Agreement-PGR-JAZ-015-2024

of the General Law of Public Administration. WHEREAS: FIRST: That in accordance with Articles 232 and 233 of the Constitution of the Republic, the Public Ministry is a specialized professional organism responsible for the representation, defense, and protection of the general interests of society and, as such, is tasked with the ex officio exercise of public criminal action, having technical and legal coordination of criminal and forensic investigation. Likewise, it enjoys administrative autonomy and its leadership corresponds exclusively to the General Prosecutor of the Republic, under whose direction, guidance, administration, and supervision it is subject, and who exercises its powers directly or through the officials or employees designated by him, who shall exercise their functions in accordance with the principles of unity of actions and hierarchical dependence. SECOND: That the Public Ministry, in accordance with law, has the authority to design and direct the criminal prosecution policy in Honduras, as well as generate guidelines in matters of criminal investigation based on technical and legal criteria; being the responsibility of the General Prosecutor of the Republic, through its directorates, to determine the criminal policy to be implemented; likewise, to promote interinstitutional coordination spaces in order to define and authorize, where applicable, standardized tools or instruments of general application, whether these are regulations, manuals, and/or instructions that are to be produced as a result of interinstitutional collaborations, allowing regulation of the framework of all actions of the organs and actors in charge of investigation, ultimately aimed at the discovery of the crime, the securing of evidence until oral and public trial. THIRD: That it is a priority of this office to establish the necessary mechanisms to promote the process of institutional modernization and materialize the strategic objectives determined for the period 2021-2025 that allow our institution to adapt to the requirements of a modern criminal justice system; therefore, on January 19, 2022, a Memorandum of Understanding was executed between the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the Public Ministry of the Republic of Honduras with the objective of collaborating to develop training, capacity-building, and strengthening of knowledge activities in three thematic areas related to disappeared persons, which are: the strengthening of the medical-legal system, detention, and use of force through the implementation of joint capacity-building, training actions, and integration of international standards for the search for disappeared persons; consequently, it was agreed to create guides, manuals, protocols, and other instruments that would be used as tools to objectively measure the performance of prosecutors and forensic experts in fulfilling their functions with international standards for searching for disappeared persons. FOURTH: That as a result, a standardized tool was developed for the search for disappeared persons in Honduras called the "Protocol for Searching Disappeared Persons," which was developed in an interinstitutional manner with the National Police of Honduras, National Migration Institute (INM), National Registry of Persons (RNP), our specialized fiscal offices, and the Forensic Medicine Directorate, among other entities of the State of Honduras, with the collaboration of the International Committee of the Red Cross, through which important contributions were made to standardize the actions of the different actors involved in searching for a disappeared person in the national territory, facilitating interinstitutional and multidisciplinary actions between authorities for the immediate search for disappeared persons alive or, in case they are located deceased, ensuring the custody or restitution of human remains to their family in dignified conditions. The processes contained in the protocol adhering to the respect of human rights with adequate coordination with the Public Ministry, which exercises the technical and legal direction of the investigation, working based on the principles of mutual respect, permanent cooperation, and teamwork, in accordance with the roles determined by law, complementing its functions and activities with the different entities for the success of investigations. FIFTH: That in accordance with the powers expressed in our Constitution and developed by the Public Ministry Law, it corresponds to the General Prosecutor of the Republic to issue orders and instructions that allow faithful and efficient compliance with the objectives and purposes for which it was established as representative of society; therefore, this General Fiscal Office of the Republic, in strict application of the principle of specialization, pertaining to the sources and hierarchy of administrative law, in exercise of its regulatory authority to design and direct the criminal prosecution policy in Honduras, as well as to generate guidelines in matters of criminal investigation and promote the process of institutional modernization, deems it appropriate to approve the Protocol for Searching Disappeared Persons to standardize the actions of the different actors involved in searching for a disappeared person in the national territory, facilitating interinstitutional and multidisciplinary actions between authorities for the immediate search for disappeared persons alive or, in case they are located deceased, ensuring the custody or restitution of human remains to their family in dignified conditions, based on legality and respect for human rights, allowing, with the aforementioned protocol, adequate coordination with the Public Ministry, which exercises the technical and legal direction of the investigation, working based on the principles of mutual respect, permanent cooperation, and teamwork, in accordance with the roles determined by law, complementing its functions and activities with the different entities for the success of investigations in accordance with international standards for searching for disappeared persons. AGREES:

The Protocol for Searching Disappeared Persons is approved to standardize the actions of the different actors involved in the search for a disappeared person in the national territory, facilitating interinstitutional and multidisciplinary actions between authorities for the immediate search for disappeared persons alive or, in case they are located deceased, ensuring the custody or restitution of human remains to their family in dignified conditions, based on legality and respect for human rights, allowing adequate coordination with the Public Ministry, which exercises the technical and legal direction of the investigation, working based on the principles of mutual respect, permanent cooperation, and teamwork, in accordance with the roles determined by law, complementing its functions and activities with the different entities for the success of investigations in accordance with international standards for searching for disappeared persons. "PROTOCOL FOR SEARCHING DISAPPEARED PERSONS I. JUSTIFICATION Disappeared persons are those whose family members or friends have no news of or whose disappearance has been reported, on the basis of reliable information, due to different situations such as an armed conflict, internal violence, among others; consequently, it constitutes a grave violation of the human rights of the disappeared person and their family members in that the right to life, liberty, integrity, physical security, mental security, among others, is violated. The disappearance of persons is a complex matter, as it presents different obstacles in its investigation; however, it has been recognized at the international level, therefore, States have the obligation to initiate immediately and in a coordinated manner the search actions for the person reported as disappeared, always respecting the presumption of life and the participation of families in the processes of search, location, and identification of their loved ones. Similarly, States have an obligation to prevent, eradicate, and punish forced disappearance in their territory. Search processes tend to be lengthy and fraught with many obstacles, requiring a diversity of knowledge and technical capacities that have only recently been developed. In Honduras, the search process presents multiple challenges, as there is no unified interinstitutional mechanism for immediate and effective search of disappeared persons in a coordinated manner. However, the Constitution of the Republic of Honduras guarantees all its inhabitants, nationals or foreigners, the right to the inviolability of life and individual security. Likewise, Honduras has ratified various international instruments through which it acquires the commitment and obligation to adopt measures, both preventive and protective, in relation to disappeared persons and their families—especially that of attending to the priority of family members to quickly find their loved ones to prevent their death and other related crimes such as torture and sexual violence. Similarly, at the end of 2016, the Legislative Power published the Amber Early Alert Law, which aims at the timely activation of search, location, and immediate protection of children and adolescents who are victims of disappearance, which has not yet been effective or executed. In compliance with the obligations established in said Law, the Secretariat of Security created the Unit for Monitoring and Reporting of Disappeared Persons attached to the Directorate of Police Investigations (DPI), as the body responsible for receiving and processing complaints related to the disappearance of persons; as well as activating the Amber Early Alert in cases of disappeared children and adolescents. However, the Unit does not yet have a tool that allows it to coordinate search efforts with other involved institutions, such as the emergency system 911 and the Public Ministry, among others. The Public Ministry, for its part, is the institution responsible for technical-legal direction in the investigation of crimes and the exercise of public criminal action, as well as for ensuring respect for and compliance with constitutional rights and guarantees, directs the search actions undertaken by the Unit for Monitoring and Reporting of Disappeared Persons of the DPI, once it is determined or suspected that a crime related to disappearance may have been committed; likewise, it plays a key role in the application of forensic sciences when legal medical support is required for identification through forensic genetic analysis, which helps to have greater certainty about those responsible for criminal acts, identification of disappeared persons and human remains, to fulfill the supreme purpose of the State; in view of the multiplicity of criminal typologies and complexity of its criminal and forensic inquiries, the use and implementation of different investigative procedures and tools is required. Thus, the Directorate of Police Investigation (DPI) and the Public Ministry (MP) have materialized a first effort to consolidate all actions undertaken in a search process, attending to the actual capacity of the institutions; and, adapted to existing tools, available resources, and current laws. II. GENERAL OBJECTIVE To establish a single document "Protocol for Searching Disappeared Persons in Honduras" for the search, location, identification, and restitution of disappeared persons, with or without life. The Protocol facilitates interinstitutional and multidisciplinary actions between authorities for the immediate search for disappeared persons alive and, in case they are located deceased, ensures that the remains are safeguarded or returned to their family in dignified conditions. This protocol specifies the immediate actions for searching disappeared persons in the country. The Protocol for Searching Disappeared Persons is complemented by the Protocol for Searching Disappeared Migrant Persons, once approved by the corresponding institutional authorities, which applies to the search for persons in cases where their disappearance has been reported abroad and which require coordination with institutions in other countries. This document is a complementary instrument to existing specialized processes, such as that contemplated in the Amber Alert Law and those established by the Human Rights Fiscal Office and CONADEH for cases of forced disappearances; as well as the legal framework regarding disappeared persons that is in the process of being designed in the country. III. SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES 1. To guarantee the rights of victims of disappearance, whose life and integrity are at risk due to being outside the protection of the law, which rights are enshrined in the Constitution of the Republic of Honduras and in international treaties ratified by the State of Honduras. 2. To establish and develop the principles for the search of disappeared persons, from the filing of the complaint or the ex officio action where appropriate, to the location, identification, and restitution of the disappeared person, with or without life. 3. To define the responsibilities of the institutions involved in the process of searching for disappeared persons. 4. To establish unified criteria with respect to the information required for the receipt of reports or complaints of disappearance. 5. To promote cooperation and interinstitutional coordination to contribute to the search for disappeared persons. 6. To maximize the resources and institutional tools available. 7. To raise awareness and train officials on the care of cases of disappeared persons, on efficient and immediate search of disappeared persons, regardless of the circumstances surrounding the fact, as a preventive measure against other serious crimes that affect their fundamental rights. 8. To create a comprehensive care approach for the families of disappeared persons and for persons located alive. IV. MANDATORY NATURE OF THE PROTOCOL This protocol is mandatory for compliance by the institutions involved in the processes of searching for disappeared persons in Honduras, being the obligation of all civil and military authorities of the republic to provide the collaboration and assistance that the Public Ministry requires for the best performance of our functions. The State must ensure that the institutions responsible for this process have the financial and human resources to fulfill their obligations. Non-compliance without justification or negligent action by officials with respect to any obligation related to the immediate search for persons shall be considered a failure. Non-compliance with this Protocol shall be sanctioned in accordance with the disciplinary measures established in the internal regulations of the National Police and the Public Ministry, without prejudice to the civil, administrative, and criminal liability that may be incurred. V. IMPLEMENTATION, MONITORING, AND EVALUATION Once the Protocol implementation begins, it must have monitoring and evaluation processes regarding its application and impact, which will make it possible to update or modify it accordingly. The National Police shall provide monitoring through the Office of the Inspector General and the Public Ministry through the Office of the General Prosecutor. The institutions that are part of the Search Committee must establish mechanisms for monitoring the implementation of the Protocol, including socialization actions and training of competent authorities and collaborating institutions, with the accompaniment and technical assistance of international organizations and organizations expert in the subject matter of disappeared persons. The Protocol shall be subject to an evaluation process after twelve (12) months of beginning its implementation, in which the Secretariat of Security, the Public Ministry, and other institutions participating in its application must participate, with the participation of the Search Committee. VI. RESPONSIBLE INSTITUTIONS I. National Police of Honduras a. Unit for Monitoring and Reporting of Disappeared Persons (USRD): Also known as the Search Unit, which depends on the Directorate of Police Investigations (DPI), which in turn depends on the National Police of Honduras. Entity responsible for receiving reports of disappeared persons; ensuring the registration of information about the disappeared person, as well as the circumstances of their disappearance; leading, under the Technical Legal Direction of the Public Ministry, the search for persons reported as disappeared. b. Directorate of Police Investigations (DPI): Entity of the National Police of Honduras responsible for receiving complaints and collecting the necessary evidentiary elements for the exercise of criminal action; acting under the technical-legal guidance of the Public Ministry. c. National Central Office of the International Organization of Criminal Police (INTERPOL). Point of contact for the INTERPOL General Secretariat and other National Offices. The NCOs are directed by officials of the National Police and are responsible for requesting a yellow notice from INTERPOL, providing information about the case. Subsequently, the INTERPOL General Secretariat publishes the notice in its database, alerting the police services of all member countries. d. Organs of the National Police of Honduras: Attached to the Secretariat of Security at the departmental and municipal level, they have the authority to receive reports of disappeared persons and must coordinate with the Unit for Monitoring and Reporting of Disappeared Persons. II. National Emergency System (911): State institution responsible for the comprehensive care of calls directed to the 911 number by citizens residing and visiting in Honduran territory who require immediate care, seeking to provide immediate, coordinated, and quality response. The 911 System transfers reports of disappeared persons to the Unit for Monitoring and Reporting of Disappeared Persons. III. Public Ministry (MP): It is a constitutional organism that integrates the security and justice system of the State, responsible for the representation, defense, and protection of the interests of society, functionally independent of the powers of the State and free from any sectarian political interference, enjoying administrative, technical, financial, and budgetary autonomy. Obtaining the coordination, technical, and legal direction of criminal and forensic investigation. a. Office of the General Prosecutor: It is the body that has under its direct charge all Agents of the Public Ministry being legally responsible for administering, supervising, and coordinating the actions of the Prosecutors of the Public Ministry and other employees and servants assigned to said body. For purposes of this protocol, the competent prosecutorial offices in the investigation of disappeared persons are: i. Special Fiscal Office for Crimes Against Life; ii. Special Fiscal Office Against Organized Crime; iii. Special Fiscal Office for Protection of Children; iv. Special Fiscal Office for Protection of Women; v. Human Rights Fiscal Office; vi. Special Unit Against Trafficking in Persons, Commercial Sexual Exploitation, and Illicit Trafficking in Persons; vii. Special Fiscal Office for Protection of Ethnic Groups and Cultural Heritage; viii. Special Fiscal Office for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, Journalists, Social Communicators, and Justice Operators; ix. Special Fiscal Office for Protection of the Elderly; and, x. Special Fiscal Office for Common Crimes. xi. Module of Specialized Comprehensive Care. b. Forensic Medicine Directorate: It is an organ of the Public Ministry, specialized in the practice of autopsies, and also carries out physical, clinical, physiological, psychiatric, psychological, or other examinations on living persons, physical, chemical, and biological analysis and inspection of evidence, within the forensic field; likewise, they intervene when a disappeared person has been located with or without life, conducting examinations within the field of forensic medicine either to verify identity or to establish the cause of death of deceased persons. Therefore, the Forensic Medicine Directorate has controls and records, physical and digital, through its Evidence Registration and Control section, of the chain of custody, entities involved, entry and processes in medical-legal systems, to the place of safekeeping, among other data. The Forensic Medicine Directorate has within the National DNA Database System (System for storage and organization of genetic samples collected and structured in different databases and electronic files), the Criminal Database, which is divided with profiles of; DNA of a) Convicted persons; b) Charged persons; c) Victims; d) Evidence and Background; e) Human Remains, which contains the DNA profiles of unidentified human remains found at crime scenes. Also, the National DNA System has the Civil and Humanitarian Databases, comprised of DNA profiles and aim at the identification of cadavers and skeletal remains of unknown origin for humanitarian purposes and of persons who have missing family members, which allows for automatic systematic comparison of DNA profiles, which is divided into a) Disappeared: will contain the DNA profile of unidentified cadavers, biological material presumably from missing or stray persons; b) Human remains: will contain the DNA profiles of unidentified human remains for civil and humanitarian purposes; c) Family Members of Disappeared Persons or Identification of Human Remains: will contain the DNA profiles of persons who have a missing or missing family member, who voluntarily accept donating a biological sample that may be useful for their identification; d) Voluntary Contributors: will contain the genetic profiles of any person who requests or voluntarily accepts that samples be taken to obtain their genetic profile, which may be used in the context of an ongoing criminal and humanitarian investigation; e) Paternity: Will contain the DNA profiles of minors and persons to determine with certainty the blood relationship between ancestors and descendants in accordance with the Special Law for Responsible Motherhood and Paternity. 4. National Migration Institute (INM): Body deconcentrated from the Secretariat of Internal Governance, Decentralization, and Justice. Collaborates with the Secretariat of Security and the Public Ministry on information on disappeared persons in the context of migration. 5. National Telecommunications Commission (CONATEL): Responsible for coordinating the transmission of reports of disappearance of minors for a period of 24 to 48 hours, when it comes to cases of disappearance of children and adolescents. 6. National Registry of Persons (RNP): Administers the national database that provides information such as photo roster, family tree, and fingerprints of persons over 18 years of age. 7. Association of Municipalities of Honduras (AMHON): Provide authorities with material and logistical support when search processes exceed the capacities of the National Police. 8. Secretariat of State for Foreign Relations and International Cooperation (SRECI): Responsible for coordinating search processes for missing migrant persons carried out abroad, through the consular network and other authorities. Also coordinates communication with diplomatic missions accredited in the country, in relation to search processes for foreign persons whose whereabouts are presumed to be in the country. 9. Directorate for Children, Adolescents, and Family (DINAF): Institution in charge of handling in administrative proceedings matters related to the violation of rights of children and adolescents. It is also the coordinating institution of the Amber early alert system. 10. Secretariat of Women's Affairs (SEMUJER): Directing body of policies, plans, programs, and projects in favor of equality of rights for women without discrimination and in an environment free from violence, and in which the Program City Woman is located, with the purpose of contributing to the improvement of living conditions for women in Honduras in various areas, including care for violence against women. When a missing woman is located who requires comprehensive care, the Directorate of Police Investigation (DPI) guides the victim to accept services directed by SEMUJER. 11. Judicial Branch of Honduras: Issues the reasoned order ordering the execution of investigative measures (preliminary measures) that require judicial authorization (expert reports, searches, telephone dumps, telephone tapping, judicial assistance, capture orders, apprehension orders). 12. National Human Rights Commissioner (CONADEH): To ensure the prevention, promotion, protection, and defense of human rights and fundamental freedoms of the inhabitants, and especially those of persons in situations of vulnerability, through the supervision of the actions or omissions of State institutions, in order that they comply with obligations in matters of human rights to achieve respect for human dignity, the strengthening of the Rule of Law, and democratic governance. With the authority to guide family members of disappeared persons, monitor investigations conducted by competent authorities in the search, as well as monitoring compliance with obligations established in the Constitution of the Republic, International Treaties, and this Protocol regarding disappeared persons. VII. ABBREVIATIONS 1. 911: National Emergency System 911. 2. ATIC: Technical Agency for Criminal Investigation. 3. CICESCT: Inter-institutional Commission Against Commercial Sexual Exploitation and Trafficking in Persons. 4. CONADEH: National Commissioner for Human Rights. 5. DINAF: Directorate for Children, Adolescents, and Family. 6. DPI: Directorate of Police Investigations. 7. FEDCV: Special Fiscal Office for Crimes Against Life. 8. FESCCO: Special Fiscal Office Against Organized Crime. 9. FEP-Niñez: Special Fiscal Office for Protection of Children. 10. FEP-Mujer: Special Fiscal Office for Protection of Women. 11. FEDH: Human Rights Fiscal Office. 12. UTESCTP: Special Unit Against Trafficking in Persons, Commercial Sexual Exploitation, and Illicit Trafficking in Persons. 13. FEP-Etnias/PC: Special Fiscal Office for Protection of Ethnic Groups and Cultural Heritage. 14. FEPRODDHH: Special Fiscal Office for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, Journalists, Social Communicators, and Justice Operators. 15. FEP-CAM: Special Fiscal Office for Protection of Consumers and the Elderly. 16. FEDCOM: Special Fiscal Office for Common Crimes. 17. LGBTIQ+: Lesbians, Gays, Bisexuals, and Transgender (transgender, transsexuals, and transvestites). 18. MP: Public Ministry. 19. NACMIS: National System for Case Investigation Registration. 20. SEMUJER: Secretariat of Women's Affairs. VIII. GLOSSARY 1. Yellow Notice: A worldwide police alert (INTERPOL) for a missing person. It is published to locate victims of abduction by one of the parents, abductions (kidnappings), or unexplained disappearances. 2. Amber Alert: Set of coordinated and articulated actions between institutions that allow accelerating and achieving the search, location, and protection of a missing, abducted, taken, or kidnapped child or adolescent. 3. Context Analysis: Multidisciplinary set of collection and systematic processing of information about the conditions and circumstances surrounding a disappearance and which is aimed at establishing search hypotheses. 4. Purple Alert: National alert activated for the search for women reported as disappeared. 5. Order for Commencement of Investigation: Measure adopted by the Prosecutor, ordering the initiation of investigative measures, when there are sufficient indicators of suspicion of crime. 6. Criminalization: Attributing criminal character to the disappeared person or their family members. 7. Data of Disappeared Persons (ante mortem): Information relating to the person before their disappearance. This information may be obtained from family members, friends, colleagues, public and private records, among others. 8. Post Mortem Data: Information obtained from the review and scientific analysis of human remains. 9. Missing Person Report: Verbal or written statement that can be made by any person who witnesses or has direct knowledge of the commission of a crime. 10. Processing: Managing an administrative matter and putting in place the necessary means to achieve said matter, leaving written record of what has been accomplished. 11. Discrimination: Unequal treatment toward a person or group for reasons of gender, politics, physical differences, religion, age, physical or mental condition, sexual orientation, race, among others. 12. Stigmatize: Set of unfavorable attitudes and beliefs that discredit or reject a person or group for being considered different, which have important consequences on how society perceives individuals and how they perceive themselves. 13. Family Members: The Family Code in Article 325 recognizes kinship by blood within the fourth degree and by marriage within the second degree. 14. Search Hypothesis: Similar to investigation leads and refer to the conjectures that answer the question "Where is the disappeared person?" and that guide search actions. 15. Forensic Identification: Technical-scientific procedures that determine that the body or remains found belong to a determined disappeared person, therefore, establishing their identity is achieved. 16. Disappeared Person: One of whom their family members have no news or whose disappearance has been reported, on the basis of reliable information, due to an armed conflict (international or non-international) or violence regardless of whether their absence is related to the commission of a crime or not. 17. Forced Disappearance: Deprivation of liberty of a person, followed by the lack of information or the refusal to acknowledge such deprivation of liberty or to inform about the whereabouts of the person, by a State agent, or by a person acting with the support or acquiescence of the State. 18. Person in a Situation of Vulnerability: Person who, due to circumstances of socioeconomic situation, ethnic origin, state of health, age, gender, sexual preferences, or disability, finds themselves in a situation of greater defenselessness to face the problems posed by life and do not have the resources necessary to meet their basic needs. Vulnerability places those who suffer from it in a situation of disadvantage in the full exercise of their rights and freedoms. 19. Profiling: Process through which a minimum of information required is collected in order to clearly establish the particular aspects of the disappeared person. 20. Missing Report: Verbal or written statement that can be made by any person who witnesses or has direct knowledge of any irregular action that requires immediate attention from the authorities. 21. Revictimization: Process of becoming a victim again, or of producing added suffering by the institutions and professionals in charge of providing care to the victim, in view of the fact that the mode and means of response are not appropriate, which causes the victim to relive the traumatic situation. 22. Victim: Those persons who have suffered any damage or economic, physical, mental, emotional loss, or in general any endangerment or injury to their legal goods or rights as a consequence of the commission of a crime or violations of their human rights recognized in the Constitution and in International Treaties. IX. PRINCIPLES 1. Access to Information: Family members of victims shall be provided with the right to participate in the search, without prejudice to the measures adopted to preserve the integrity and effectiveness of the criminal investigation or the search itself, so that they shall be kept informed in an understandable manner about the actions taken. 2. Action Without Harm: Criterion used to analyze and assess the impact of actions to be taken based on the needs of the case and victims, prioritizing the principle of non-revictimization, informed consent, and continuous communication among the various actors with the victims. All actions developed in cases of forced disappearances, arbitrary or extrajudicial executions, and forensic investigations must provide the necessary elements so that these types of processes are restorative as a whole for the persons, families, communities, and society in a manner that promotes mechanisms of resilience and coping that respect the emotions, thoughts, and experiences of the persons and reconstruct individual, family, community, and social life projects. 3. Due Diligence: The institutions involved adopt without delay all actions and measures aimed at this purpose, within the framework of their competencies. It is essential that police, prosecutorial, and judicial authorities act promptly and immediately by ordering opportune and necessary measures directed at determining the whereabouts of the victims. 4. Dignity: Every person in any situation shall be treated with absolute and unconditional respect for their rights, principles, beliefs, personal autonomy, and other characteristics that give value to their individuality; furthermore, it requires that the family member of the disappeared person be recognized as a recipient of special protection who, moreover, may contribute to the effectiveness of the search. 5. Complementarity: This Protocol does not replace other criminal investigation instruments or strategies used for actions associated with the disappearance of persons such as kidnapping, extortion, trafficking in persons and exploitation, trafficking of persons, femicide, homicide, unlawful deprivation of liberty, among other crimes. 6. Comprehensiveness: The authorities shall carry out all necessary measures for the search, identification, and location of the missing migrant person; all investigation lines that arise from the hypotheses surrounding the disappearance must be conducted, making the necessary national or international coordinations. The search does not end until the disappeared person is located. 7. Gratuity: All actions, procedures, measures, or any other processing derived from the processes of search, location, identification, and restitution, shall be carried out at no cost for their activation or processing. 8. Equality and Non-discrimination: The search shall be conducted for every person without distinction of nationality, race, ethnicity, sex, gender, age, beliefs, religion, membership in a particular social group or political opinion, or any other condition. Personal assessments regarding the relevance of the disappearance, the conduct of the victim, or any prejudice or consideration that prevents immediate initiation of the search must be avoided. Search actions must consider that the disappearance of some persons may be related to situations of inequality or discrimination due to matters of race, age, gender, social or economic condition, social or professional activity, or due to their migratory status. 9. Immediacy: From the moment a formal complaint is made or the authority becomes aware that a person has disappeared, the search shall always be immediate and without any type of timeframe or waiting period required for the authority to initiate it. 10. Maximum Protection: In all search actions the preservation of the life and physical integrity of disappeared persons and their families must have the highest priority. 11. Non-Revictimization: Obligation of the authorities to apply the necessary and justified measures in accordance with principles of human rights to prevent the disappeared person and their victims from being revictimized or criminalized in any way, aggravating their condition, preventing the exercise of their rights, or exposing them to suffer new harm. 12. Ex Officio Action: Authorities are obligated to promote ex officio the registration of facts or complaints about the disappearance of persons; as well as the promotion of actions for search, location, identification, and restitution. This principle shall not diminish the right of families to participate in the search process or to choose not to exercise their right to participate. Such decisions may not be grounds for not carrying out search actions. 13. Presumption of Life: In search actions and procedures, authorities must presume that the disappeared person is alive, regardless of the circumstances of the disappearance, the date on which the disappearance began, and the time search begins. 14. Permanence: Disappearance must be considered as continuing or permanent, as long as the fate or whereabouts of the victim has not been established; which implies that the obligation to search for and locate the disappeared person remains while the person has not been located and released or their identity restituted or their unidentified body identified and delivered, as appropriate. 15. Gender Perspective: Search actions and procedures must ensure that they are framed free of prejudices, stereotypes, and any other element that, due to matters of sex, gender, identity, or sexual orientation of persons, promotes situations of disadvantage, discrimination, violence, or prevents equality. 16. Perspective of Situation of Vulnerability: A differentiated approach must also be adopted in cases of persons in situations of vulnerability. 17. Perspective of Childhood: When it comes to minors, there is a duty to reinforce the processing, as minors are particularly vulnerable to being victims of human rights violations. Furthermore, the best interests of the child must be applied. 18. Urgency: Urgent or immediate actions always seek to preserve the life, liberty, and integrity of disappeared persons. It consists of carrying out the urgent deployment of actions to locate and provide assistance to the person whose disappearance is known to the authority, regardless of the presumption or not that the absence is related to the commission of a crime. 19. Truth: The right to know with certainty what happened and receive information about the circumstances in which the acts constituting crimes were committed. Authorities must establish with the highest degree of certainty both the fate and whereabouts of disappeared persons and must inform their families transparently and understandably about all actions taken. X. APPROACHES 1. Humanitarian Approach: The search for a disappeared person must be addressed as a legal obligation of the State, not only focused on locating the disappeared person, but also on addressing the needs of family members and all those who suffer from the absence of their loved one as a responsibility to take all possible actions to alleviate their pain and uncertainty. The authority is obligated to provide care and response to families regarding the progress of the search. 2. Differentiated and Specialized Approach: The particular circumstances must be taken into account, in order to determine if some attribute of the person has caused their disappearance (if the disappearance arises from their profession or activities). A differentiated approach must also be adopted in cases of persons in situations of vulnerability. 3. Human Rights Approach: It is recognized that rights are inherent to all human beings, are based on respect for human dignity, and are interrelated, interdependent, and indivisible. Authorities must conduct actions within the framework of respect and protection of these rights, both for the disappeared person and for the family members of the disappeared person. 4. Psychosocial and Dignified Treatment Approach: All officials involved in the search for disappeared persons must interact with families, understanding the effects and emotions that such families may be experiencing. Their treatment at all times must be dignified and must seek to avoid stigmatizing, criminalizing, blaming, or revictimizing families seeking their loved ones. The psychosocial approach allows for placing the victim at the center of processes, taking into account their needs and rights in each of the stages of search, investigation, and where appropriate, identification and dignified restitution, thus ensuring dignified and restorative treatment of all actions. 5. Systemic Approach: It is recognized that with the disappearance of a person the social fabric is torn and the dynamics of their family change, therefore, not only the missing migrant person is a victim, but also their family members who live with their disappearance and need to alleviate suffering and overcome the trauma from the absence of their loved one. XI. SEARCH PROCESS PART I REPORT AND/OR COMPLAINT Any authority that becomes aware ex officio or by any means of a person's disappearance has the obligation to take the report. The search must begin immediately, attending to the principles of due diligence, comprehensiveness, and maximum protection, therefore, it will not be required that a period of time or waiting period elapse for the authority to initiate reporting or filing a complaint about the commission of a crime linked to the disappearance. The first notifications shall be registered as reports, without prejudice to the fact that registration as a report and not as a complaint does not imply justification for the non-activation of immediate search actions. The first search and investigation measures will determine the possible connection of a crime to the disappearance, to elevate the report to a complaint. 1. Any person may file a report at any time (24 hours a day, 365 days a year) by calling 911 or in person before the National Police through the Unit for Monitoring and Reporting of Disappeared Persons DPI, who upon receiving such notification must immediately begin the first search actions. The Unit for Monitoring and Reporting of Disappeared Persons is the institution responsible for receiving reports and activating immediate search actions. Other institutions, such as the Public Ministry, the National Human Rights Commissioner (CONADEH), Justices of the Peace, Directorate for Children, Adolescents, and Family (DINAF), Inter-institutional Commission Against Commercial Sexual Exploitation and Trafficking in Persons (CICESCT), Secretariat of State for Human Rights (SEDH), and Human Rights organizations, may receive the report and immediately refer it to the Search Unit of the DPI or act ex officio according to their competence. Those without the mandate or role of initiating the first search actions must inform the complainant that the report has been transferred to the Unit for Monitoring and Reporting of Disappeared Persons of the DPI, explaining the reasons and providing them with the means to contact them. The official who receives the report must provide assistance, guidance, and facilities to the person reporting the disappearance or to the family members of the disappeared person, as well as inform families about their rights and available assistance measures. Lastly and very importantly, the official must specify the protective measures that must be adopted if a risk to the complainant is observed, reiterating that the handling of information will be done confidentially. If the official has sufficient reasons to believe that the complaint has been filed under false pretenses, he or she must warn the complainant about the consequences of false reporting. 2. The Unit for Monitoring and Reporting of Disappeared Persons must require the complainant to provide the minimum information that allows individualizing the disappeared person, contextualizing the disappearance, and guiding urgent and immediate search actions. This information shall be registered in writing and entered into the National System for Case Investigation Registration (NACMIS). The information must include personal data of the disappeared person, contact information of the disappeared person (including telephone number, social media, and others), physical description, information about illnesses or medical conditions, distinctive marks, as well as characteristic features that allow identifying the disappeared person. Furthermore, information about the circumstances of disappearance must be clearly documented; date and time when the person was last seen; clothing; as well as information about the habits, daily life, daily routines of the disappeared person. All this information is useful for individualizing the person, for guiding the investigation, and for determining whether the disappeared person is in a greater situation of vulnerability (children, adolescents, women, persons with disabilities, LGBTIQ persons, human rights defenders, among others). Likewise, the contact information of the reporter or family members must be registered, in order to be able to maintain communication during the search process and in case the Unit needs to obtain additional information for purposes of the immediate search actions. The lack of information or sufficient data is not grounds for not carrying out the immediate search. In case the complainant does not have all the information at the time of filing the report, it is the responsibility of the Unit to verify information systems available to the DPI to obtain the remaining data that allows supplementing what was provided by the reporter. Unlike other crimes, it is common for missing person reports to present little information regarding the circumstances of the fact. The official must act with caution in formulating questions, in order to avoid situations that affect the dignity and emotional state of the complainants and/or family members of the disappeared person. For this purpose, the official must provide a confidential space to interview the family member of the disappeared person and that generates a sense of security and trust; and must guarantee the privacy of the complainant, taking into account the emotional state and in attention to their personal circumstances, they shall be given respectful and empathetic treatment. 3. The official who receives the report is obligated to deliver a copy of the report filed to the person making it and inform about the processing and urgent measures that will be taken for the search of the disappeared person; also, must inform about existing mechanisms to maintain permanent and periodic contact during the course of the immediate search actions. Likewise, the family member of the disappeared person must sign the consent form, so that the Unit for Monitoring and Registration of Disappeared Persons may share the necessary information to activate search actions (personal data—non-sensitive—that allows activating search actions, such as the physical characteristics of the disappeared person). The copy of the report, the number of the unique investigation case file, along with the Charter of Rights of Disappeared Persons and Their Family Members, shall be provided free of charge to the family member of the disappeared person, to facilitate monitoring of the immediate actions and the family member's participation in search actions. Finally, delivery must be made of the charter on the Rights of Disappeared Persons and Their Family Members to be designed once this Protocol is approved. 4. The report is registered without delay in the National System for Case Investigation Registration (NACMIS) and information provided must be cross-checked against what the NACMIS system can immediately provide in relation to the person reported as disappeared, about the complainant and/or their family members. Likewise, the unique investigation case file is opened, where all actions related to the search and those most relevant for search purposes shall also be documented in the NACMIS. 5. Simultaneously with the registration of the report, the official of the Unit for Monitoring and Registration of Disappeared Persons must notify the Prosecutor on Duty. It must be ensured that communications that must be conducted between the involved institutions (National Police, Public Ministry, Forensic Medicine Directorate, DINAF, SEMUJER, SEDH, among others) are verified by the fastest possible means, preferably by electronic means, without prejudice to the fact that they are subsequently formalized or documented for purposes of documenting them in the unique investigation case file and ensuring at all times the protection of personal data of the complainant and the person reported as disappeared. This will allow information to be exchanged more expeditiously with the entities with which immediate search actions need to be coordinated. 6. Likewise, all corresponding instances of the National Police are notified through their National Directorates about the fact, to activate immediate search actions. Said communication must contain the minimum information (non-sensitive personal data) provided at the time of the report, as well as the designation of the official responsible for directing the immediate search actions. 7. The official of the Unit for Monitoring and Reporting of Disappeared Persons who receives the report is responsible for processing it, ensuring that it is properly registered and a copy is delivered to the complainant. Likewise, they shall ensure the adoption of urgent search measures, as well as the opening of the unique investigation case file, which must also be registered in order to be able to communicate to families about the progress of the search. In case there is no internet system or access to NACMIS, all National Police officials have the obligation to provide facilities to issue and register the missing person report, without prejudice to the activation of immediate search actions. 8. If the search process is activated in remote or difficult to access areas, the National Police official in charge of activating the first actions must request the accompaniment of the Municipality, Justices of the Peace, CONADEH, or community leaders/assistants who can support the search process. 9. The criminalization or stigmatization of victims and/or their family members is prohibited and may be reported. The authority is obligated to search for the victims regardless of the particular situations of the disappearance; therefore, personal assessments regarding the disappearance, the conduct of the victim, or any other prejudice must be avoided. 10. Revictimization must be avoided, which is why it is important that the information collected is of quality and is transmitted to the other competent authorities to prevent the reporter from having to tell their account multiple times. PART II IMMEDIATE SEARCH ACTIONS 1. Search actions begin immediately from the moment the Unit for Monitoring and Reporting of Disappeared Persons becomes aware of the disappearance of a person and the same shall be recorded in the unique investigation case file. These actions, in an enumerative but non-limiting manner, without excluding other actions that may be performed, entail:

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  Interviewing the person reporting the disappearance of a person, using the Minimum Information Form on the Disappeared Person and the circumstances of their disappearance;

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  Profiling the disappeared person with the information provided at the time of filing the report;

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  Profiling other persons who may have information about the whereabouts of the disappeared person, or who may be involved with the disappearance of the disappeared person;

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  Analyzing the context to achieve search hypotheses or clues about possible places to prioritize during the search; possible motives or perpetrators behind the disappearance, among others.

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  Coordinating with local police the operational deployment to the last place where the person was seen or where it is presumed they could be.

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  Visiting the residence, workplace or schools and other places where the disappeared person usually went;

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  Verifying information systems such as:

EFFECTIVE DATE. This Agreement shall take effect from the date of its publication in the Official Gazette and must be made known to all servants and officials of the Public Ministry at the national level and to the general population, through the Office of the Secretary General and the Division of Public Relations, Education, and Communications, respectively. Tegucigalpa, municipality of the Central District, July 18, 2024. JOHEL ANTONIO ZELAYA ALVAREZ GENERAL PROSECUTOR OF THE REPUBLIC