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Top 10 Facts About Human Rights in Honduras

Top 10 Facts About Human Rights in Honduras
Since the 2009 military coup that ousted President Manuel Zeyala from the Honduran government, gang-related crimes, scarce living conditions and attacks against indigenous peoples, journalists and human rights defenders have remained rampant throughout the country. According to the 2012 “Guiding Principles on Extreme Poverty and Human Rights,” there is a direct, causal link between the enjoyment of human rights — such right to work, to an adequate standard of living, adequate housing and to education — and the eradication of poverty. With these principles in mind, here are the top 10 facts about human rights in Honduras.

Top 10 Facts About Human Rights in Honduras

  1. Honduras is a country that has one of the highest murder rates in the world. Attacks against women, journalists, indigenous peoples, activists and human rights defenders are incredibly prevalent; additionally, there is a serious lack of accountability for police and public safety officials. Throughout the country, police fail to investigate 80 percent of homicide cases and of those that were looked into, 96 percent did not result in the prosecution or conviction of a perpetrator.
  2. Honduras has the highest femicide rate in the world and a woman is murdered every sixteen hours, according to the Honduras Center for Human Rights. Although there are laws in place to protect women from rape, domestic violence, sexual harassment, discrimination and other forms of violence, abuse is under-reported and rarely investigated.
  3. When authorities do convict perpetrators, they often suffer from scarce living conditions within prison and detention centers. Designed for a total capacity of 10,600 people, the twenty-seven prison and detention center system held 18,950 prisoners as of 2017 — a 10 percent increase in the prisoner population since 2016. As a result, inmates face several scarce conditions such as insufficient access to food and water due to overcrowding. Equally, violence imparts of inmates and prison officials adds to the scarcity of prison life.
  4. Although there is no conclusive data on how much of Honduras’ violence is gang-related, the Association for a More Just Society estimated that there are between 12,000 and 40,000 active gang members in Honduras, where gang-related crime is concomitant with murder, robbery and drug trafficking.
  5. In addition to high crime and murder rates, Honduras also has one of the leading poverty rates in the world with more than 66 percent living in extreme poverty. In fact, one out of five Hondurans lives on less than $2 per day in many rural areas.
  6. To help amend and eradicate such abuses as those listed above, the U.S. and other countries increased the amount of aid directed to Honduras. For example, 4 percent of $25.83 million of U.S. foreign direct investment (FDI) went to “Democracy, Human Rights, and Governance,” in Honduras in 2011; while in 2018, 50 percent of the $90.24 million budget went to the same category – an increase of nearly $42 million in aid from the U.S. in a span of just seven years.
  7. Among many socio-economic plans set to improve human rights conditions in the country is the “Honduras 2020” plan. The Investment Entrepreneurship Facilitation and Transformation Unit implemented this comprehensive plan that aims to reconstruct the economy by focusing specifically on tourism, textile and apparel, light manufacturing, outsourcing services, housing and agribusiness. In fact, it aims to create 600,000 more jobs by 2020.
  8. In addition to the Honduras 2020 plan, programs such as the “Project for Education Quality, Good Governance and Institutional Strengthening,” the “Nutritional and Social Protection Project” and the “Project to Modernize the Water and Sanitation Sector” are all working to secure equal and safe access to education, safe water and food security among other necessities.
  9. In 2005, the U.S. committed $20 million to the “Nutritional and Social Protection Project in Honduras,” a plan that succeeded in reducing malnutrition of children under 2 years of age in the program from 32 to 26 percent. In 2007, it gave an additional $30 million to aid the “Project to Modernize the Water and Sanitation Sector,” which helped 650,000 people gain access to clean water by providing Water Supply and Sanitation (WSS) services and training almost 17,000 people in hygiene and sanitation practices.
  10. Implemented in 2008, the “Project for Education Quality, Good Governance and Institutional Strengthening” saw an increase in preschool enrollment as well as an increase in 6th grade completion by 2013.

From Poverty to Recovery

While relief efforts are in the works, these top 10 facts about human rights in Honduras show that many Hondurans are still facing extreme poverty, high crime and murder rates, harsh living conditions and other issues that are tantamount to human rights abuses.

Honduran leaders have begun to recognize poverty as a leading factor in the recovery of their nation and continue to prioritize it on both economic and social scales. In the wake of all this progress and a year out from their 2020 goal, Honduras is making steady progress towards creating safe and stable living conditions to precede economic and social progress.

– Morgan Everman
Photo: Flickr

What is Advocacy in Terms of Helping the Global Poor?

What is Advocacy
What is advocacy? Merriam-Webster defines an advocate as someone who “argues for or supports a cause or policy.” Other definitions paint advocates as defenders, either of a cause or of a person. Lastly, an advocate can also be defined as a promoter of another’s interests.

 

What is Advocacy in Terms of Global Poverty?

 

With almost 10 percent of the world’s population living on less that $2 a day, ignoring the global poor is like ignoring someone who is injured and cannot get to their feet.

In the case of the global poor, an advocate is one who supports, defends and promotes the human rights of those suffering in extreme poverty. A person is an advocate when they support policies that aid struggling populations stricken with hunger, disease and a lack of access to education or sanitation.

Eradicating global poverty can seem like a daunting task. Who is equipped to change the world in such a way? Notice that the definition does not say an advocate is an implicit solution to the problem. On the contrary, an advocate is someone who works to find a solution and appeals to the powers that can make a difference.

Today, being an advocate for the global poor does not require immense effort. In fact, it is as easy as sending a few emails and making a few phone calls. By contacting our representatives in Congress and showing our support for foreign aid, we can act as intermediaries for the millions who do not have the means to do so themselves.

Advocacy is more powerful in groups. By spreading awareness of the global poor and demonstrating how easy it is to support their cause, we can multiply our impact. With enough people promoting the same interests, leaders will take notice. If we do not have the power to eradicate poverty on our own, the governments of the world certainly do.

The actions of advocates have had a profound effect. Since 2011, a projected 200 million people are no longer in extreme poverty. Nevertheless, there are still millions more that are crying for help with the hope that someone will take notice and champion their cause.

– Emiliano Perez

Photo: Flickr

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Millennium Development Goals Successes

Millennium_Development_GoalsAs 2015 comes to a close and the world takes a look at the progress that has been made in global poverty relief, it is clear that significant progress has been achieved. The list of what has been accomplished is extensive, but here are some of the top Millennium Development Goals successes:

  1. Between 1990 and 2015 the number of people living in extreme poverty went from 1.9 billion to 836 million people. That’s 1,090 million people who no longer live in poverty.
  2. The number of primary school age children who were out of school dropped globally from 100 million to 57 million. That’s 43 million more children able to go to school.
  3. In 1990, for every 100 boys that attended school in Asia, there were only 74 girls attending. That number has now risen from 74 to 103 girls.
  4. The number of infant deaths under age 5 has declined from 12.7 million to in 1990, to 6 million today.
  5. In 1990, only 2.3 billion people had access to clean drinking water. That number has now climbed to 4.2 billion.
  6. 99 percent of all countries have more women in parliament than they did in 1990.
  7. The child mortality rate has been reduced from 90 deaths per 1,000 live births to 43 deaths per 1,000 live births, and it continues to fall.
  8. The number of people living on only $1.25 a day has gone from 47 percent in 1990 to 14 percent in 2015.

While the Millennium Development Goals have had many successes, some goals have not been reached. World leaders have come together once again to decide on the new long-term sustainability goals, building on the past successes.

According to the UN, The Sustainable Development Goals, “will break fresh ground with ambition on inequalities, economic growth, decent jobs, cities and human settlements, industrialization, energy, climate change, sustainable consumption and production, peace and justice.”

– Drusilla Gibbs

Sources: The Guardian, UN
Photo: Flickr

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Active Involvement in Global Poverty Efforts Equals Happiness

Helping To Eradicate Poverty Will Make You Happier
The goal to eradicate global poverty continues to be a growing challenge facing the world today. This year, an estimated 700 million people worldwide still live below the poverty line.

In a survey conducted by the charity Action For Happiness, they identified ten everyday habits that make people happier.

On a scale of 1-10, each habit was ranked based on how frequently people performed each habit.

The number 1 ranked habit, at 7.41, was giving.

“Practicing these habits really can boost our happiness. It’s great to see so many people regularly doing things to help others — and when we make others happy we tend to feel good ourselves too,” said Professor Karen Pine, a psychologist involved in the study.

Here are three simple ways people can become involved in the fight to eradicate poverty:

  1. Join an Organization: Ending poverty is not solely the job of world leaders, but individuals worldwide can do their part as well. People who are passionate about ending poverty can join a network of supporters who share similar ideas and strategies.Examples of non-profit organizations include ONE Campaign, UNICEF, CARE, and The Borgen Project.
  2. Contact Your Congressional Leaders In the United States, each state has two senators and a number of representatives who enjoy hearing thoughts and suggestions from their constituents.With phone numbers and emails easily accessible, senators and representatives keep a tally of every issue their constituents call or email about. A simple phone call or a click of a button can determine if a bill is discussed in the Senate or House. Learn more about how easy it is to email and call Congress here.
  3. Set up a Fundraising Page: Online donation pages can be built with donation sites including Donor Drive and GoFundMe. Using social media, people can persuade friends and family to donate to a worthy cause.

Through global poverty efforts, everyone can play a role in ending poverty while simultaneously feeling better about their well-being.

“Extreme poverty has been cut in half in the last 20 years, and the facts show that we can get it to virtually zero within a generation – but only if we act,” said Bono, musician and global activist.

– Alexandra Korman

Sources: Global Citizen, PSY Blog, The Borgen Project
Photo: Flickr