Overview

phase: Preliminary Examinations, Closed - Decision Not to Proceed

Background

The Preliminary Examination in Honduras focused on alleged crimes against humanity committed during a conflict which involved Honduran government forces under interim President Roberto Micheletti (June 2009-January 2010) and elected President Porfirio Lobo Sosa (January 2010-January 2014) and political opposition groups and which occurred from June 2009 to 2014.

Honduras elected José Manuel Zelaya Rosales to the presidency in 2005. The relationship between the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of government deteriorated during his presidency, culminating in a coup d’état in 2009. On June 28, 2009, President Zelaya was stripped of power and forcibly removed from the country. The newly named President, Roberto Micheletti, implemented curfews and issued executive decrees restricting civil liberties. Since the 2009 coup, violence has increased in Honduras, particularly due to police violence against civilians and the rise of drug trafficking. Within this region, 100 members of campesino (peasant or farmers) movements, members of their families and other individuals associated with their movements were killed from January 2010 to September 2013.

ICC Status

Honduras ratified the Rome Statute on July 1, 2002. On November 18, 2010, the ICC Office of the Prosecutor (OTP) opened a preliminary examination into allegations of crimes committed between June 2009 and January 2010. In November 2013, the OTP concluded that, after considering the information available, there was no reasonable basis to open a formal investigation. Later, after receiving new allegations of crimes committed after January 2010, the OTP continued its preliminary examination. On October 28, 2015, the OTP closed the preliminary examination on grounds that the Rome Statute’s requirements for opening a formal investigation had not been met.

For more information on the preliminary examination in Honduras, please visit the ICC page.

[Updated July 27, 2020]