Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2025, published 114th ILC session (2026)

Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29) - Honduras (Ratification: 1957)

The Committee notes the observations of the Honduran National Business Council (COHEP), received on 29 August 2025.

Articles 1(1) and 2(1) of the Convention. Vulnerability of persons displaced by reason of forced labour. The committee notes that the Government refers in its report to the adoption of the Act on the prevention, support and protection of internally displaced persons (Decree No. 154-2022), creating the National Response System to Forced Displacement (SINARDEF). The Act establishes the Inter-institutional Commission for the Protection of Forcibly Displaced Persons (CIPPDEF), as the highest decision-making body in the system, and the Single Register of Forcibly Displaced Persons (RUPDEF), which compiles data for the identification of the specific characteristics and needs of displaced person. The Act provides that the Coordinating Unit for the Implementation and Follow-up of Assistance and Protection Measures shall be responsible for the establishment of specific mechanisms for the protection of forcibly displaced persons from risks relating to trafficking in persons and sexual exploitation. The Government adds that in 2021 there were 942 registered victims of forced displacement and that there are around 1,587 persons at risk.

In this regard, the Committee notes that the United Nations Refugee Agency, in operational update No. 41 of 2025, indicates that over 247,000 people were internally displaced between 2004 and 2018. The figures could be higher in 2025, as the triggers of internal displacement persist. The Committee also notes that, according to a report by the United Nations Refugee Agency of 2024 on justice needs and satisfaction in Honduras for internally displaced persons, the lack of access to justice is a push factor of displacement in a context of violence, particularly by criminal organizations. For the victims, lack of access to justice means that displacement is the only viable option for protection.

While recognizing the complexity of the situation caused by internal displacement in the country due to violence, the Committee firmly hopes that the Government will continue to adopt measures to prevent persons who have been displaced from being the victims of forced labour by strengthening the capacities of the authorities to take proactive measures, especially in areas where there is a high incidence of criminal groups. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on: (i) the measures adopted to raise the awareness of forcibly displaced persons of their rights and the means of protecting themselves from exploitation practices constituting forced labour; (ii) the action taken by the competent authorities to identify cases of forced labour among displaced persons; and (iii) the activities carried out within the framework of the National Response System to Forced Displacement to protect and provide assistance to displaced persons. The Committee once again requests the Government to provide information on the data collected on this subject.

Articles 1(1), 2(1) and 25. Trafficking in persons. 1. Plan of action. The Committee notes the detailed information provided by the Government on the activities carried out by the Inter-Institutional Commission to Combat Commercial Sexual Exploitation and Trafficking in Persons (CICESCT) to: (i) raise the awareness of the population concerning sexual exploitation and trafficking in persons and train public officials on the identification of cases of trafficking (in 2024, training was provided to 43,065 people and awareness-raising was carried out among 372,612 people); and (ii) strengthen the participation of municipal governments in action to combat trafficking through the creation of three CICESCT local committees in 2024, the training of 28 local committees to improve the identification and assistance of victims and the conclusion with the Association of Municipalities of Honduras (AHMON) of an agreement for the establishment of more local committees (32 in 2025) and the implementation of measures to prevent trafficking in persons and for the dissemination of the complaint call line.

The Committee also notes the adoption of the second Strategic Plan to Combat Commercial Sexual Exploitation and Trafficking in Persons 2023–30, which has the following components: (i) institutional strengthening, planning and awareness-raising; (ii) detection, support and full protection for victims and/or survivors; (iii) gender equity and human rights; (iv) institutional communication; and (v) the National Information System on trafficking in persons (SNITdP) and information technologies.

The Committee further notes that the COHEP also refers to the Strategic Institutional Plan of the CICESCT 2025–27, the principal objectives of which are to consolidate prevention efforts, full support for victims, institutional strengthening and inter-institutional cooperation, all from a gender, human rights and social inclusion perspective.

The Committee notes that the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, in its concluding observations of 2022, expressed concern at the lack of statistical data on the extent of trafficking and its root causes, including in humanitarian settings (CEDAW/C/HND/CO/9). The United Nations Committee on Enforced Disappearances, in its concluding observations of 2024, regretted the absence of a public policy to address the causes of massive migration in conditions that put migrants, especially women, at risk of falling victims of trafficking in persons (CED/C/HND/OAI/1).

The Committee requests the Government to continue taking measures to prevent and combat trafficking in persons, within the framework of the effective implementation of the five components of the second Strategic Plan to Combat Commercial Sexual Exploitation and Trafficking in Persons 2023-30 and to provide information on this subject. The Committee also requests the Government to provide information on the activities carried out by the CICESCT to raise awareness of and prevent trafficking in persons, especially among groups who are most vulnerable, and on the statistical data compiled by the National Information System on trafficking in persons (SNITdP).

2. Protection and assistance for victims. The Committee notes that both the COHEP in its observations and the Government refer to the creation of the Victim Support Fund (FOAVIT) through which full support will be provided as the funds will be allocated exclusively to victims of trafficking in persons and sexual exploitation. The Fund, on the one hand, covers immediate emergency needs, such as temporary accommodation, food, transport and medicines and, on the other, the provision of specialized physical and psychological care, psychosocial assistance and full support. Access to the Fund is guaranteed for all persons recognized as being victims of trafficking in persons, without it being conditional on their participation in judicial proceedings. The CICESCT is required to submit regular reports on the use of the resources, which are subject to auditing and inspection.

The Government adds that there was a significant increase in 2024 in the support provided to victims of trafficking in persons. Support was provided to 49 new victims, as well as continuing the follow-up of 160 cases and support for 4,477 indirect victims, making a total of 4,686 beneficiaries of the institution’s services. In this respect, the Committee notes that, according to the 2024 annual report of the CICESCT, the Immediate Response Team (ERI-CICESCT) provided over 14,010 full support services to direct and indirect victims. The services include psychological support (5,196 services), social work (4,255 services), legal (2,490 services) and medical (2,069 services), as well as specialized support, including legal advice, psychological support and social assistance to nationals to facilitate their repatriation and reintegration.

The Committee requests the Government to continue adopting the necessary measures to facilitate the adequate protection and assistance of all victims of trafficking in persons in accordance with the Act to combat trafficking in persons. In this regard, the Committee requests the Government to provide information on: (i) the full support services provided by the ERI-CICESCT, the victims identified, the number of victims assisted and the type of assistance provided; (ii) the functioning of the Victim Support Fund for victims of trafficking in persons and related activities, reception centres for victims of trafficking which have been financed by the FOAVIT and the results of the annual reports prepared by the CICESCT on the use of the Fund’s resources.

3. Prosecution and application of penal sanctions. In relation to measures to build the capacities of the labour inspection services, police and operators in the justice system for the identification and investigation of cases of trafficking in persons, the Government indicates that in 2024 the Unit to Combat Trafficking in Persons, Commercial Sexual Exploitation and People Smuggling (UTESCTP) of the Office of the Public Prosecutor initiated 40 proceedings, brought 41 charges and achieved 18 convictions, with two acquittals, and 26 of the accused were convicted. It adds that, between 2021 and 2025, the General Labour Inspection Department only investigated one reported case of labour exploitation. The data shows that sexual exploitation was the most prevalent form of trafficking in persons in 2024, accounting for 66 per cent of the cases.

In this regard, the Committee notes the indication by the COHEP that, although the Government has made progress in budgetary terms and in the registration of complaints, the persistence of impunity and the gap between the incidence of cases and their prosecution show the need to make greater efforts. The Committee also notes that the United Nations Human Rights Committee, in its concluding observations of 2024, expressed concern at reports that the courts do not award any form of compensation or restitution to victims (CCPR/C/HND/CO/3).

The Committee urges the Government to continue its efforts to strengthen the capacities of the labour inspection services, the Unit to Combat Trafficking in Persons, Commercial Sexual Exploitation and People Smuggling (UTESCTP), the police and officials in the justice system for the proactive identification of cases of trafficking of persons in areas and sectors where there are indications of the existence of trafficking, both for sexual exploitation and for labour exploitation. It requests the Government to provide information on the cases identified, the judicial proceedings initiated and the penalties imposed, as well as on the difficulties identified in the context of the investigations. Please provide information on the manner in which the Office of the Public Prosecutor, the labour inspection services and the UTESCTP coordinate for the referral and initiation of the corresponding investigations into cases of trafficking in persons.

The Committee is raising other matters in a request addressed directly to the Government.