Committee for the Defense of Human Rights in Honduras

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The Committee for the Defense of Human Rights in Honduras (CODEH, Spanish: Comité para la Defensa de los Derechos Humanos en Honduras) is a

NGO in Honduras founded in 1981.[1]

Background

Honduras had a

"disappeared" from 1980 to 1992 in Honduras, most likely by the Honduran military.[4]

Creation

The organization was created in May 1981 by Ramón Custodio Lopez, a medical doctor and surgeon and founding member of the Medical College of Honduras.[1] He remained the leader of CODEH until 1999.[1]

Aims

CODEH's human rights aims were initially narrowly focused, but during the 1990s extended to economic and social human rights.[5]

Structure and leadership

Andrés Pavón Murillo has been president of the organization since 1999.[6] In the spring of 2009 Manuel Zelaya invited the organization's leader Andrés Pavón to a meeting. The two talked about Zelaya's constitutional modification plans as well as re-election, according to Pavón. Pavón "became pro-Zelaya" after the meeting.[7]

Government responses

During the 1980s, the organization "withstood harassment and intimidation by Honduran security forces".[5] Following testimony that CODEH regional director in northern Honduras, Miguel Ángel Pavón Salazar, gave against the Honduran government in October 1987 before the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACHR), he was shot dead on 14 January 1988.[5][8] The Council of the Inter-Parliamentary Union found that "initial findings" linked the killing with Ángel Pavon's IACHR testimony and stated that former Battalion 3-16 member Fausto Reyes Caballero had declared the names of Battalion 3-16 members responsible for Ángel Pavon's assassination.[8]

The present president the organization, Andrés Pavón Murillo, has had three legal cases against him and one attempt was made to kill him because of his human rights activities.[6]

CODEH reports

In mid-2006, CODEH reported that seven former members of Battalion 3-16 (Billy Joya, Alvaro Romero, Erick Sánchez, Onofre Oyuela Oyuela, Napoleón Nassar Herrera, Vicente Rafael Canales Nuñez, Salomón Escoto Salinas and René Maradianga Panchamé) occupied important positions in the administration of President Manuel Zelaya.[9]

On 11 November 2009, Andrés Pavón stated that the

Honduran general election, with the goal of discrediting the National Resistance Front and creating a cycle of lethal violence between pro- and anti-coup civilian groups.[10] Pavón said that military officers "loyal to the Honduran people" had informed him about the plan and stated that the plan is to be carried out by supporters of the de facto government.[10]

References

  1. ^ a b c "Prosecuting Human Rights Crimes in National Courts" (PDF). Center for Justice and Accountability. 2007-12-06. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2008-11-20. Retrieved 2009-11-11.
  2. ^ Cohn, Gary; Ginger Thompson (1995-06-11). "When a wave of torture and murder staggered a small U.S. ally, truth was a casualty". The Baltimore Sun. Archived from the original on 2011-05-22. Retrieved 2009-07-27.
  3. ^ Equipo Nizkor, LA APARICION DE OSAMENTAS EN UNA ANTIGUA BASE MILITAR DE LA CIA EN HONDURAS REABRE LA PARTICIPACION ARGENTINO-NORTEAMERICANA EN ESE PAIS. Archived 2013-10-30 at the Wayback Machine, Margen (in Spanish)
  4. ^ "Honduras: Still waiting for justice". Amnesty International. 1998. Retrieved 2009-07-27.
  5. ^ a b c Merrill (ed.), Tim (1995). "Domestic Human Rights Organizations". Countrystudies.us. Retrieved 2009-11-11. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  6. ^ a b Rey Flores, Fernando. "Biografía de Andrés Pavón Murillo". Committee for the Defense of Human Rights in Honduras. Archived from the original on 2009-10-22. Retrieved 2009-11-11.
  7. ^ "Con un palito de papa, "Mel" se ganó al presidente del Codeh". El Heraldo. Archived from the original on 2009-08-23.
  8. ^ a b "Case N° HOND/02 - MIGUEL ANGEL PAVON SALAZAR - HONDURAS". Inter-Parliamentary Union. 1996-04-20. Archived from the original on 2008-12-03. Retrieved 2009-11-11.
  9. ^ Holland, Clifton L. (June 2006). "Honduras - Human Rights Workers Denounce Battalion 3-16 Participation in Zelaya Government" (PDF). Mesoamérica Institute for Central American Studies. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-07-20. Retrieved 2009-08-03.
  10. ^ a b "Militares Planean Masacre: CODEH" (in Spanish). Habla Honduras. 2009-11-11. Archived from the original on 2009-11-15. Retrieved 2009-11-12.

External links

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