Committee on the Protection of the Rights of AllMigrant Workers and Members of Their Families

Concluding observations on the initial report of Honduras *

1.The Committee considered the initial report of Honduras (CMW/C/HND/1) at its 327th and 328th meetings (see CMW/C/SR.327 and SR.328), held on 29 and 30 August 2016. At its 339th meeting, held on 7 September 2016, it adopted the following concluding observations.

A.Introduction

2.The Committee welcomes the submission of the State party’s initial report, which was prepared in response to the list of issues prior to reporting (CMW/C/HND/QPR/1). The Committee also welcomes the additional information provided during the dialogue by the large, multisectoral delegation, which was headed by the Deputy Minister of Labour and Social Protection, Ramón Fernando Carranza Discua, and composed of representatives of the Permanent Mission of Honduras to the United Nations Office and other international organizations in Geneva.

3.The Committee appreciates the dialogue that has taken place between its members and the delegation, which has given the Committee a clearer understanding of how the Convention is applied in the State party.

4.The Committee is aware that Honduras, as a country of origin of migrant workers and members of their families, has made progress in protecting the rights of its nationals abroad and foreign migrants in the country. However, Honduras still faces major challenges in effectively protecting the rights of migrant workers and members of their families in transit and destination countries and on their return to the State party. It also presents challenges as a country of transit and destination.

5.The Committee notes that some countries where Honduran migrant workers are employed have still not become parties to the Convention, which could constitute an obstacle to those workers’ enjoyment of their rights under the Convention.

B.Positive aspects

6.The Committee welcomes the efforts made by the State party to promote and protect the rights of Honduran migrant workers abroad and welcomes the entry into force of the Act on the Protection of Honduran Migrants and Members of Their Families and its regulations (2015).

7.The Committee also welcomes the State party’s accession to the following international human rights instruments:

(a)The International Labour Organization (ILO) Maritime Labour Convention, 2006 (MLC, 2006) in 2015;

(b)The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, in 2008, and its Optional Protocol, in 2010;

(c)The International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance, in 2008;

8.The Committee welcomes the adoption of the following legislative measures:

(a)The strategic plan against commercial sexual exploitation and trafficking in persons 2016-2022;

(b)The Trafficking in Persons Act, 2012, and its regulations, 2016;

(c)The Code on Children and Adolescents, amended in 2013;

(d)The Act on Equal Opportunities for Women of 2000.

9.The Committee also welcomes the following institutional and policy measures:

(a)The Public Policy and National Plan of Action on Human Rights, 2013-2022;

(b)The Plan of the Alliance for Prosperity in the Northern Triangle, 2016-2020;

(c)The Strategic Comprehensive Care Programme for Honduran Migrant Children and Adolescents and Their Families 2015-2019, with an Action Plan for the period 2016-2017;

(d)The Protocol on the Immediate Protection, Repatriation, Reception and Follow-up of Child Migrants;

(e)The Solidarity Fund for Honduran Migrants (FOSMIH, 2015);

(f)The Inter-Institutional Commission for the Protection of Persons Displaced by Violence, 2013;

(g)The National Policy on Prevention of Violence against Children and Young People, 2013;

(h)The Special Regime for the legal migration of Honduran workers in the agricultural sector in the United States of America and other countries, 2010;

(i)The National Migrant Welfare Policy, 2008;

(j)The protocol on the repatriation of child and adolescent victims of trafficking or at risk of being trafficked, 2006.

C.Principal subjects of concern and recommendations

1.General measures of implementation (arts. 73 and 84)

Legislation and application

10.The Committee notes the initiatives taken by the State party to strengthen the position and ensure the full development of migrants and members of their families and welcomes the signing of an agreement with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to promote the adoption of a new migration law. However, the Committee is concerned by:

(a)The failure to bring the Migration and Aliens Act (2003) and its regulations (2004), which were adopted prior to the ratification of the Convention by the State party (2006), into line with international standards on the protection of migrant workers and members of their families, especially the Convention, despite the fact that several of its articles are at variance with the provisions of the Convention;

(b)The adoption of the Act on the Protection of Honduran Migrants and Members of Their Families in 2013 without prior or adequate consultation with representatives of the main organizations and institutions with a stake in migration issues, and the failure of the Act to incorporate provisions specifically relating to women or other particular groups, such as children and adolescents, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or intersex (LGBTI) persons, persons of African descent, indigenous peoples and disappeared or missing migrants.

11. The Committee recommends that the State party should take the measures necessary to adopt and implement legislation on migration that is fully consistent with the Convention and the other international human rights treaties that it has ratified. It also recommends that, in the process of preparing that regulatory framework, it should take appropriate measures to ensure the effective participation of civil society organizations and specialized international agencies such as the new country office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) in Honduras, the International Labour Organization (ILO), the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the International Organization for Migration, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women.

Articles 76 and 77

12.The Committee notes that the State party has not yet begun the process of making the declarations provided for in articles 76 and 77 of the Convention.

13. The Committee encourages the State party to make the declarations provided for in articles 76 and 77 of the Convention as soon as possible.

Comprehensive policy and strategy

14.The Committee notes the information provided by the State party on the progress made in implementing the National Plan of Action on Human Rights in the context of the rights of migrants in 2014, as well as the institutional reforms included in the Act on the Protection of Honduran Migrants and Members of Their Families, in particular the establishment of the National Council for the Protection of Honduran Migrants and the Joint Task Force for Migrant Children. The Committee regrets, however, that the State party has not provided sufficient information on the specific measures that it has taken, within the framework of these initiatives, to implement the Convention. While it notes the efforts made by the State party to address the various challenges in the area of migration, the Committee is concerned at the lack of a comprehensive public migration policy focused on respecting, protecting and guaranteeing the human rights of migrants and their families, as enshrined in the Convention and in other treaties in force in the State party. It is also concerned to note that it has not provided information on a comprehensive national migration policy containing measures that would enable a comprehensive, rights-based approach to be taken to the situation of migrant workers and their family members either in, or in transit through, the State party, whether illegally or otherwise, and of migrant workers and their family members who are nationals of the State party in other countries. Furthermore, the Committee is concerned at the lack of detailed information on coordination between the authorities on migration matters at both the national and the local government level.

15. The Committee recommends that the State party continue the process of reviewing and adopting the draft Honduran national migration policy, which has been before the National Congress since 2009. It also recommends that it adopt a comprehensive and rights-based approach by effectively implementing coordination initiatives through the National Council for the Protection of Honduran Migrants and the Joint Task Force for Migrant Children. Such a comprehensive migration policy, which would be in harmony with the Convention, should take gender issues into consideration, in a cross-cutting manner and in practice, and be properly implemented and funded. The Committee urges the State party to include in its second periodic report updated information, supported by statistics, on the specific measures that it has taken to safeguard, in law and in practice, the rights of migrant workers set out in the Convention. The Committee recommends that, in accordance with article 65 of the Convention, the State party should take the necessary steps to formulate and implement a migration policy that addresses the full range of international migration issues. It also urges the State party to define clearly the roles of the authorities with competence in migration matters and to step up its efforts to ensure that they coordinate their work effectively at the national and local levels, especially in border areas.

Coordination

16.The Committee notes the information provided by the State party on the establishment of a working group involving the Ministry of Labour and Social Security and the National Migration Institute as part of the programme on the promotion of decent working conditions for migrant workers in the northern triangle of Central America, with a view to coordinating implementation of the Convention and acting on the Committee’s recommendations. The Committee welcomes that initiative and the other efforts made by the State party to improve coordination. However, the Committee is concerned at the lack of effectiveness of State institutions in giving effect to the rights set out in the various national and international instruments relating to migration.

17. The Committee recommends that the State party redouble its efforts to improve coordination among ministries and agencies at all levels of public administration in order to give effect to the rights protected under the Convention, thereby ensuring, among other measures, that adequate human and financial resources and capacity are allocated to the Directorate General for the Protection of Honduran Migrants, the National Council for the Protection of Honduran Migrants and other key institutions concerned with issues related to migration, labour, child protection, gender equality and other matters related to the rights enshrined in the Convention and in other treaties ratified by the State party.

Data collection

18.The Committee notes the efforts made by the State party to improve the collection of data on migration flows, particularly as regards Honduran migrant workers in other countries. However, it regrets the lack of statistical and qualitative information on migrant workers — from Central America or other regions, including other continents — who are in an irregular situation in the State party, as well as the lack of mechanisms for collecting and sharing information on the rights of migrant workers and their families, including those living or travelling in an irregular situation, as set out in the Convention. The Committee is also concerned by the lack of information on the various criteria required to evaluate the effective implementation of the Convention, in particular with regard to migrants in transit, migrant women, unaccompanied migrant children and cross-border and seasonal migrant workers.

19. The Committe