IACHR Condemns the Murder of a Trans Woman in Honduras

 August 28, 2012

Washington D.C. - The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) condemns the murder of Barbarita, a 21-year-old trans woman, in San Pedro Sula, Honduras.

     According to the information received, on August 2, 2012, in a remote area in Colonia San Martín,San Pedro Sula, the body of Barbarita (registered at birth as Marlon Javier Jiménez Alemán), was found with a series of bullet wounds to her face and head. Also, her hands showed signs of being tied behind her back. According to the media, her relatives reported that four persons came to their house the day before, announcing they came as officers from the National Agency of Criminal Investigation (Dirección Nacional de Investigación Criminal), and took her, indicating she was arrested.

     The IACHR reminds the State of its obligation to investigate such acts on its own initiative and to punish those responsible. The Inter-American Commission urges the State to conduct an investigation that takes into account whether this murder was committed because of the gender expression, gender identity or sexual orientation of the victim.

     The Commission continues to receive information on killings, torture, arbitrary arrests, and other forms of violence and exclusion against lesbians, gays, and trans, bisexual, and intersex persons. In addition, the Commission notes that very frequently, problems exist in the investigation of those crimes, which involve, in part, failures to open lines of investigation into whether the crime was committed by reason of the victim's gender identity or sexual orientation. The ineffectiveness of the state response fosters high rates of impunity, which in turn lead to the chronic repetition of such crimes, leaving the victims and their families defenseless.

     The IACHR urges the State to take action to prevent and respond to these human rights abuses and to ensure that LGTBI people can effectively enjoy their right to a life free from discrimination and violence, including the adoption of policies and public campaigns and the amendments necessary to bring laws into line with the inter-American instruments on human rights.

     A principal, autonomous body of the Organization of American States (OAS), the IACHR derives its mandate from the OAS Charter and the American Convention on Human Rights. The Inter-American Commission has a mandate to promote respect for human rights in the region and acts as a consultative body to the OAS in this matter. The Commission is composed of seven independent members who are elected in a personal capacity by the OAS General Assembly and who do not represent their countries of origin or residence.