Tegucigalpa, Honduras
The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) on Monday condemned the killing of the indigenous leader and pre-candidate to Honduran MP Félix Vásquez, and called on the authorities to conduct a “rapid, independent and effective” investigation into the crime.
“I strongly condemn the murder of Félix Vásquez, A recognized human rights defender, and I call on the authorities not to stay in the impunity“OHCHR representative Isabel Albaladejo Escribano said in a statement.
He noted that the crime of Vásquez, who was a pre-candidate for deputy by a current of the party Freedom and Refoundation (Free, left), reminds him of the unacceptable risk faced by human rights defenders, land and territory in Honduras and the importance of the state publicly recognizing its work for democracy. “
with the murder of Félix Vásquez, According to OHCHR, Honduras reports eight murders of human rights defenders this year.
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Félix Vásquez was assassinated Saturday by armed men who entered by force to their house in the town the Ocotal of the municipality of Santiago de Puringla, department of La Paz, center of Honduras.
OHCHR urged the authorities to conduct “with due diligence a prompt, independent and effective investigation” to clarify the crime and sanction material and intellectual authors.
He also considers it important that Vásquez’s work as a human rights defender be included in the lines of research, and called on the State of Honduras to guarantee “the care, protection and access to justice of relatives and colleagues. of victim organization “.
Vásquez, a well-known defender of the rights of peasants and indigenous peoples, was general secretary of the Union of Field Workers in La Paz and a member of the Lenca Indigenous Movement.
By October 2020, the indigenous leader had denounced “death threats” against him and other advocates, OHCHR noted.
The victim participated on December 16 in a sit-in in which the criminalization of Víctor Vásquez, another imprisoned indigenous defender, was reported for unspecified causes.
Vásquez was a pre-candidate for Honduran Member of Parliament for the We Are More Than Free party, The general coordinator is the deposed former president of Honduras Manuel Zelaya.
So far, police have indicated that no people have been arrested for the case and that the security forces investigating the crime have not determined the motive.
Honduras is considered one of the most dangerous countries for environmental and land defenders, according to reports from Amnesty International and the non-governmental organization Global Witness. EFE