Monthly Updates
November 2022
On 24 November the Honduran government announced a new strategy to counter high levels of extortion in the country. The new strategy includes the implementation of a state of emergency in several neighbourhoods and the use of emergency powers to investigate and detain those suspected of committing extortion. This includes the suspension of due process guarantees with a view to end widespread extortion against those who work in transportation (such as taxi and bus operators). The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in Honduras has pointed out that disadvantaged and marginalized communities primarily live in such neighbourhoods, and thus the need for an adequate social policy that targets the root causes of violence and provides a long term and sustainable solution to it.
September 2022
On 19 September executive decree PCM-023-2022, which establishes a Directorate General of Information and Press within the Strategic Planning Ministry, was published. The Directorate will be entrusted with carrying out permanent monitoring and diagnosis of all media, including social networks that operate in the country. The measure has been criticized by opposition legislators and free speech advocates, as they believe it could lead to censorship and prior restraint, given that no clear objectives are explaining the need for this oversight, and the decree was published with no prior dissemination to or dialogue with relevant stakeholders. A government spokesperson has defended the measure as one that combats fake news and disinformation.