Tegucigalpa, Aug 12 (EFE).- Nearly 32,000 children and young people died violently in Honduras between 2010 and 2022, and around 95% of the cases remain unpunished, reported this Saturday the Human Rights Commissioner, Blanca Izaguirre, who advocated by public policies and social investment.
Of the total number of children and young people murdered, around 27,700 were between 18 and 29 years old, and 4,200 were under 17 years of age, the Honduran agency said in a statement.
He also pointed out that the children and youth of Honduras is one of the sectors “most vulnerable to violence” due to the “deficient care” of the State.
Izaguirre highlighted the need to develop “public policies and social investment” aimed at strengthening the family as the “social nucleus” to confront the violence that affects children and young people.
He also questioned the “deficient attention” of the State towards children and youth in recent decades, which condemns them to poverty and lack of opportunities.
The Ombudsman expressed her concern about the “persistence of a repressive vision” towards children and young people through the “hardening of criminal laws without taking into account the structural problems” of violence.
For this reason, he urged the Honduran State to “prioritize” youth crime prevention policies instead of repressive policies, to eradicate poverty, inequalities and the various manifestations of violence that affect this population.
“Actions and initiatives must be established to prevent violence against children and youth,” stressed Izaguirre, who urged the authorities to “make children and youth visible” on the country’s agenda.
According to the Statistics Unit of the human rights organization, children and young people are the “main victims” of violence in Honduras, where many of the cases occur in their family environment.
The Honduran agency registered between 2022 and May 2023 around 80 complaints for violations of the physical integrity of minors under 18 years of age, 73% of the cases the victims were girls.
65% of the victims reported sexual abuse, 24% death threats and 11% physical abuse, added the Honduran institution, which also detailed that 81% of the victims died from firearm injuries used by the aggressors and 75% of the events occurred on public roads.
Criminal violence in Honduras leaves an average of between ten and fifteen deaths a day, according to human rights organizations and police sources. EFE
ac/szg
