Law on the National System of Emergencies

The NATIONAL EMERGENCY SYSTEM "NINE, ONE, ONE" (911) is hereby created as a public service and national security service, responsible for answering EMERGENCY calls directed to the single telephone number Nine, One, One (911), made by any person from any part of the national territory that requires unexpected security, fire extinction, rescue or civil protection, ultimately seeking to provide immediate, coordinated and quality response; and that a consolidated source of information and value be managed. The National Emergency System: Nine, One, One (911) must in turn facilitate the management of resources and unify radio communications on the same platform for all institutions that are part of this system, through the single emergency and security operations center, for administrative and budgetary purposes.

An "Emergency" is considered any circumstance that may compromise the life, integrity and security of persons or their property and; that requires immediate assistance from one or more of the institutions that are part of the System governed by this Law.

The National Emergency System Nine, One, One (911) is assigned a single telephone number, of national coverage, consisting of three (3) digits: Nine, One, One (911), which shall be the same throughout the country, regardless of the telecommunications network from which the request or communication originates. The National Telecommunications Commission (CONATEL) must guarantee and execute strict compliance at the national level with this mandate.

It is mandatory for all fixed or mobile telephone service companies, public or private, throughout the national territory, to assign the number Nine, One, One (911) to the telephone lines of the National Emergency System Nine, One, One (911). Calls to the National Emergency System Nine, One, One (911) are free of charge in their entirety, even when the operator or the user has no balance, including any possible interconnections between telephone operators which may be made from any public or private telephone, whether fixed or mobile. Likewise, the obligation is established for all fixed or mobile telephone service companies, public or private throughout the national territory to carry out, permit and facilitate from the Emergency Centers and Operations Coordination Centers, mass alerts to the population in the event of an emergency, which may be of national, departmental or local scope. The National Telecommunications Commission (CONATEL) must guarantee and execute strict compliance at the national level with this mandate.

The National Emergency System: Nine, One, One (911) is composed of the following institutions:

• 1)

  State Secretary of the Security Office;

• 2)

  State Secretary of the National Defense Office;

• 3)

  State Secretary of the Health Office;

• 4)

  Honduran Social Security Institute (IHSS);

• 5)

  National Police of Honduras;

• 6)

  Military and Public Order Police (PMOP);

• 7)

  Permanent Contingencies Commission (COPECO);

• 8)

  Heroic and Esteemed Fire Department;

• 9)

  National Penitentiary Institute (INP);

• 10)

  National Migration Institute (INAM);

• 11)

  National Institute for Women (INM);

• 12)

  National Transportation Directorate (DNT);

• 13)

  Municipal Governments that are part of the National Emergency System Nine, One, One (911);

• 14)

  Honduran Red Cross (CRH);

• 15)

  Public Prosecutor's Office (MP);

• 16)

  National Telecommunications Commission (CONATEL);

• 17)

  National Commissioner for Human Rights (CONADEH);

• 18)

  Directorate of Civil Aeronautics; and,

• 19)

  Other Public or Private institutions that join the National Emergency System Nine, One, One (911);

The National Emergency System Nine, One, One (911) operates hierarchically under the coordination of the National Council for Defense and Security.

The National Directorate of the National Emergency System Nine, One, One (911) is hereby created, dependent and attached to the National Council for Defense and Security, whose functions must be the following:

• 1)

  To submit before the National Council for Defense and Security, the approval of the policies, the regulation or regulations of organization and competencies and the internal operation of the National Emergency System: Nine, One, One (911), establishing therein the coverage areas and the communication, coordination and work protocols of the institutions that are part of the National Emergency System: Nine, One, One (911);

• 2)

  To coordinate the action and operation of the institutions that are part of the National Emergency System: Nine, One, One (911) and to control the quality of this public service;

• 3)

  To conduct mass campaigns on the use of the National Emergency System Nine, One, One (911), likewise to facilitate so that a child or minor person can use a telephone more quickly;

• 4)

  To submit before the National Council for Defense and Security, the approval of the duly justified budget and work plans; and,

• 5)

  Other functions of its own or that are assigned or instructed to it, including giving priority to those reports that have to do with domestic, family and sexual violence, related to the National Emergency System Nine, One, One (911).

The National Directorate of the National Emergency System Nine, One, One (911) must be exercised by a National Director, appointed by the President of the Republic, whose responsibilities are:

• 1)

  To develop and maintain the National Emergency System Nine, One, One (911) operational, for the reception and care of emergencies to respond to requests for assistance that fall within its competence,

• 2)

  To receive, attend to, contain, guide and automatically process emergency requests from all national territory, as well as to coordinate with the competent authorities and specialized support units that it has created;

• 3)

  To monitor the emergency until the conclusion of the service, according to the established protocol;

• 4)

  To maintain a permanent training program for officials linked to the National Emergency System Nine, One, One (911) that includes joint instruction and simulations.

• 5)

  To coordinate actions in crisis situations that due to their magnitude are considered as such;

• 6)

  To propose before the National Council for Defense and Security the approximation of the policies, the regulation or regulations of internal organization and competencies and the internal operation of the National Emergency System: Nine, One, One (911), establishing therein the coverage areas and the communication, coordination and work protocols of the institutions that are part of the system among others of the irrigation board and competence;

• 7)

  The personnel of the National Emergency System Nine, One, One (911) have the obligation to inform the Special Prosecutor for Women when she so requests, about complaints and reports regarding gender violence, family, intrafamily and domestic violence so that she may provide timely and appropriate follow-up,

• 8)

  The personnel of the National Emergency System Nine, One, One (911) must be trained in domestic violence procedures and protocols, so that they can prioritize and measure effects and measure risk factors; and,

• 9)

  Other functions of its own or that are delegated or instructed to it related to the National Emergency System Nine, One, One (911).

In each institution that actually integrates into the National Emergency System Nine, One, One (911), a Specialized Support Unit to the System is hereby created, called Institutional Operating Center (COI) whose objective is the immediate and effective care of emergency requests that are received and directed to each of the operational components thereof in accordance with the Internal Operations Regulation of the System.

The officials linked to the National Emergency System Nine, One, One (911) must manage the information generated in the operations within their competence with the necessary confidentiality to safeguard the security and integrity of users. The National Director of the System must provide or instruct his subordinates to provide the information in his records only upon request of an authority that is competent in accordance with the Law or by order of a Competent Judge. The emergency call must be considered as a manifestation of presumed consent on the part of the interested party. The National Emergency System Nine, One, One (911) must properly safeguard the electronic or physical files that are generated for each incident or emergency attended to, as well as all the information and voice recording, video, data and other elements that have been presented in the care of an emergency, in order to have them available upon request of investigative bodies or by order of a Competent Judge, who may request it from the Integrated System.

The National Emergency System Nine, One, One (911) cannot use any equipment to intercept telephone calls or violate the privacy of persons, with the exception of those used to make conversations generated in the course of an investigation in accordance with the Law to identify the number from which the request is made, as well as its geographic location, for which the obligation is established for all telephone operators, fixed or mobile, public or private, throughout the national territory, to provide the identification and location of who makes the call. It is the responsibility of the National Telecommunications Commission (CONATEL) to guarantee and execute strict compliance at the national level with this mandate.

The use of the National Emergency System: Nine, One, One (911) is prohibited for calls for purposes other than those established among its functions and for situations of false emergencies that oblige the System to present free of charge one or more of the institutions that integrate it. The National Director of the System must report and carry out the corresponding administrative actions when a violation of the prohibition established in this Article is ascertained. Whoever requests the services of the National Emergency System Nine, One, One (911) using falsity or reporting non-existent facts is subject to the sanctions and penalties that may be appropriate in accordance with Law.

The National Emergency System Nine, One, One (911) operates through:

• 1)

  Emergency Center and Operations Coordination Center of Tegucigalpa (CECOP-TEGUCIGALPA), as the main headquarters;

• 2)

  Emergency Center and Operations Coordination Center of San Pedro Sula (CECOP-SPS), as a backup center, but with operational capacity equal to the main headquarters;

• 3)

  Institutional Operations Centers, in each of the institutions that effectively integrate into the National Emergency System Nine, One, One (911);

• 4)

  Institutional Operations Bases (BOI), that are established at the national level;

• 5)

  Mobile Control and Command Centers (CCM), rapid intervention vehicle,

• 6)

  Excellence Training Center (CEF), as a permanent training center to certify civilian and institutional personnel under the international referent, where the development and evolution of the implemented tools takes place in such a way that they become a source generating qualified personnel and technology to export;

• 7)

  Other units or departments that may be created in the future through the regulations related in Article 18 of this Law and, that ultimately contribute to the efficient operation and functioning of the National Emergency System: Nine, One, One (911). For greater coordination and operational efficiency of the National Emergency System Nine, One, One (911) the security and emergency bodies must integrate all radio systems and share the same room and technological platform for answering calls, incident management, communication and radio, as well as comply with all protocols, at a minimum in the CECOP-TEGUCIGALPA and in the CECOP-SPS. Each center mentioned in this Article must have a Director of Base Center, as appropriate to each one.

Once the emergency communication is received, the receiver must refer it to the specialized unit assigned to the National Emergency System Nine, One, One (911) in the institution or institutions that are part of it that have competence based on the nature of the event. The competent institution must act with the greatest possible speed so that each reported emergency is resolved; being able to convene the participation of the other components or members for better fulfillment of the objectives of this Law.

The National Emergency System Nine, One, One (911) must have the necessary infrastructure of technological means of communication, computer and information, that allow it to fulfill its objectives. At a minimum the infrastructure must meet the following characteristics:

• 1)

  System for identification of the number from which the call was made, with the name and address of the service holder. Telephone operators are obligated to provide this information as well as that necessary for its implementation;

• 2)

  System for recording incoming and outgoing calls;

• 3)

  Direct connectivity to the telephone networks of all operators established in the country;

• 4)

  Automatic location identification system for geographic location of all calls to the National Emergency System Nine, One, One (911) that report an emergency. Telephone operators have the obligation to provide this information, as well as that necessary for its implementation;

• 5)

  Internet access in accordance with the volume of communications that the National Emergency System Nine, One, One (911) must handle; and,

• 6)

  Others that are technologically necessary for the fulfillment of this Law. For the purpose of having the necessary infrastructure and technological means of communication and information that allow it to fulfill the objectives of this Law, the National Council for Defense and Security is authorized to perform all the corresponding administrative acts, for the direct contracting of goods, services and their maintenance that are considered strictly necessary and that are not available in the institutions that are part of the System as of the date of the entry into force of this Law, due to the acquisition of specialized technical goods and services and due to the characteristics of strict national security, which require that the operation and functioning of the National Emergency System: Nine, One, One (911) be maintained with the necessary secrecy, an authorization that is granted in accordance with subsections 2), 4) and 6) of Article 63 of the State Contracting Law. The State Secretary of the Security Office must incorporate into the National Emergency System Nine, One, One (911) created in this Law, all the infrastructure, technological platform and other human, material and logistical resources of the number Nine, One, One (911) and the Smart Cities Project, including the Video Surveillance Network that operates only in matters of Security, to be properly articulated with the System. Similarly, the other institutions that are part of the System must incorporate all the infrastructure, technological platform and other human, material and logistical resources with which they operate, for the same purposes of articulation and coordination mentioned herein.

The installation and implementation in general and in each institution that is part of the National Emergency System Nine, One, One (911), must be financed with the Fund for Population Protection and Safety, through budgetary items of national and municipal funds that are allocated for that purpose in each of the institutions that are part of it and through national or foreign transfers of any nature that are made in favor of the System.

The National Director, the Directors of Centers and the Operational Managers of the National Emergency System: Nine, One, One (911) in the institutions that are part of it, must formulate annually a Draft General Budget providing for personnel, travel, per diem and necessary expenses for the operation and maintenance activities of the System that must be submitted in a timely manner and annually for approval by the National Defense and Security Council for financing and effective execution.

The following are considered to be of strict National Security: The policies, the internal regulation or regulations of the organization and competence and the Internal Operating Regulation of the National Emergency System Nine, One, One (911), in which the coverage areas and the protocols of communication, coordination and work of the institutions that are part of the System are established, among other matters. Once approved by the National Defense and Security Council, they must issue the corresponding Disciplinary Regulation.

The National Defense and Security Council is authorized, in order that during the progressive implementation of the National Emergency System Nine, One, One (911) at the national level, to approve immediately in a progressive manner and be considered appropriate and timely to guarantee efficient and comprehensive emergency care and security. The incorporation into this System of technological solutions for data, voice and audiovisual content, among others, that operate at the private level, in hotels, commercial banks, shopping centers, private dining facilities, among others, as well as the progressive implementation of the System in public and private transportation of persons and in other public or private services. The National Defense and Security Council must issue the corresponding regulatory rules to regulate these cases, as well as the pertinent resolutions in each specific case, determining for all purposes whether the incorporation or integration is total or partial; temporary or permanent, guaranteeing in all cases and at all times an appropriate, efficient and transparent integration, incorporation and implementation.

When the falsity of the calls is determined, these must be charged to the user at a cost equivalent to five hundred percent (500%) of the normal value of the call, which must be charged to their billing or available balance. These amounts must be delivered to the General Treasury of the Republic by the service provider company, once it deducts its collection as a normal call. Recurrence must be punished with a fine equivalent to double of what was previously indicated. What is indicated in the preceding paragraph must be applied, without prejudice to the other administrative, civil and criminal sanctions that correspond. The administrative responsibility of public servants for non-compliance with the provisions on reserves to guarantee Constitutional Rights of persons must be applied in accordance with the disciplinary provisions of each institution. In case of lacking regulation in this regard, the Honduran sanction that defends among the rest of the institutions of the System must be applied supplementarily. In the absence of a rule to sanction the conduct to which this paragraph refers, the National Defense and Security Council must issue the corresponding Disciplinary Regulation.

Any person who uses the services of the National Emergency System Nine, One, One (911) or other public emergency services, acting falsely or reporting non-existent facts or false emergencies, commits the Crime of False Communication or False Call. The person who makes the False Communication or False Call shall be sanctioned with exclusion of three (3) to six (6) years.

This Decree shall enter into force the day following its publication in the Official Gazette "La Gaceta". Given in the city of Tegucigalpa, municipality of the Central District, in the Meeting Hall of the National Congress, on the twenty-first day of the month of May of two thousand fifteen. ANTONIO CESAR RIVERA CALLEJAS PRESIDENT MARIO ALONSO PEREZ LOPEZ SECRETARY SARA ISMIELA MEDINA GALO SECRETARY To the Executive Power. Therefore. Execute. Tegucigalpa, M.D.C. June 29, 2015. JUAN ORLANDO HERNÁNDEZ ALVARADO PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC THE SECRETARY OF STATE IN THE OFFICE OF SECURITY JULIAN PACHECO