Project profile — Justice, Governance, and Fight Against Impunity in Honduras

• Honduras (100.00%)

• Population Policies/Programmes And Reproductive Health: Population policy and administrative management (13010) (10.00%)
• Legal and judicial development:
Legal and judicial development (15130) (30.00%)
Democratic participation and civil society (15150) (15.00%)
Human rights (15160) (30.00%)
Ending violence against women and girls (15180) (15.00%)

• Indigenous Issues (significant objective)
• Participatory development and good governance (significant objective)
• Gender equality (significant objective)

This project aims to support the promotion of human rights in Honduras, by way of increasing the access to justice of vulnerable populations, especially those of women. This is accomplished by training and accompanying lawyers and civil society organizations to actively participate in legal and democratic processes that help reduce impunity and improve the rule of law in Honduras. Avocats sans frontières works jointly with its partners in the field to improve the effectiveness of judicial procedures related to human rights through training and technical support of specialized lawyers.

The expected outcomes of this project include: (1) increased use of judicial channels for the emergence of jurisprudence contributing to the effective protection of the rights of women, girls and other vulnerable groups and the reduction of corruption and impunity; (2) increased involvement of civil society, particularly organizations working to defend and protect the rights of women, girls and other vulnerable groups, for the improvement of the justice system and democratic processes, through increased dialogue with the State and international bodies; and (3) increased effectiveness of justice actors in combating impunity and corruption, following a victim-centered and human rights-based approach.

Results achieved as of March 2025 include: (1) strengthened access to justice for human rights defenders, contributing to 10 landmark judiciary resolutions, including one on women’s rights, benefiting over 30,000 people. Notable cases like Las Golondrinas (protection of territory and criminalization of illegal acts) and Punta Piedra (protection of victims’ rights to participate and access information in criminal proceedings) advanced constitutional jurisprudence, environmental protection, and human rights. The Office of the High Commissioner of Human Rights (OHCHR) recognized these achievements as precedents in its Honduras annual report; (2) bolstered civil society engagement through contributions to United Nations mechanisms and 5 research studies on women’s rights and corruption; (3) innovative methodologies empowered women living with HIV to monitor how public health services are delivered for this population and speak up for improvements based on findings; (4) institutional collaboration deepened with the Supreme Court and other public bodies, leading to training for 123 justice officials and progress on gender and transparency policies. Strategic litigation and academic partnerships enriched capacity-building efforts to apply a victim-centered human rights-based approach.

• Proactive disclosure