Lawyers in Danger in Honduras

Yesterday, two United Nations Special Rapporteurs, Gabriela Knaul and Christof Heyns, called on the Government of Honduras to adopt concrete measures to stop the killing of lawyers in the country, stressing that lawyers should be able to carry out their functions without risking their lives.

According to the Office of the High Commissioner of Human Rights (OHCHR), 74 lawyers have been killed in Honduras in the past three years without the Honduran Government responding adequately to the crimes. Nine lawyers have been assassinated just in the last few months alone.

The most recent murder occurred in January, when Ricardo Rosales, a lawyer in the city of La Ceiba, was killed after denouncing human rights violations in a local newspaper.

“Governments have the obligation of guaranteeing that attorneys can carry out all their professional duties without intimidation and without risking their safety and that of their relatives,” said Ms. Knaul. “They should guarantee adequate protection to lawyers when their safety is threatened because of their job.”

(cgb) (adapted from a UN Press Release)