The lack of justice among the reasons that fuel displacement in Honduras

A new report from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and The Hague Institute for Innovation of Law (The Hague Institute for Law Innovation, HiiL) states that the lack of justice is one of the key factors fueling forced displacement in Honduras.

“If the judicial system had worked as it should, I think maybe things would have been resolved while I was still at home… But well, I had to leave,” says a 25-year-old woman, interviewed for the report in the department. of Cortes.

Other factors of the flight are insecurity, violence, particularly that of gangs, and climate change.

Honduras among the countries with the most displaced people in Latin America

Honduras is among the top five countries in the region with the highest number of displaced people, yet the situation often remains invisible due to the risks that internally displaced people face when they speak.

More than 250,000 people, around 2.5% of the population, were displaced between 2004 and 2018, and the need for people to leave their homes continues today.

The report, titled Needs and Satisfaction with Justice in Honduras 2024is the first study of its kind in Latin America and highlights the cyclical relationship between displacement and justice, in which displacement, often seen as the only escape route from violence and human rights violations, in turn creates new legal challenges that make access to justice even more difficult.

«There is no justice anywhere. For me, moving from one house to another does not mean that I will feel safe. They [los delincuentes] “They are everywhere,” says another witness, 43 years old, who is in Tegucigalpa.

Gap in justice

Among other points, the report highlights:

• The justice gap: More than 40% of people at risk of displacement reported having at least one legal problem, while 52% of those who are actually displaced (IDPs) face serious legal problems, many of them rated 10 out of 10 in difficulty and impact
• Displaced people experience more legal problems related to domestic violence, family and money compared to the rest of the population
• Those interviewed consider that effective justice is out of reach: most believe that the authorities are unable or unwilling to help, making legal processes difficult, especially with the police.
• Impact of legal problems: 75% of respondents report negative consequences of unresolved legal problems, including loss of income and stress-related illnesses, and IDPs experience these impacts more acutely
• The death of a family member as a result of legal problems was found to be disproportionately high compared to other countries with similar studies. (In Honduras it was 11%, compared to 5% in Iraq, where The Hague Institute also carried out a similar study with internally displaced people)

Data, paving the way for judicial reform

Report highlights how data can pave the way for targeted judicial reforms that address the legal challenges faced by displaced populations and vulnerable.

After the report was released, Kathryn Lo, UNHCR representative in Honduras and Sam Muller, responsible The Hague Institute for Innovation of Lawstated that the data not only highlights the magnitude of the challenge, but also points to solutions.