defy that perception. The vast majority of these cases remains unsolved. The perpetrators are unknown groups or individuals who target and kill street children. Government records show that some of these children have in fact been killed by the security forces, and I have received assurances that the accused will be brought to justice. My observation is that a number of such killings remain unreported.”
She further mentioned “The right to life includes due process of law. It must be granted on an equal footing to all individuals. Under the Convention on the Rights of the Child, to which Honduras is a party, children enjoy special rights and protection. Discrimination against them is a serious violation of human rights. No circumstances can justify the use of excessive force by the State.”
OMCT also would like to note that Casa Alianza transmitted 823 cases of extra-judicial executions ,perpetrated between 1 Jauary 1998 and 30 June 2001, to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights.