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UNCLAS TEGUCIGALPA 000150 
 
SIPDIS 
 
FOR WHA/PPC SCOTT MILLER AND G/TIP, G-LAURA PENA 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KTIP ELAB KCRM KFRD KWMN PGOV PHUM PREF SMIG
HO 
SUBJECT: 2010 HONDURAS TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS (TIP) REPORT 
 
REF: A. STATE 2094 
     ¶B. 09 STATE 69221 
     ¶C. 09 TEGUCIGALPA 1275 
     ¶D. 09 TEGUCIGALPA 117 
 
¶1. The following is the Trafficking in Persons Country 
Assessment for Honduras for  April 2009 to mid-February 2010. 
 Point of Contact on trafficking is Political Officer Nathan 
Macklin (MacklinNL@state.gov, phone:  504-236-9320 x4141, 
fax:  504-238-4446, IVG: 8-539-4141).  As requested in reftel 
A, Post estimates that the FS-04 Poloff spent 30 hours, one 
LES spent 3 hours, and the FS-01 PolCous spent 5 hours in 
preparation of the TIP report cable.  The Ambassador and DCM 
each spent approximately 2 hours each on the preparation of 
the cable.   The information provided is in response to the 
questions in Reftel A. 
Acronyms used: 
 
IHNFA   Honduran Institute for Children and 
        the Family 
TIP     Trafficking in Persons 
IO      International Organizations 
NGO    Non-governmental Organization 
MP      Public Mnistry 
ESC     Commercial Sexual Exploitation 
FA     Secretary of International 
        Relatins 
DOS     U.S. Department of State 
SAVE    Sae the Children Honduras 
CRS     Catholic Relief Srvices 
CA      Casa Alianza 
ILO     Internatioal Labor Organization 
UNICEF  United National Fud for Children 
IOM     International Organizatio of 
        Migration 
DNIC    National Directin of Criminal 
        Investigation 
DNEI    National Direction of Specia 
        Investigative Services 
OSPC    Officeof the Special Prosecutor 
        for Children 
ICESCT Inter-institutional Commission 
        aginst Commercial Sexual 
        Exploitation and rafficking of 
        Children 
 
¶1. SUMMARY: OnJune 28, 2009, Honduran President Jose Manuel 
"Ml" Zelaya was removed from power in a coup d'etat. The 
United States did not recognize the de factoregime that 
subsequently took over and remained n power until the 
January 27 inauguration of demcratically elected President 
Porfirio "Pepe" Lob.  As a result, it has not been possible 
to engag in high-level advocacy on the issue of traffickin 
with the de facto regime, for example with offiials at 
IHNFA, and there was limited informationon the subject due 
to our no contact policy withthe de acto regime during the 
reporting period (ref B). 
 
¶2. (Summary continued) Based on the information available, it 
appears that trafficking continued to be recognized as a 
serious problem among the government authorities responsible 
for tackling it (e.g. IHNFA, quasi-government commission 
charged with coordination, and the Public Ministry) and the 
government prosecuted a similar number of cases as in 2008 
(ref D).  The inter-institutional commission to combat 
trafficking (CICESCT) continued to function at the working 
level.  Work continued on important projects to combat 
trafficking, including an awareness program among hotel 
owners of the dangers of commercial sexual exploitation and a 
police hotline to report trafficking cases, which will open 
in 2010 and will centralize the government's ability to 
accept and process reports of trafficking allegations. 
Advancements were made by NGOs, and the government directly 
supported efforts to provide more coordinated and specialized 
care to trafficking victims.  During 2009, government 
training center INFOP developed plans to provide job training 
to trafficking victims as part of NGO CHF International's 
G/TIP funded "Integrated Protection Services for Victims of 
Trafficking" (IPSVT).  Coordination of prosecutions also 
improved when in July 2009, the OSPC was reorganized and will 
now handle all trafficking cases, including those cases that 
involve minors and adults.  This reorganization resulted in 
better coordination of prosecution and consolidated the 
expertise of trafficking laws and investigations already held 
by OSPC staff. 
 
¶3. (Summary continued) Attention on regular projects and 
priorities within the government were negatively impacted by 
the June coup, and this had an effect on anti-trafficking 
programs as well.  In addition, Honduras continued to 
struggle with a lack of funding for its preventative, 
investigative, law enforcement, and victims' assistance 
functions.  There was no reported improvement in the 
allocation of resources and the large majority of resources 
set aside for anti-trafficking efforts continued to go to 
salaries.  While the inter-institutional commission charged 
with government coordination of anti-trafficking efforts 
continued to function at the working level, it did not meet 
regularly and there was no information available regarding a 
self evaluation of the commission's work in 2009.  There were 
no known advacements by the government to create a 
government-run specialized care center for trafficking 
victims.  END SUMMARY. 
 
----------------------- 
HONDURAS' TIP SITUATION 
----------------------- 
 
¶A.  Information sources on trafficking in persons (TIP) 
include the Public Ministry, mid-level Honduran Police 
contacts, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and 
international organizations (IOs).  The most reliable 
information sources in Honduras on TIP include the Office of 
the Special Prosecutor for Children at the Public Ministry 
(OSPC), and NGOs such as Casa Alianza (CA), Save the Children 
Honduras (SAVE), and Catholic Relief Services (CRS). 
 
The GOH made headway in 2009 in the establishment of a 
national hotline for trafficking victims to obtain 
assistance.  The line will be launched in early 2010 and will 
provide better central documentation of TIP cases.  The 
Public Ministry's office that handles trafficking cases was 
reorganized in July 2009 and will now handle both minor and 
adult TIP cases, which will hopefully lead to better 
documentation of cases. 
 
¶B.  According to the OSPC, Honduras is primarily a country of 
origin and transit for trafficking in persons, however there 
were cases in 2009 of Honduras as a destination of 
trafficking victims.  For example, police arrested on April 
15 Olga Marcia Salvador Sanchez in Cofradia, Cortes 
Department and charged her with trafficking for prostitution 
of a 14-year-old girl from Guatemala.  Sexual exploitation of 
the victim was the most common motive in the cases reported 
during 2009 and many of the victims in the cases investigated 
in Honduras continued to be minor girls.  Honduran nationals 
were reportedly part of a group of 120 women smuggled to the 
United States to work as sex workers against their will in a 
Houston bar.  The trafficking ring was described by the 
"Houston Chronicle" as one of the largest human trafficking 
rings ever uncovered. 
 
a.  As an origin country, there are cases in which residents 
of Honduras are subjected to trafficking conditions within 
the country, however this did not occur in territory outside 
the government's control.  For example, in May police 
arrested and charged with aggravated human trafficking Avilio 
Gomez Sobral, Luis Enrique Soriano Mondragon, and Teodosio 
Guzman Pindea.  The three reportedly operated an organization 
that trafficked women and girls from rural areas for sexual 
exploitation in Comayagua. 
 
b.  In many cases, victims are recruited from rural areas and 
lured to urban centers with the promise of jobs.  The 
situation of trafficking is particularly difficult for 
Honduran authorities because in many cases the victim freely 
leaves Honduras, often times in an attempt to immigrate to 
the United States, and in the process of the trip north gets 
caught in an trafficking situation. 
 
c.  The destination for the majority of trafficking victims 
continued to be Mexico, El Salvador, Guatemala, Belize, and 
the Bay Islands of Honduras.  Most foreign victims of 
trafficking came from neighboring counties.  In a notable 
case in February 2009, 13 Honduras were repatriated from 
Romania after being lured there to work.  The workers were 
promised a job and housing, and instead their passports were 
confiscated and they were told they would have to pay back 
over USD 4,000 in order to leave.  The Government of Honduras 
assisted in the repatriation of 13 victims to Honduras and 
another 5 victims were freed and safely immigrated to 
countries neighboring Romania.  There were no numbers 
available for each group of trafficking victims. 
 
¶C.  There were few changes to the conditions in which victims 
were trafficked.  Most situations include severe conditions 
that affect the victim's physical and mental fitness and 
often a violation of their physical integrity. 
 
¶D.  According to CHF, an NGO that is working to build a 
network of care centers for victims of trafficking, minor 
girls are more at risk for trafficking that leads to sexual 
exploitation. 
 
¶E.  According to the 2009 AHRR and local news reports, gangs, 
organized crime, and human smugglers were reportedly among 
the principal traffickers for purposes of commercial sexual 
exploitation. There were anecdotal reports from police and 
NGOs that families sold their daughters for purposes of 
trafficking. Individual entrepreneurs have used the offering 
of lucrative jobs abroad as well as in the "city" to trap 
victims as well. 
 
In Honduras, those responsible for internal trafficking 
function like a small group of criminals whose mode of 
operations are the recruitment, capture, trafficking, and 
subsequent exploitation which are generally masterminded by 
one or two individuals in the group.  In many cases, the 
trafficker is a woman.  In the past, there have been cases 
where organized crime has directly trafficked persons but 
generally, investigations into trafficking cases result with 
one or two persons identified as responsible without any 
links to organized crime. 
 
The methods utilized to traffic persons are most frequently 
false offers of well paying jobs (generally, in Guatemala or 
Mexico) or victims' acquaintances trick them into being 
trafficking.  For transiting the victims out of Honduras 
traffickers utilize false documents or cross the border at 
"blind spots" along the Guatemalan and Honduran border.  No 
Honduran employment agencies, tourism, marriage or travel 
agencies have been detected to be participating in the 
trafficking of persons.  However, the GOH has detected 
traffickers using newspaper advertisements offering good work 
to attract potential victims. 
 
-------------------------------------- 
SETTING THE SCENE FOR THE GOVERNMENT'S 
ANTI-TIP EFFORTS: 
-------------------------------------- 
 
¶A.  On January 19, the Special Prosecutor for Children, the 
office that handles all trafficking prosecutions, told Poloff 
that Honduras continued to take seriously the problem of 
trafficking and continued to investigate and prosecute those 
responsible for the crime. 
 
Current Honduran law prohibits forced or bonded labor but 
there is no specific provision outlawing trafficking into 
exploitive labor situations, and prosecutors must utilize 
other laws to prosecute in these situations.  The Special 
Prosecutor for Children, Nora Urbina, commented to Poloff on 
January 19 that from her point of view, this is a shortcoming 
in the Honduran law that covers child labor. 
 
¶B.  Prior to the June coup, the MP, MFA, Secretary of 
Government and Justice (SGJ), Security Ministry, Migration 
Department, IHNFA, and the justice system were all involved 
in the fight against TIP.  Due to limitations on contact with 
the de facto regime, the continued involvement of these 
organizations was not clear, however NGOs reported that at 
the working level, these institutions continued to undertake 
activities to fight TIP. 
 
IHNFA is the principal technical authority on all issues 
dealing with children and family.  IHNFA also is charged with 
guaranteeing compliance with the human rights of children in 
coordination with all government entities, NGOs, the United 
Nations Fund for Children (UNICEF), the International 
Organization of Migration (IOM), the International Labor 
Organization (ILO), the Save the Children Alliance, Plan 
International, as well as the Spanish Agency of International 
Cooperation for Development (AECID).  IHNFA works closely 
with all of these entities to ensure the protection of 
Honduran children and adhere to all international standards 
which Honduran is a signatory member. 
 
The Public Ministry is the primary organization in the 
Honduran government that investigates and charges those 
suspected of trafficking.  All trafficking cases are 
investigated within the Office of the Special Prosecutor for 
Children (OSPC).  The OSPC's office that handles trafficking 
in Tegucigalpa employed one prosecutor, one assistant 
prosecutor, five analysts, and two police investigators from 
the National Direction of Criminal Investigation.  In the San 
Pedro Office, two district attorneys cover trafficking 
issues, while one attorney does so in Choluteca and one in 
Danli.  In approximately July 2009, the Attorney General 
approved the consolidation of all trafficking (children and 
adults) investigations under the authority of the newly named 
"Unit to Combat Commercial Sexual Exploitation and 
Trafficking." 
 
The National Directorate of Special Investigative Services 
(DNSEI), which operates under the Minister of Security, 
conducted detection operations throughout the country 
including highways, airports, ports and hotels. 
 
An Inter-institutional Commission against Commercial Sexual 
Exploitation and Trafficking of Children (CICESCT) exists to 
coordinate the GOH's response to the problem of TIP.  The 
CICESCT was constituted in 2003 and is made up of 52 
governmental organizations, NGOs and international 
organizations including the following: 
 
Participant Institutions, Agencies and organizations: 
 
¶1. National Congress of Honduras: Commission for Children and 
Family 
 
¶2. Supreme Court of Justice 
 
¶3. Public Ministry 
 
¶4. Special Prosecutor for Children 
 
¶5. Special Prosecutor for Women 
 
¶6. Secretary of State for the Office of Governance and 
Justice:  General Department of Migration and Immigration: 
Pact for Childhood Program 
 
¶7. Secretary of State for the Office of International 
Relations 
 
¶8. Secretary of State for the Office of Security 
 
¶9. Strategic Department of Planning and Coordination 
 
¶10. National Direction of Preventive Police (DNPP) 
 
¶11. DNIC 
 
¶12. DNSEI 
 
¶13. Secretary of State in the Office of Health: Division of 
Mental Health 
 
¶14. Secretary of State in the Office of Education 
 
¶15. Secretary of Finance 
 
¶16. IHNFA 
 
¶17. Honduran Institute of Tourism 
 
¶18. National Institute of Women 
¶19. Municipal Government of the Central District: Social 
Management 
 
¶20. Casa Alianza Honduras 
 
¶21. Save the Children Honduras. 
 
¶22. Private Institutions Promoting Children's Rights in 
Honduras 
(CIPRODEN) 
 
¶23. National Forum for Migration in Honduras (FONAMIH) 
 
¶24. UNICEF 
 
¶25. IOM 
 
¶26. ILO 
 
¶27. Save the Children Alliance 
 
¶28. Plan Internacional 
 
¶29. AECID 
 
¶30. United States Embassy 
 
In May, the CICESCT coordinated a project to obtain 
signatures of a code of conduct from hotels and other 
businesses in which they agree to not allow their businesses 
to be a forum for the sexual exploitation of children and to 
report allegations of CSE to authorities.  The CICEST 
obtained the signatures of 36 hotel owners and two rental car 
agencies: Global Rent Car and Eurorent. 
 
Since 2006, the CICESCT in conjunction with IOM and UNICEF, 
have in place a protocol to cover the repatriation of 
children who are victims of trafficking or vulnerable to 
trafficking.  The protocol contains specific procedures to be 
carried out by government agencies in the return of 
trafficking victims to Honduras.  On January 19, the Special 
Prosecutor for Children, Nora Urbina, told Poloff that the 
CICEST had fine tuned the procedure at the border where 
children are repatriated and for example, in Corinto, 
Department of Puerto Cortes, minors are now only permitted to 
enter the country on Wednesdays.  This restriction allows 
IHNFA to better control their entry, processing, and care. 
Since January 2009, CA also has a permanent staff member 
posted to the port of entry at Corinto to assist IHNFA in 
providing care to unaccompanied minors entering Honduras, 
many of whom departed from Mexico and Guatemala and are at 
risk for trafficking.  Prior to these efforts, there was no 
standard procedure for processing this population vulnerable 
to trafficking. 
 
¶C.  Socio-economic conditions in Honduras continue to create 
an environment in which there are few labor and educational 
opportunities, causing vulnerable communities to fall into 
the hands of traffickers.  Resources continue to be a 
limitation on the government's ability to address the problem 
of trafficking in practice.  The OSPC told Poloff on January 
19 that her office could operate in a more efficient manner 
if it were given more resources and that further training for 
those officials who attend to unaccompanied minors being 
repatriated at land borders would significantly help the 
government's response to assist a very vulnerable population. 
 
The political crisis resulted in less attention by 
authorities to issues such as trafficking in persons. 
However, there are no indications there was a complete 
break-down in the government response to trafficking 
following the June coup. 
 
¶D.  The Inter-institutional Commission against Commercial 
Sexual Exploitation and Trafficking of Children (CICESCT) is 
the primary organization charged with monitoring 
anti-trafficking efforts.  All institutions and organizations 
in the commission discuss and plan future actions against 
trafficking and the commercial sexual exploitation of 
children.  However, the CICESCT did not make any known 
private or public assessments available about the GOH's 
efforts to combat trafficking.  The CICEST met once during 
the reporting period, in January 2010. The OSPC did produce a 
report of activities, which included an overview of 
activities carried out by the office in the Public Ministry 
that handles trafficking prosecutions. 
 
¶E.  Honduran law allows one year for parents to register 
children formally with the National Registry of Persons 
(RNP).  If done after one year following the birth of the 
child, there is an additional court procedure and paperwork. 
Hondurans aged 18 can obtain a national identity card, which 
is proof of citizenship and is required to vote, obtain a 
job, and for all bank transactions.  In January 2010, the RNP 
announced plans to issue identity cards to minors aged 12-17 
during 2010.  To travel outside of the CA-4 countries 
(Guatemala, El Salvador, Nicaragua, and Honduras), Hondurans 
are required to obtain a passport.  To obtain a passport for 
minors, parents must present their national identity cards 
and the minor's birth certificate.  Adults must present their 
national identity card and fingerprint check to match the 
holder of the identity card to the person presenting the card. 
 
¶F.  Prior to July 2009, two separate offices handled 
prosecutions of trafficking cases; adults were handled by one 
office and minors were handled by another.  The handling of 
all trafficking cases by one office, which started in July 
2009, will assist in the government's ability to gather 
information for in-depth assessments of efforts to combat 
trafficking. 
 
-------------------------------- 
INVESTIGATION AND PROSECUTION OF 
TRAFFICKERS: 
-------------------------------- 
 
¶A.  According to the Special Prosecutor for Children, laws 
and penalties for TIP crimes committed were established in 
Title II of Chapter II decree number 234-2005 on September 1, 
¶2005.  These laws were publicized in the official public law 
review on February 4, 2006 and are referred to as "Crimes 
against the freedom, physical psychological and sexual 
integrity of people." 
 
Beginning in January 2008, the protocol for preventing, 
containing and punishing trafficking in persons, especially 
women and children, was ratified by the legislature and 
entered into law.  The protocol complements the UN convention 
against transnational organized crime. 
 
Article 105 of the Code also establishes that all TIP crimes 
merit civil as well as criminal charges. 
 
Articles 97, 99 and 100 of the Childhood Code of Adolescence 
establish that penalties and sanctions can be administered 
agaisnt the owners of businesses where the sexual 
exploitation of children takes place.  These penalties can be 
determined up to the amount that the entire business is 
worth, thus effectively closing the business 
 
There were no known changes in 2009 to the legal framework 
that covers trafficking in persons. 
 
¶B.  Punishments of sex trafficking offenses include fines 
ranging from 100,000 to 500,000 Lempira (USD 5,300 to 26,500) 
and imprisonment for four to 20 years. 
 
Article 149 of the Penal Code established penalties of a 
prison sentence of 8 to 13 years and a fine of 150 to 250 
minimum salaries for crimes of sexual exploitation or 
trafficking of persons. 
 
Aggravated sexual exploitation or trafficking is determined 
based on the following: 
 
1) When the victim is less than 18 years old; 
 
2) When the violator used force, intimidation or tricked the 
victims with a promise of work; 
 
3) When the violator administered drugs or alcohol to the 
victim; 
 
4) When the violator took advantage of their business 
interests, office or profession; and 
 
5) When the violator took advantage of the confidence of 
persons who have authority over the victim or made payments 
or loans or other concessions to obtain their consent. 
 
There were no known changes in 2009 to the punishments for 
those guilty of trafficking crimes. 
 
¶C.  In Honduras, the law does not include provisions to 
counter trafficking of persons for the exploitation of labor. 
 However, authorities search for other means of prosecuting 
criminal figures who carry out illicit actions, including 
those who recruit workers for the purpose of subjecting them 
to compelled service.  In the case of extra-long working days 
or where a child is required to work at night, the Code of 
Children sanctions, in Article 134, a penalty of up to 5 
years in prison which is the same sentence for violators of 
child labor laws.  There are cases of foreigners being 
trafficked to Honduras for sexual exploitation, but there are 
no known cases of more traditional labor migrants to 
Honduras. 
 
¶D.  Article 140 of the Penalty Code sanctions a penalty of 10 
to 15 years in prison for rape.  In the case of aggravated 
rape a prison sentence of 15 to 20 years is given in the 
following circumstances: 
 
1) When the victim is younger than 14 years old; 
 
2) When the crime committed is against the victim's wishes; 
 
3) When the violator uses drugs or alcohol to diminish the 
capacity of the victim; 
 
4) When the violator is in charge of the protection or has 
custody of the child; and 
 
5) When the violator knows that they are a carrier of 
HIV/Aids, or when they have committed the violation in a 
group or is a re-offender or when the victim is pregnant or 
when the victim becomes pregnant because of the rape, or when 
the victim is over 70 years old. 
 
There were no known changes in 2009 to the penalties for the 
crimes of rape and forced sexual assault. 
 
¶E.  According to the OSPC, in 2009 the GOH prosecuted cases 
against Hondurans involved in commercial and/or sexual 
exploitation and trafficking in persons; exact figures 
nationwide are not available.  The OSPC reported that the 
central Tegucigalpa office issued 26 indictments and closed 
10 cases of child trafficking or sexual exploitation in 2009; 
these cases all originated before 2009.  Three of the cases 
involved specific charges of trafficking and in all three 
cases, there was a guilty sentence.  The laws covering the 
following were used to prosecute traffickers: aggravated 
trafficking in persons, commercial sexual exploitation, 
pimping, practice of irregular adoption, usurpation of the 
civil state, falsification of public documents, child 
pornography, and rape.  Punishments imposed in 2009 ranged 
from 3 years to 10 years imprisonment and there were no 
reports that those found guilty were not serving the time 
sentanced. 
 
The office of the OSPC had 83 pending investigations at the 
end of 2009, compared to 57 in 2008, into allegations of 
trafficking and sexual exploitation of children.  Eight new 
cases of trafficking were being investigated at year's end. 
Of those 8 cases, OSPC reported that in 2 cases arrests were 
made and that the remaining 6 are still being investigated. 
None of the cases that originated in 2009 were concluded at 
year's end given that the process to reach a trial can last 
up to two years in Honduras.  All eight trafficking 
investigations started in 2009 involved minor girls. 
 
¶F.  On March 5, INHFA held training for members of the Public 
Prosecutor's office, police officials, and members of various 
NGOs to discuss a new manual that outlines proper attention 
to trafficking victims of commercial sexual exploitation. 
The OSPC reported that with the support of UNICEF, its office 
held 8 training sessions for those involved in enforcing laws 
against CSE and civil society representatives.  The OSPC 
reported holding 217 "collateral activities" dealing with CSE 
and trafficking.  These activities included 
inter-institutional meetings and trainings, speakers hosted 
by educational centers and civil society groups and other 
activities to promote the rights of children and counter 
trafficking.  In addition, the Special Prosecutor for 
Children, Nora Urbina, attended various international 
training sessions on the topic of trafficking and CSE during 
¶2009. 
 
The Ministry of Security's Division Against Abuse, 
Trafficking, and Sexual Exploitation of Children and 
Adolescents (DATESI) conducted training sessions in 13 of the 
18 departments of Honduras.  This training raised awareness 
about abuse, trafficking, and sexual exploitation and reached 
1,500 government officials, police, and volunteers. 
 
The USG's Military Information Support Team (MIST) met in 
April  with the inter-institutional commission (CICESCT) and 
developed media products to raise awareness about the dangers 
of TIP.  The collaborative project resulted in the production 
of 44 large banners and 6 packages of posters. 
IOM announced on February 5 the launching of a 15 week 
"virtual course" about anti-TIP efforts that includes 
training on how to identify the characteristics of the crime 
and information on national anti-TIP legislation.  The 
training was offered to police and other members of the 
CICESCT. 
¶G.  The Honduran government is a signatory member to a number 
of regional conventions including: 
¶1. A regional convention signed in July 2006 which 
established regulations for dealing with minors and children 
who have been transited from one country to another. 
 
¶2. A regional convention signed in March 2008 which codified 
common methods for investigating and promoting the rights of 
minor and child migrants exposed to commercial sexual 
exploitation. 
 
¶3. A regional convention with Mexico ratified in November 
2007 regarding the dignified treatment and safety of returned 
minors and child migrants who are unaccompanied by adults. 
 
¶4. Regionally-elaborated methods for sharing of best 
practices in the prevention of trafficking of persons. 
 
¶5. A regional project to strengthen the national and regional 
capacities to combat and prevent trafficking in persons in 
Central America, agreed upon by all the Attorneys General of 
Central America. 
 
There were no new international agreements signed in 2009. 
 
OSPC reported better cooperation in 2009 with prosecutors and 
immigration authorities in neighboring countries on cases of 
trans-national trafficking.  OSPC reported working in 2009 
with Guatemala on 3 TIP cases, with Spain on one case of 
child pornography, and one case with Mexico involving 
organized crime and trafficking of minors. 
¶H.  Under Article 102 of the Honduran constitution, no 
Honduran citizen can be expatriated or turned over to the 
authorities of a foreign state.  There was no reliable 
information available on the number of extraditions of 
non-Hondurans for trafficking crimes and none were reported 
in the press. 
¶I.  There were no reports of high level or widespread 
government involvement in or tolerance of trafficking during 
¶2009.  There are allegations of involvement of low level 
immigration officials; however, there were no active 
investigations in 2009.  There were no developments or 
advances in the investigation of the May 2008 "Cubanazo" 
scandal, which included allegations of government involvement 
in the unlawful issuance of visas to Cuban nationals at the 
Honduran consulate in Havana in what some media outlets 
reported as a trafficking ring and others described as a 
smuggling ring. 
¶J.  There were no known cases of government officials being 
involved in human trafficking in 2009. 
¶K.  Honduras was involved in peacekeeping missions abroad but 
there were no reported cases of involvement of members of 
those missions in trafficking. 
¶L.  In the past there have been cases of sexual tourism from 
both the USA and Australia.  According to the Penal Code, 
Honduras penalizes sexual tourism with a penalty of 8-12 
years in prison.  The penalty is augmented if victims are 
children.  In 2009, there were no known reports of sexual 
tourism filed with authorities. 
In May, the CICESCT coordinated a project to obtain 
signatures of a code of conduct from hotels and other 
businesses in which they agree to not support any event at 
their business that is tied to the sexual exploitation of 
children, including sex tourism.  The CICEST obtained the 
signatures of 36 hotel owners and two rental car agencies: 
Global Rent Car and Eurorent. 
 
Honduran trafficking laws do have extraterritorial coverage, 
but there were no reported cases in 2009 of Hondurans being 
charged for trafficking or CSE crimes in other countries. 
 
------------------------------------- 
PROTECTION AND ASSISTANCE TO VICTIMS: 
------------------------------------- 
 
¶A.  According to the GOH, Article 237 of the Penal Code 
establishes the protection of witnesses.  When the justice 
system identifies that a witness or victim is in grave danger 
because of their testimony it is responsible for providing 
protection according to the following: 
 
¶1. That the name, address, place of work and profession of 
the witness are not entered into the record of the court or 
if they are they are sealed and are not distributed beyond 
the court; 
 
¶2. That appearances in court utilize methods to disguise the 
identity of the witness to the defendant(s) and the public in 
general; 
 
The National Congress approved a new law for the protection 
of witnesses, experts and other intervening parties in the 
penal process who are also instrumental in combating crime. 
This law was first introduced in the Congress in 2003, but 
was not approved until March of 2007 by the Commission on 
Judicial Matters.  According to the law, the Public Ministry 
coordinates the witness protection program for witnesses, 
funded by 25 percent of seized criminal assets through the 
Office for the Administration of Seized Assets (OABI).  Also, 
the PM counts on the help of other organizations involved in 
the penal process, like the Supreme Court of Justice, the 
Public Defender, the Secretary of Security, the National 
Police, the National Commission of Human Rights, the 
Solicitor General of the Republic and the Environment, 
amongst others. 
 
The law is shaped by 31 articles and four chapters which 
establish its objective, application and define relevant 
principles and terms. 
 
IHNFA also manages the program of Intervention and Social 
Protection in order to protect and restore the rights of 
children whose lives or integrity are in danger.  This is 
implemented with a central focus on human rights and the 
reintegration of victims into their families and society. 
The victims of commercial sexual exploitation are provided 
care through a process consisting of three elements: 
 
¶1. Homes of Protection: residential centers with caretakers 
specialized in guaranteeing observance of the four areas of 
children's rights under protection. 
 
¶2. Family Protection: exposure to the traditional nuclear 
family when possible. 
 
¶3. Family Consultation: to ensure full recuperation, 
re-orientation to family life and family participation 
throughout their recuperation. 
 
The investigation and monitoring of the families of child 
victims of commercial sexual exploitation is performed by 
family counselors.  These investigations are carried out to 
determine whether or not a return of the victim to the family 
is in the victim's best interest. 
From January to December 2009, Casa Alianza (CA) provided 
care to 73 minor females victims of trafficking for 
commercial sexual exploitation.  CA classified 46 of the 
cases as trafficking within Honduras and 27 cases of minor 
females having been trafficked outside Honduras. 
 
¶B.  IHNFA was created to attend to child victims of crimes 
and children on the margins of society and at social and 
physical risk.  There are no centers specifically oriented 
for victims of trafficking.  Rather, trafficking is addressed 
within programs and centers oriented to combating the broader 
problem of commercial sexual exploitation.  In 2009, the same 
as in 2008, the only center for victims of commercial and 
sexual exploitation and trafficking was run by the NGO Casa 
Alianza, which received funds from various international 
donors.  There was no known difference in access for foreign 
victims compared to domestic trafficking victims.  Funding 
amount for victim care was unknown. 
 
Local NGO CHF International made progress in 2009 in the 
implementation of a G/TIP funded "Integrated Protection 
Services for Victims of Trafficking" (IPSVT) (reftel B). The 
goal of the program in Honduras is to facilitate integration 
of service delivery to victims of trafficking, strengthen the 
Honduran government's capacity to provide services to 
victims, and build a network of over 10 organizations that 
will be equipped to provide ongoing integrated assistance to 
victims of trafficking.  CHF signed four memorandums of 
understanding (MOU) in 2009 with implementing organizations, 
including United Foundation for Life (FUL), San Juan Bosco 
Treatment Center, the Honduran National Institute of Training 
(INFOP), and ABAC Victoria Project. These MOUs were the first 
step in achieving the goal of an integrated menu of 
assistance options for trafficking victims and is the target 
of the project's first implementing objective. The target of 
CHF's other implementing objectives, including increasing 
capacity and access of services, increasing vocation and 
employment opportunities to victims, will be implemented more 
fully once the implementing partners open for business, which 
CHF expects to occur during early 2010. 
 
¶C.  The Government of Honduras provides medical services to 
victims of TIP, funded by the government at local public 
hospitals.  NGO CHF's trafficking assistance program, IPSVT, 
also works to link victims to these services. 
 
The application of the "Protocol for the Repatriation of 
children and adolescent victims or those vulnerable to 
trafficking in persons" tasks the government with providing 
care to victims which includes secure and adequate 
accommodation, a healthy balanced diet, medical and 
psychological attention including educative and recreational 
programs, taking into consideration the protection of their 
security, and considering any pertinent personal information 
for each and every victim. 
 
To ensure their safety, repatriated victims of trafficking 
must have their family situation verified as safe and stable. 
 This is done through investigations and communication 
between the various entities of IHNFA with the parallel 
institution in the victim's country and presumably the 
victim's family.  When a victim is Honduran, the IHNFA works 
to verify their family situation and establish communication 
with the family and, when verified, arrange the victim's 
reintegration into the family. In 2009, IOM assisted in the 
repatriation from Mexico of three minors, and one minor from 
Nicaragua after being trafficked for sexual exploitation. 
Most of these children were reintegrated into their families. 
 
¶D.  The OSPC reported that in 2009 a Colombian national 
victim of trafficking requested and was granted "special 
status" in order to stay in Honduras after she had been 
trafficked from Colombia. 
 
¶E.  In 2009, the GOH had no specialized shelters for 
rehabilitation and reintegration of victims.  IHNFA appoints 
special personnel to assist under age victims who are 
repatriated.  NGO CHF's trafficking assistance program, 
IPSVT, will in 2010 provide the only long-term shelter for 
adult trafficking victims.  CA continued to operate a shelter 
for child victims of trafficking. 
¶F.  The referral process to transfer detained victims 
remained the same as in 2008.  A protocol exists for 
repatriating children and adolescent victims or those 
vulnerable to trafficking in persons.  The referral process 
is managed by IHNFA and the costs of extradition are covered 
by the receiving nation. 
 
¶G.  Statistics on trafficking victims are not reliable.  CA 
estimated that 73 formerly trafficked girls (ages 12-17) 
stayed at its shelter and participated in recovery programs 
in 2009;  46 had been trafficked internally and 27 had been 
trafficked outside Honduras.  Another highly publicized case 
was reported in January 2009 in the national daily newspaper, 
"La Tribuna," in which 18 Hondurans were reportedly 
trafficked to Romania for labor exploitation and were seeking 
repatriation with the help of the Honduran Embassy in Italy. 
 
¶H.  There currently is no formal mechanism within the GOH to 
identify trafficking victims, however one goal of NGO CHF's 
anti-trafficking program, IPSVT, is to develop a worksheet 
for use by its implementing partners and government agency 
partners in an effort to identify the characteristics of 
trafficking victims among high-risk persons. 
 
¶I.  The GOH appeared to continue its work to better protect 
the rights of trafficking victims and there were no known 
cases of victims being detained or otherwise punished. 
 
¶J.  The OSPC, the office that handles trafficking cases, 
continued to encourage victim participation in the 
investigation and prosecution of human trafficking and 
reported that 14 such victims participated in investigations 
in 2009.  OSPC reported that in all cases prosecuted, the 
victim played some role, usually as a witness, in the 
execution of the case.  Prosecutors continue to face 
obstacles due to victims' mistrust in the judicial system, 
including its capacity to ensure their personal safety. 
There was no information available with regard to impediments 
to their legal redress, restrictions placed on them as 
witnesses, or ability to obtain restitution. 
 
¶K.  The GOH did provide training to government officials to 
assist them in identifying and providing assistance to 
trafficking victims.  On March 5, INHFA held training for 
members of the Public Prosecutor's office, police officials, 
and members of various NGOs to discuss a new manual that 
outlines proper attention to trafficking victims of 
commercial sexual exploitation. 
 
On August 26, the Public Ministry unveiled a "guidebook" for 
effective attention to the victims of sexual crimes, 
including the sexual exploitation of minors, and the 
investigation of these crimes. 
 
There was no known training held at Honduran embassies 
abroad.  The Embassy of Honduras in Italy assisted in the 
February repatriation of 13 victims of trafficking for labor 
exploitation. 
 
¶L.  Medical assistance to victims is offered at public 
hospitals, but most care is given by NGOs. 
 
¶M.  CA provides immediate and long term support for victims 
of sexual exploitation and trafficking.  CA provides 
education opportunities, recreation, health care and other 
capacity building and care.  CA partners with ILO and other 
NGOs to provide this assistance. 
 
CHF's anti-trafficking program, IPSVT, began work in 2009 to 
create a network of ten organizations to provide assistance 
to trafficking victims and training programs with the support 
of government entities, including the National Institute for 
Professional Formation (INFOP). 
 
IOM has provided technical expertise and logistical support 
for the launching of the police hotline for trafficking.  In 
December 2009, IOM assisted police to carry out a training 
session for approximately 20 staff members who will run the 
hotline.  The training included a presentation of all 
government and NGO agencies that work with trafficking 
victims and an explanation of how they can best refer callers 
to these different agencies to assist trafficking victims. 
 
UNICEF has provided technical assistance in the preparation 
of the inter-institutional protocol on the repatriation of 
trafficking victims, and both Save the Children and PLAN 
International had programs that raised awareness about 
trafficking. 
 
----------- 
PREVENTION: 
----------- 
 
¶A.  The Government of Honduras has conducted various 
campaigns against commercial sexual exploitation and against 
trafficking in persons. 
 
With the support of ILO, the government supported 17 
educational workshops between January-June 2009 on sexual 
exploitation and trafficking for university students, 
government employees, police, and journalists.  No 
information was available on training offered after the June 
coup. 
Please also see response F in the "Investigation and 
Prosecution of Traffickers" section. 
¶B.  Better coordination at some border entries has improved 
monitoring of immigration for evidence of trafficking.  Since 
January 2009, CA also has a permanent staff member posted to 
the port of entry at Corinto to assist IHNFA in providing 
care to unaccompanied minors entering Honduras, many of whom 
departed from Mexico and Guatemala and are at risk for 
trafficking.  Prior to these efforts, there was no standard 
procedure for processing this population vulnerable to 
trafficking. 
¶C.  An Inter-institutional Commission against Commercial 
Sexual Exploitation and Trafficking of Children 
(CICESCT)exists to coordinate the GOH's response to the 
problem of TIP.  The CICESCT was constituted in 2003 and is 
made up of 52 governmental organizations, NGOs, and 
international organizations.  Please see response B in the 
"Setting the Scene" section for a list of the organizations 
involved. 
¶D.  Planned objectives to combat trafficking are covered 
under the National Plan of Action Against Commercial Sexual 
Exploitation of Girls, Boys and Youth, which is administered 
by the Inter-Institutional Commission Against Commercial 
Sexual Exploitation and Trafficking.  As described above, a 
wide-range of government agencies and NGOs are included and 
consulted. 
There was very little information available on the activities 
of this commission after the June coup.  The Commission met 
in January 2009 and did not formally meet again until January 
¶2010.  However, IOM and police did continue work at a 
technical level on the establishment of a national telephone 
hotline. 
 
¶E.  Most of the trafficking cases in 2009 were Hondurans 
being trafficked out of and through Honduras.  However, 
various training sessions offered by the government included 
commercial sex as a major demand producing activity for 
trafficking.  An important advancement was the May project of 
CICESCT to coordinate a project to obtain signatures of a 
code of conduct from hotels and other businesses in which 
they agree to not support any event at their business that is 
tied to the sexual exploitation of children.  The CICEST 
obtained the signatures of 36 hotel owners and two rental car 
agencies: Global Rent Car and Eurorent. 
 
¶F.  Honduran nationals are not "consumers" in the 
international child sex tourism industry.  However, the 
Government of Honduras has made efforts to reduce Honduran 
participation in the child sexual tourism industry including 
through the awareness raising program described in question E. 
 
¶G. Honduras is not listed in ref A as being required to 
respond with regard to measures adopted to ensure its 
nationals who are deployed abroad as part of a peacekeeping 
force are not a part of trafficking. 
 
------------ 
PARTNERSHIPS 
------------ 
 
¶A.  The government engaged with other governments, civil 
society, and multilateral organizations to focus attention on 
human trafficking.  For example, the Ministries of Governance 
and Security and the Public Ministry signed memorandums of 
understanding with NGO Save the Children on May 18 to work 
together through workshops and information sharing to combat 
child labor and the trafficking of children.  Additionally, 
the OPSC reported that during 2009 its worked closely with 
prosecutors in neighboring countries on trafficking cases. 
 
With the support of ILO, the government supported 17 
educational workshops between January-June 2009 on sexual 
exploitation and trafficking for university students, 
government employees, police, and journalists.  Additionally, 
national police cooperated with IOM to provide training to 
employees that will staff the police hotline for trafficking. 
 
¶B. Honduras cooperates closely with its neighbors to fight 
trafficking, however, it is not in a position to provide 
financial assistance to help other countries address TIP. 
----------------------------- 
CHILD SOLDIERS PREVENTION ACT 
----------------------------- 
 
The Child Soldiers Prevention Act of 2008 does not apply to 
Honduras because Honduras has not been subject to allegations 
in the Human Rights Report regarding unlawful child 
soldiering. 
LLORENS