Law for the Prevention, Care and Protection of Internally Displaced Persons

PURPOSE OF THE LAW. The purpose of this Law is to prevent internal displacement, provide care, protection and humanitarian assistance to persons or groups of persons who have been forced or obliged to flee their home or usual place of residence, particularly as a result of or to avoid the effects of armed conflict, situations of generalized violence, violations of Human Rights, and who have not crossed an internationally recognized state border. It also aims to establish the conditions and provide the means to enable the voluntary, safe and dignified return of forcibly displaced persons to their home or usual place of residence, or their voluntary resettlement in another part of the country. The authorities shall endeavor to facilitate their reintegration when they have returned or resettled in another area.

SCOPE OF APPLICATION. This Law shall apply to all forcibly displaced persons as defined in Article 6 below, as well as those at risk of becoming displaced. It shall also apply to returned persons with protection needs in cases where the cause of departure from the country is linked to facts of violence similar to those of Internally Displaced Persons, and where upon their return the risk factors that caused their departure from the country persist.

NATURE OF THE LAW. This Law is of public order, of social interest, and of general applicability throughout the Republic.

PRINCIPLES. The implementation of this Law is founded, in addition to the Constitution of the Republic and international human rights norms, upon application of the following principles:

• 1)

  PREFERENTIAL ACCESS: Forcibly displaced persons must have gradual and preferential access to social programs intended for assistance, protection, return, reintegration and socioeconomic restoration. The criteria for prioritization shall be established in the Regulations of this Law.

• 2)

  GOOD FAITH: All state actions and resolutions derived from this Law are founded on the basic principle of good faith. The State shall presume good faith on the part of applicant persons and victims of forced displacement. Public officials who participate in the processes referred to in this Law shall not criminalize or hold responsible persons for their status as victims and shall provide them with help, care and assistance services from the moment they require it and following the procedure that it establishes, respecting and guaranteeing the effective exercise of their rights.

• 3)

  COHERENCE: The State shall ensure that the implementation of protection measures is proportional, coordinated and harmonized with other security and social protection measures.

• 4)

  CONFIDENTIALITY: Information relating to care and protection measures provided is of a confidential and reserved nature, except to the persons who benefit from it or their representatives.

• 5)

  CONSENT: The acceptance of assistance and protection measures offered by the State to forcibly displaced persons is free and voluntary.

• 6)

  BEST INTERESTS OF THE CHILD: It refers to the comprehensive development of children, understood in a broad sense that includes their basic material, physical, educational and emotional needs, as well as their need for affection and security, and applies to all children and adolescents, without any discrimination.

• 7)

  INTERDEPENDENCE: It implies that the enjoyment and exercise of one right is linked to the guarantee of the remaining rights; and the violation of one right also puts the other rights at risk.

• 8)

  GENDER PERSPECTIVE: It refers to observing, analyzing and promoting transformations regarding inequalities and inequities in the condition, construction of roles and position of men and women in society.

• 9)

  NON-REFOULEMENT: It consists of internally displaced persons having the right to be protected against forced return to any place where their life, security, freedom or health are at risk.

• 10)

  SAFETY OF HUMANITARIAN PERSONNEL: It implies responsibility in guaranteeing the safety of humanitarian workers, which rests with the authorities that control the territory where they operate.

• 11)

  NON-REVICTIMIZATION: It implies providing a State response to victims or any person affected by a crime, that does not revive the traumatic situation and/or resume their role as a victim.

• 12)

  HUMAN RIGHTS-BASED APPROACH: It focuses on analyzing the inequalities found at the heart of development problems and correcting discriminatory practices and unjust distributions of power that impede development progress and often result in groups of people being left behind.

• 13)

  DIFFERENTIATED APPROACH: The State and humanitarian agents must adopt differential criteria that respond to the particularities and degree of heightened vulnerability present in population groups that have particular characteristics due to their age, sex, ethnic and cultural origin, disability, sexual orientation and gender identity, or any other similar criterion.

• 14)

  GRADUALNESS: The State has the obligation to design operational tools, with a defined scope according to time, space and budgetary resources that allow for phased implementation of protection, prevention, care and humanitarian assistance programs, plans and projects. Gradualness does not exclude the State's obligation to implement them throughout the country and for all affected sectors, within a determined timeframe, respecting the constitutional principle of equality.

• 15)

  PROGRESSIVITY: It implies gradual progress toward its full implementation, that is, that the fulfillment of certain rights requires the taking of measures in the short, medium and long term, but proceeding as expeditiously and effectively as possible.

• 16)

  HUMANITY: Human suffering must be addressed wherever it is found. The objective of humanitarian action is to protect life and guarantee respect for human beings.

• 17)

  EQUALITY AND NON-DISCRIMINATION: Internally displaced persons shall enjoy the same rights and freedoms that international law and domestic law recognize for other inhabitants of the country. They shall not be subject to any discrimination in the enjoyment of their rights and freedoms by the mere fact of being internally displaced.

• 18)

  IMPARTIALITY: Humanitarian action must be carried out based on need, giving priority to the most urgent cases and without making any discrimination.

• 19)

  PARTICIPATION: Forcibly displaced persons shall participate in decisions that affect them and shall have the necessary information, advice and accompaniment.

• 20)

  DO NO HARM: The State shall evaluate its actions to counter violence and adopt necessary measures to mitigate the impact on the population.

• 21)

  PREVALENCE AND NORMATIVE INTERPRETATION: The norms established in treaties and international agreements ratified by the State of Honduras in matters of human rights and the interpretations made thereof by international human rights protection bodies are prevalent.

• 22)

  PRIORITIZATION: A progressive approach must be made starting from the areas of greatest expulsion and greatest reception of forcibly displaced population, establishing an order of prioritization in zones with the greatest needs and differentiating the required actions, based on objective criteria that demonstrate the need for prioritization.

• 23)

  PRO PERSONA: The provisions of this Law shall always be interpreted in the manner that most favors the dignity of the human person.

• 24)

  RESPONSIBILITY: The authorities at the national, departmental and municipal levels have the primary obligation and responsibility to provide protection and humanitarian assistance to forcibly displaced persons who are within their jurisdiction.

• 25)

  SUSTAINABILITY: The State has the obligation to implement measures to ensure financing for a continued, progressive, effective and viable response.

• 26)

  SUBSIDIARITY: The response to a situation of forced displacement must be resolved by the authority closest to the affected population.

GLOSSARY OF TERMS. The following terms shall mean:

• 1)

  HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE: The temporary and immediate aid provided by the State in emergency situations aimed at relief, assistance and support to the displaced population in order to mitigate the basic needs of housing in dignified and safe conditions, food, drinking water, personal hygiene, clothing, medical and psychological care, emergency transportation, education and other necessities for the realization of the rights of persons.

• 2)

  PROPERTY: For purposes of this Law, the following are considered protected property: land, housing and property of a movable nature, such as: household goods, vehicles, among others.

• 3)

  PROPERTY SUBJECT TO PROTECTION OF A REGISTRABLE NATURE: Land, housing and motor vehicles.

• 4)

  AFFECTED COMMUNITIES: Those in which the consequences of internal forced displacement are manifested. It includes the forcibly displaced persons themselves, expelling communities, host communities, communities in return areas or those composed of forcibly displaced persons.

• 5)

  PERSONAL IDENTIFICATION DOCUMENTS: National Identification Document; Passport; birth, death and marriage certificates and driver's licenses, social security ID card or student ID card, when applicable.

• 6)

  CREDITOR ENTITIES: Private and state banks, financial companies, savings and loan associations, insurance and reinsurance companies, private organizations of financial development, private or public pension fund administrators, savings and credit cooperatives, credit institutions and/or commercial houses, vehicle agencies, non-bank lenders, quick credit lenders, professional associations; and, any others that perform functions analogous to granting credit to natural persons whether private or public.

• 7)

  VICTIMIZING FACT: It constitutes facts such as use, linkage and forced recruitment, extortion, murder, threats, injuries, sexual violence, sexual harassment, kidnapping, forced disappearance, torture, cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, discrimination, coercion, arbitrary detention, land and housing dispossession and/or usurpation, hate crimes, among others that violate the life, freedom and physical and/or mental integrity; as well as the security of the person.

• 8)

  INTEGRATION: Type of durable solution consisting of the process of incorporating persons in situation of internal forced displacement into the community, municipality, different from the one they had to flee to safeguard their life or personal integrity, taking into consideration full respect for multiculturalism, freedom of choice, the customs of their communities of origin, as well as the conditions of security and dignity that permit the full exercise of their human rights.

• 9)

  BENEFICIARY PERSON: Is the person subject to protection by the bodies referred to in this Law.

• 10)

  APPLICANT PERSON: Is the one who makes the request for assistance and protection before the bodies referred to in this Law.

• 11)

  MATERIAL PROTECTION OF PROPERTY: Set of measures adopted by the authority to prevent property abandoned by the displaced population from being subject to destruction or occupation by third parties.

• 12)

  LEGAL PROTECTION OF PROPERTY: Set of measures aimed at recording and verifying rights over property left by forcibly displaced persons at the time of their departure, as well as measures to verify voluntariness in any contracts in which the patrimonial rights of abandoned property are disposed of.

• 13)

  PROTECTION: Set of activities aimed at preventing and ending violations of human rights and safeguarding, guaranteeing access to justice, and promoting an environment of respect for human rights.

• 14)

  REINTEGRATION: Type of durable solution, consisting of the gradual process that institutions must develop in parallel with the processes of care and protection of persons in situation of internal forced displacement, to achieve the conditions that guarantee the full exercise of their human rights, for the benefit of family welfare and regional and national development.

• 15)

  RETURN: Type of durable solution through which persons in situation of internal forced displacement return voluntarily to their homes or former usual places of residence, in conditions of security and dignity, with full exercise of their human rights.

• 16)

  RELOCATION: Type of durable solution through which persons in situation of internal forced displacement establish themselves in a demographic conglomerate different from their place of origin and usual place of residence. It includes the set of systems of coexistence, in a physically located area, considering the natural elements and the material works that comprise it, in conditions of security and dignity.

• 17)

  RISK SITUATION: That which no person has the legal duty to endure and that occurs when there is an extreme risk that threatens the life, physical and/or mental integrity, freedom and personal security of an individual, family or group of persons, and that requires immediate assistance and protection, or follow-up within a few days.

• 18)

  DURABLE SOLUTION: It is achieved when forcibly displaced persons no longer have specific needs for assistance and protection linked to the situation of forced displacement, and when they enjoy their human rights without discrimination because of displacement.

• 19)

  VICTIM: The term "victim" shall be understood as the person who, individually or collectively, has suffered damages, including physical or mental injury, emotional suffering, financial loss or substantial detriment to fundamental rights, as a consequence of acts or omissions that violate the criminal legislation in force in the Member States, including those that proscribe the abuse of power.

• 20)

  GENERALIZED VIOLENCE: Situations characterized by the deliberate use of violence against individuals, groups or communities that involve serious violations of human rights.

FORCIBLY DISPLACED PERSONS. For purposes of this Law, "forcibly displaced persons" are understood to mean persons or groups of persons who have been forced or obliged to flee their home or usual place of residence, because their life, physical integrity, security or individual freedoms have been violated or are directly threatened, particularly as a result of or to avoid the effects of armed conflict, situations of generalized violence, violations of human rights, and who have not crossed an internationally recognized state border. Displacement is a situation of fact and does not change the legal status of forcibly displaced persons. For the recognition of a person as forcibly displaced, the authorities shall apply the principle of good faith and shall take into account, in addition to the contextual elements of the place where their displacement is established, the evidence that forcibly displaced persons allege for such purposes.

TYPES OF DISPLACEMENT. For purposes of this Law, the types of displacement are: 1) INDIVIDUAL DISPLACEMENT: Those cases in which the number of persons to be displaced equals or is less than fifty (50), whether or not they are part of the same community or family; and, 2) COLLECTIVE DISPLACEMENT: Those cases where the same event has caused the displacement of the same community or family and the number of persons to be displaced equals or exceeds fifty-one (51).

JURISDICTION OF THE AUTHORITY. The authorities at the central, departmental and municipal levels have the primary obligation and responsibility to prevent displacement, provide protection and humanitarian assistance and facilitate the achievement of durable solutions for forcibly displaced persons within their jurisdiction without any discrimination.

BODIES FOR APPLICATION OF THE LAW. The National System for Response to Internal Forced Displacement (SINARDEFI) is hereby created, whose objective is to ensure compliance with this Law. The System shall be composed of:

• 1)

  Office of the President of the Republic;

• 2)

  National Congress (CN);

• 3)

  Supreme Court of Justice (CSJ);

• 4)

  Attorney General of the Republic (PGR);

• 5)

  Public Ministry (MP);

• 6)

  State Secretary's Office of Human Rights (SEDH);

• 7)

  State Secretary's Office of Governance, Justice and Decentralization (SGJD);

• 8)

  State Secretary's Office of Security (SEDS);

• 9)

  State Secretary's Office of Social Development (SEDESOL);

• 10)

  State Secretary's Office of Education (SEDUC);

• 11)

  State Secretary's Office of Finance (SEFIN);

• 12)

  State Secretary's Office of Health (SESAL);

• 13)

  State Secretary's Office of Labor and Social Security;

• 14)

  State Secretary's Office of National Defense (SEDENA);

• 15)

  State Secretary's Office of Foreign Relations and International Cooperation (SRECI);

• 16)

  State Secretary's Office of Economic Development (SDE);

• 17)

  State Secretary's Office of Women's Affairs (SEMUJER);

• 18)

  National Registry of Persons (RNP);

• 19)

  Directorate of Childhood, Adolescence and Family (DINAF);

• 20)

  National Migration Institute (INM);

• 21)

  Institute of Property (IP);

• 22)

  National Agrarian Institute (INA);

• 23)

  National Institute of Statistics (INE);

• 24)

  National Institute of Professional Training (INFOP);

• 25)

  State Secretary's Office of Risk Management and National Contingencies (COPECO);

• 26)

  National Commission for Housing and Human Settlements (CONVIVIENDA);

• 27)

  Municipalities;

• 28)

  National Program for Prevention, Rehabilitation and Social Reintegration (PNPRRS), a deconcentrated unit of the Office of the President of the Republic;

• 29)

  Two (2) civil society organizations for human rights duly constituted; and,

• 30)

  Others linked to it. It shall also be composed of Civil Society organizations and international organizations that, in their complementary role, shall contribute to the National System for Response to Internal Forced Displacement (SINARDEFI), in the fulfillment of this Law. The National Commissioner for Human Rights (CONADEH) shall have a role as guarantor and observer of the system's functioning without prejudice to other specific attributions that this Law confers upon it. The representatives of Civil Society organizations that are part of the National System for Response to Internal Forced Displacement (SINARDEFI) must be elected in a public assembly convened by the State Secretary's Office of Governance, Justice and Decentralization (SGJD). The mandate of the members of Civil Society organizations in the Commission shall be for a period of two (2) years and may only be reelected for one additional period. The members of the System shall exercise their work on an honorary basis.

INTER-INSTITUTIONAL COORDINATION. The National System for Response to Internal Forced Displacement (SINARDEFI) shall coordinate with the State's independent commissions and mechanisms, such as: Inter-Institutional Commission Against Sexual Exploitation, Commercial Exploitation and Trafficking in Persons of Honduras (CICESCT) and the National Committee for Prevention Against Torture, Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment (CONAPREV), as well as the National System for Protection of Human Rights Defenders and Defenders, Journalists, Social Communicators and Justice Operators, the necessary measures to ensure compliance with this Law.

BODIES OF SINARDEFI. The National System for Response to Internal Forced Displacement (SINARDEFI) shall function through the following bodies:

• 1)

  The Inter-Institutional Commission for the Protection of Forcibly Displaced Persons (CIPPDEF);

• 2)

  The State Secretary's Office of Human Rights, through the Directorate for the Protection of Persons Internally Displaced by Violence; and,

• 3)

  The Municipal Units for Care and Protection of Forcibly Displaced Persons (UMAPPDEF).

COMPOSITION OF CIPPDEF. The Inter-Institutional Commission for the Protection of Forcibly Displaced Persons (CIPPDEF) is the highest decision-making body of the System and shall be presided over by the holder of the Executive Branch, who may delegate this function. The Commission shall be composed of:

• 1)

  Office of the President of the Republic;

• 2)

  State Secretary's Office of Human Rights (SEDH);

• 3)

  State Secretary's Office of Governance, Justice and Decentralization (SGJD);

• 4)

  State Secretary's Office of Finance (SEFIN);

• 5)

  State Secretary's Office of Foreign Relations and International Cooperation (SRECI);

• 6)

  State Secretary's Office of Social Development (SEDESOL);

• 7)

  State Secretary's Office of Security (SEDS);

• 8)

  State Secretary's Office of Education (SEDUC);

• 9)

  State Secretary's Office of Health (SESAL);

• 10)

  State Secretary's Office of Labor and Social Security;

• 11)

  Attorney General of the Republic (PGR);

• 12)

  State Secretary's Office of Women's Affairs (SEMUJER);

• 13)

  Directorate of Childhood, Adolescence and Family (DINAF);

• 14)

  Institute of Property (IP);

• 15)

  State Secretary's Office of Risk Management and National Contingencies (COPECO);

• 16)

  National Commissioner for Human Rights (CONADEH);

• 17)

  Municipalities, when invited by the topics to be discussed;

• 18)

  Two (2) Civil Society organizations for Human Rights duly constituted; and,

• 19)

  Others that are invited for specific matters. The official owner representative of the State bodies in the Inter-Institutional Commission for the Protection of Forcibly Displaced Persons shall be the head or titular of the institution and the person who acts as alternate must hold the rank of Undersecretary, Sub-director, or as appropriate. The representatives of Civil Society organizations that are part of the Commission must be elected in a public assembly convened by the State Secretary's Office of Governance, Justice and Decentralization (SGJD). The mandate of the members of Civil Society organizations in the Commission shall be for a period of two (2) years and may only be reelected for one additional period. The members of the Commission shall exercise their work on an honorary basis.

INTERNATIONAL ORGANISMS AND ORGANIZATIONS. The Inter-Institutional Commission for the Protection of Forcibly Displaced Persons (CIPPDEF) shall have the permanent advisory services of organisms and international organizations whose mandate is related to the purpose of this Law.

ATTRIBUTIONS OF CIPPDEF. The attributions of the Inter-Institutional Commission for the Protection of Forcibly Displaced Persons (CIPPDEF) are:

• 1)

  Design the policies, strategies, plans, programs and projects for the prevention, care and protection of persons referred to in this Law, in particular it shall design the Comprehensive Policy for Care and Protection of the Internally Displaced Population;

• 2)

  Exercise functions of supervision, control, monitoring and evaluation of the National System for Response to Internal Forced Displacement (SINARDEFI);

• 3)

  Require the entities of the National System for Response to Internal Forced Displacement (SINARDEFI) to guarantee the achievement of budgetary resources and manage financial resources from financing sources different from the General Budget of Income and Expenditures of the Republic to guarantee adequate and timely provision of services;

• 4)

  Submit an annual report on the progress in the execution and compliance with this Law, which shall be presented to the National Congress of the Republic within the month following each start of the legislative term;

• 5)

  Design the bases and criteria for public investment in matters of prevention, care, protection and durable solutions;

• 6)

  Advise State bodies on compliance with public policies that guarantee the protection of the rights of forcibly displaced persons;

• 7)

  Promote studies, research and diagnoses on the situation of forcibly displaced persons;

• 8)

  Manage funds from internal and external sources intended for the prevention, care and protection of displaced persons;

• 9)

  Promote the creation of new prevention and protection measures and urgent measures that guarantee the life, integrity, freedom and security of persons referred to in this Law;

• 10)

  Analyze, discuss and issue recommendations on: the Regulations for Functioning and Administration of the Fund for Care of Forcibly Displaced Persons; the Purchase and Acquisition Plan of the Fund for Care of Forcibly Displaced Persons and on the protocols, routes, programs and projects that arise from this Law;

• 11)

  Create thematic sub-commissions;

• 12)

  Promote spaces for dialogue and association of forcibly displaced persons;

• 13)

  Elaborate and approve its internal rules of operation and others that may be required; and,

• 14)

  Others useful to its function.

TECHNICAL SECRETARIAT AND SESSIONS OF CIPPDEF. The State Secretary's Office of Human Rights acts as Executive Secretariat and Technical Facilitator of the Inter-Institutional Commission for the Protection of Forcibly Displaced Persons (CIPPDEF). Said Commission shall meet in ordinary session one (1) time every six (6) months, convened by the Executive Secretariat and is validly established with the minimum quorum of nine (9) representatives of public institutions and one (1) Civil Society organization. It may hold extraordinary sessions with the attendance of one-third (1/3) of its members. The Inter-Institutional Commission for the Protection of Forcibly Displaced Persons (CIPPDEF) shall have a technical space with personnel from each of the institutions that compose it, which shall meet one (1) time per month.

RESOLUTIONS OF THE INTER-INSTITUTIONAL COMMISSION FOR THE PROTECTION OF PERSONS FORCIBLY DISPLACED (CIPPDEF). Once the Inter-Institutional Commission for the Protection of Persons Forcibly Displaced (CIPPDEF) is installed, it must adopt decisions with the vote of a simple majority of those present and in case of a tie, the Presidency has the casting vote.

DIRECTION FOR THE PROTECTION OF PERSONS INTERNALLY DISPLACED BY VIOLENCE. The Direction for the Protection of Persons Internally Displaced by Violence, or the Direction, attached to the Secretariat of State in the Office of Human Rights, shall be responsible for coordinating the execution of the policies, plans, programs, projects, and protocols referred to in this Law and those created pursuant to it.

DIRECTOR AND ORGANIZATION OF THE DIRECTION. The Direction shall have a Director or Directress whose profile and selection process shall be defined in the Regulation of this Law and shall be appointed by the holder of the Secretariat of State in the Office of Human Rights. The Direction shall have the internal structure, personnel, and budget necessary to enable it to fulfill its functions.

POWERS OF THE DIRECTION. The Direction shall have the following powers:

• 1)

  To coordinate in an orderly, systematic, coherent, efficient, and harmonious manner the actions of the entities that comprise the National System for Response to Forced Internal Displacement (SINARDEFI);

• 2)

  To oversee the correct functioning and performance of its programs, units, and subunits;

• 3)

  To receive and process requests for protection and assistance from persons forcibly displaced that are referred to it;

• 4)

  To determine whether the applicants are effectively persons forcibly displaced and, therefore, subject to the protection of this Law;

• 5)

  To implement measures of assistance and protection for persons forcibly displaced, in coordination with the other units that comprise the National System for Response to Forced Internal Displacement (SINARDEFI);

• 6)

  To modify, suspend, or cancel protection measures granted;

• 7)

  To act ex officio in coordination with the other entities that comprise the National System for Response to Forced Internal Displacement (SINARDEFI) in cases where there is knowledge of a certain and determined risk that could affect the legal rights protected by this Law; and when applicable, requiring the competent entity to provide timely response;

• 8)

  To develop protocols, plans, and routes to be applied in cases of collective and individual displacement;

• 9)

  To develop protocols, plans, and routes to be applied in the extraordinary and ordinary procedures referred to in this Law;

• 10)

  To coordinate with the other organs and entities that integrate the National System for Response to Forced Internal Displacement (SINARDEFI) the promotion of durable solutions for internally displaced persons;

• 11)

  To prepare and present annual reports and accountability reports of the Direction;

• 12)

  To prepare the regulation of operation and administration of the Fund for the Assistance of Persons Forcibly Displaced;

• 13)

  To prepare the Procurement and Acquisition Plan of the Fund for the Assistance of Persons Forcibly Displaced;

• 14)

  To support the process of design, implementation, and monitoring of public policies and national plans on forced displacement;

• 15)

  To provide technical assistance and support to state entities, local entities, civil society, and the general population regarding the implementation of public policies on the matter;

• 16)

  To develop diagnoses, studies, and research on the situation, causes, and impact of forced displacement;

• 17)

  To develop training and capacity-building processes for state entities, local entities, civil society, and the general population on matters related to this Law;

• 18)

  To develop information and awareness campaigns; and,

• 19)

  Other functions useful to its role.

COORDINATION OF ACTIONS OF THE DIRECTION. The functions of the Direction shall be exercised through clear guidelines of coordination, complementarity, and responsibility with the public organs and entities that comprise the National System for Response to Forced Internal Displacement (SINARDEFI). The Regulation shall define their roles and competencies for the provision of humanitarian assistance and protection referred to in this Law. The Secretariat of State in the Office of Human Rights is authorized to execute the Agreements required for the proper provision of services of the Direction.

UNITS OF THE DIRECTION. For the effective functioning of the Direction, the following units are created:

• 1)

  Unit for Case Reception and Risk and Needs Analysis;

• 2)

  Unit for Coordination of Implementation and Monitoring of Assistance and Protection Measures;

• 3)

  Prevention Unit;

• 4)

  Unit for Durable Solutions; and,

• 5)

  Unit for Registration and Information.

UNIT FOR CASE RECEPTION AND RISK AND NEEDS ANALYSIS. The Direction, through the Unit for Case Reception and Risk and Needs Analysis, shall be responsible for the reception of cases and analysis of risk and needs of requests regarding individual or collective cases that are referred to it; as well as issuing recommendations on measures to be adopted.

UNIT FOR COORDINATION OF IMPLEMENTATION AND MONITORING OF ASSISTANCE AND PROTECTION MEASURES. The Direction, through the Unit for Coordination of Implementation and Monitoring of Assistance and Protection Measures, shall be responsible for the coordination, implementation, and monitoring of measures of humanitarian assistance and protection with the persons or communities beneficiaries. In coordination and complementarity with the other organs and entities that comprise the system.

PREVENTION UNIT. The Direction, through the Prevention Unit and in coordination with the organs and entities that comprise the System, shall have the following functions:

• 1)

  To advise the phases of design and implementation of the plans and protocols for early and urgent prevention referred to in this Law;

• 2)

  To conduct field visits when the circumstances of the case warrant it, for the identification of risks and protection needs;

• 3)

  To evaluate the causes of displacement and coordinate with other entities the creation or modification of specific mechanisms for the protection of persons forcibly displaced against risks related to human trafficking, torture, cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment, sexual exploitation, sexual violence against women, girls, boys, and LGBTI persons, and dispossession of land and homes;

• 4)

  To manage the Early Warning System referred to in this Law;

• 5)

  To design community protection programs and spaces; and,

• 6)

  Other functions related to its role.

UNIT FOR DURABLE SOLUTIONS. The Direction, through the Unit for Durable Solutions, and in an inter-institutional manner with the other organs and entities that comprise the System, shall articulate the offering and programs of social protection of the State for the benefit of persons referred to in this Law. The State organs responsible for programs of protection and social assistance, housing, credits, employment, vocational training, among others; shall in their respective annual planning progressively budget an exclusive quota for persons forcibly displaced, in harmony with the principles set forth in Article 4 of this Law.

UNIT FOR REGISTRATION AND INFORMATION. The Direction, through the Unit for Registration and Information, shall be responsible for the administration of the Single Registry of Persons Forcibly Displaced (RUPDEF), which shall maintain a registry of the persons, family units, and communities subject to care within the System. This registry shall allow both the identification of beneficiary persons and the monitoring of the response provided by the State and other entities that integrate the system, under strict confidentiality management.

MANDATORY NATURE OF MEASURES. The measures of humanitarian assistance and protection established by the Secretariat of State in the Office of Human Rights, through the Direction for the Protection of Persons Internally Displaced by Violence, are mandatory for the public organs and entities involved.

MUNICIPAL UNITS FOR ASSISTANCE AND PROTECTION OF PERSONS FORCIBLY DISPLACED. The Municipal Units for Assistance and Protection of Persons Forcibly Displaced (UMAPPDEF) are created as municipal mechanisms for the implementation of this Law. These shall operate in the municipalities that present the highest number of displaced population or at risk of being displaced and in the municipalities of greatest reception of displaced persons as identified in studies, diagnoses, characterizations, reports, among other official documents. The municipalities shall allocate sufficient human, financial, and technical resources for the functioning of the Municipal Units for Assistance and Protection of Persons Forcibly Displaced. These shall comply with the guidelines given by the Inter-Institutional Commission for the Protection of Persons Forcibly Displaced (CIPPDEF), without prejudice to the response attending to their local reality.

FUND FOR ASSISTANCE AND PROTECTION OF PERSONS FORCIBLY DISPLACED (FAPDEF). The Fund for Assistance and Protection of Persons Forcibly Displaced (FAPDEF) or the Fund is created; for which a budget line shall be created within the General Budget of Income and Expenditure of the Republic for each Fiscal Year, said Fund may also be financed with external sources of financing. The Fund shall not be less than ONE HUNDRED FIFTY MILLION LEMPIRAS EXACT (L.150,000,000.00) annually, whose resources may only be credited to the Secretariat of State in the Office of Human Rights.

DESTINATION OF THE FUND. The resources of the Fund shall serve to finance the humanitarian assistance established by the Secretariat of State in the Office of Human Rights through the Direction for the Protection of Persons Internally Displaced by Violence; and only twenty percent (20%) thereof may be allocated to measures aimed at achieving durable solutions as established in Article 73 of this Law.

EXEMPTION. Exemption is granted from fees, contributions, taxes, or customs duties on imports or special surcharges, sales tax on production, consumption, and/or purchases of goods and services that are charged to the Fund for the Care and Protection of Forcibly Displaced Persons.

NON-EXCLUSION. The participation of the Fund in the aforementioned financing does not exempt the national, departmental, and municipal institutions and entities involved in comprehensive care for the displaced population from managing the necessary resources for the execution of actions within their competence.

UNIQUE REGISTRY OF FORCIBLY DISPLACED PERSONS. The Unique Registry of Forcibly Displaced Persons (RUPDEF) is created, attached to the State Secretary's Office for Human Rights, which must guarantee the confidentiality and safe management of information. Its powers shall be the following:

• 1)

  Register cases of individual and collective forced displacement at the national level;

• 2)

  Maintain a registry of assistance and protection measures granted in favor of beneficiaries;

• 3)

  Compile information from relevant sources in this matter, such as: the Municipal Units for Care and Protection of Forcibly Displaced Persons (UMAPPDEF), the National Institute of Statistics (INE), the National Commissioner for Human Rights (CONADEH), Public Prosecutor's Office, the Directorate for Childhood, Adolescence and Family (DINAF), the State Secretary's Office for Foreign Relations and International Cooperation (SRECI), the Property Institute (IP), the National Agrarian Institute (INA), in order to systematize it periodically for the design of prevention programs and decision-making;

• 4)

  Ensure that compiled data are disaggregated at minimum according to gender, age, ethnicity, religion, marital status, economic income, gender identity, sexual orientation, and geographic location, and shall be developed appropriately under the human rights principle of do no harm;

• 5)

  Investigate a range of processes that encourage and foster the participation of groups in situations of vulnerability;

• 6)

  Clearly inform about how participation processes will be conducted and what the results of those exchanges are;

• 7)

  Ensure that the opinions of groups in greater situations of vulnerability or marginality, as well as groups at risk of discrimination, are represented in the sample;

• 8)

  Preserve institutional memory and knowledge in relation to information compiled through participation processes;

• 9)

  Disseminate information to the population regarding the manner in which statistics are compiled;

• 10)

  Publish official statistics that form part of the right to information; and,

• 11)

  Ensure that persons responsible for data collection have solid mechanisms and procedures to protect such statistics. Information shall be compiled through a single form that includes demographic data, identification of needs, humanitarian response, and monitoring of protection mechanisms. This shall be applied by all State entities, civil society organizations, and international agencies that provide care and protection to the displaced population, and shall subsequently be sent to the Directorate for the Protection of Persons Displaced Internally by Violence.

PARTICIPATION MECHANISMS. Timely and effective participation of the persons covered by this Law shall be guaranteed in the spaces for design, implementation, execution, and evaluation of policies and plans at the national, departmental, and municipal levels. To this end, participation mechanisms of the displaced population must be established, particularly of women, children, adolescents, older adults, persons with disabilities, LGBTI persons, indigenous peoples and Afro-Hondurans, and other groups in situations of greater vulnerability. The participation mechanism shall be established in the Regulations of this Law.

RIGHTS. All forcibly displaced persons enjoy equal rights that the Constitution of the Republic and international human rights instruments recognize to the rest of the population under its jurisdiction; but in particular, they shall enjoy the following rights:

• 1)

  Not to be forcibly displaced;

• 2)

  Not to be discriminated against by reason of being forcibly displaced, as well as on grounds of gender, age, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, ethnic and cultural origin, disability, social condition, nationality, language, religious belief, political or philosophical opinion, or any other;

• 3)

  That their freedom, security, dignity, and integrity, whether physical or mental, their beliefs, their culture, or their race be respected;

• 4)

  Freedom of movement and circulation. The fact of having been displaced does not limit the right of freedom, nor the right to leave the country;

• 5)

  To request and receive protection against acts of violence that threaten their life, physical integrity, and that of their family;

• 6)

  To enjoy satisfactory living conditions, including the right to security, health and hygiene, education, shelter and basic housing, adequate clothing, medical services and sanitation as required;

• 7)

  To request and receive humanitarian assistance from authorities and humanitarian agents present or not in the country;

• 8)

  To request and receive information and free legal assistance;

• 9)

  Prompt family reunification when the displacement has separated the family unit;

• 10)

  To return to their place of origin or to relocate in conditions of voluntariness, safety, and dignity;

• 11)

  To access preferentially, in the terms established by this Law and its Regulations, State programs to achieve their reintegration and achieve a durable solution;

• 12)

  Legal and material protection, as well as the restitution of their rights regarding land, housing, and property;

• 13)

  Identity and recognition of their legal personality, and preferential access to the restitution and preparation of their documentation;

• 14)

  Immediate and free issuance of their personal identification documents;

• 15)

  Education and training under conditions of equality;

• 16)

  To obtain employment and to participate in economic activities;

• 17)

  To participate in the design, implementation, and monitoring of programs, plans, or projects on protection, prevention, care, and assistance covered by this Law and its regulations, or those formulated as a result of it;

• 18)

  To exercise the right to vote and to participate in the management of public affairs; and,

• 19)

  Access to justice and to effective means of defense and restitution of rights.

PREVENTION. It is the set of measures aimed at eliminating or mitigating the roots of displacement in the early and urgent phase. Every person has the right to protection against forced and arbitrary displacements that separate them from their home or habitual place of residence. The State has the obligation to adopt measures to prevent violations of human rights and to counteract or eliminate the causes and circumstances that generate the risk while fully observing the precautionary principle.

EARLY WARNING SYSTEM. The State Secretary's Office for Human Rights through the Directorate for the Protection of Persons Displaced Internally by Violence and the National Commissioner for Human Rights (CONADEH), in coordination with local authorities and state prevention entities, shall strengthen their capacity to monitor and analyze violence and human rights violations in the country, in order to timely identify places where situations generating forced displacement and affecting the population may occur, through an Early Warning System. Its functioning and lines of action shall be defined in the Regulations of this Law.

EARLY PREVENTION. The competent authorities must adopt measures to identify the causes that generate human rights violations and produce the displacement referred to in this Law, and adopt policies, plans, and/or programs to prevent its occurrence. The Executive Power must formulate these measures within a reasonable time, from the effective date of this Law.

NATIONAL POLICY FOR PREVENTION OF FORCED DISPLACEMENT. The Interinstitutional Commission for the Protection of Forcibly Displaced Persons is instructed to design, within a period of two (2) years counted from the effective date of this Law, the National Policy for Prevention of Forced Displacement, which among other aspects must address measures regarding:

• 1)

  Use, recruitment, and forced conscription of girls, boys, and adolescents by armed and criminal groups;

• 2)

  Gender-based violence as a cause of displacement, as well as during displacement and in the stages of return, integration, and settlement, principally against women, girls, and LGBTI persons;

• 3)

  Arbitrary dispossession of lands and territories from indigenous peoples, Afro-descendants, and peasants;

• 4)

  Protection of housing and property of the population covered by this Law; and,

• 5)

  Other population groups in situations of greater risk, such as teachers and transportation workers, among others. Local governments may formulate their own plans and programs that comply with the guidelines of the National Policy referred to in this Article.

URGENT PREVENTION. Faced with the imminence of a violation of human rights or any other act of violence that may cause the displacement of persons or communities, actions, plans, and programs must be adopted aimed at deactivating threats and mitigating the effects of their occurrence. For such cases, municipalities that have been able to warn about situations of collective displacement may declare such fact as an emergency and adopt the necessary measures referred to in this Law to protect persons.

CONTINGENCY PLANS. The municipalities, the State Secretary's Office for Risk Management and National Contingencies (COPECO), and the Directorate for the Protection of Persons Displaced Internally by Violence, in coordination with other central and local authorities and humanitarian agents, must design contingency plans in those areas where the context allows the identification of an imminent risk of collective displacement. Contingency plans must contain at minimum:

• 1)

  The specificities of the local context making a differentiation between urban and rural displacement, as well as communities with strong attachment to the land;

• 2)

  Strategies regarding registration, housing, health, basic sanitation and psychosocial care, education and use of free time, food, security, protection of persons and property, communications, return, local reintegration, and resettlement to counteract threats, reduce vulnerabilities, strengthen institutional and social capacities, as well as strengthen institutional and social coordination in risk reduction; and,

• 3)

  Budget sources to ensure the supply in relation to the strategies contained in the plans.

GUIDED DISPLACEMENTS. In exceptional circumstances and when there is no other alternative to protect the life, safety, and integrity of persons facing extraordinary risks, the authorities, after prior consultation with the affected persons, may support their departure from the high-risk zone. In case of applying this exceptional measure, the displacement shall be conducted in a manner that does not violate the rights of persons, respecting the principle of self-determination. It must be carried out under conditions of equality and applying differentiated criteria according to the specific population. The decision on displacement must be adopted and implemented by the Directorate for the Protection of Persons Displaced Internally by Violence, in coordination with the State Secretary's Office for Security, the State Secretary's Office for Risk Management and National Contingencies (COPECO), municipalities, and other institutions that integrate the System. For such purpose, it must observe the following safeguards:

• 1)

  All possible alternatives must be studied and analyzed to prevent displacement. If no other alternative exists, all measures aimed at minimizing the adverse effects of forced displacement on affected persons must be taken;

• 2)

  If displacement is inevitable, the authorities according to their competence and mandate must ensure in the best manner that the new housing is satisfactory and meets conditions of safety, food, water and sanitation, hygiene and health, and that family members are not separated;

• 3)

  Persons in situations of greater vulnerability and risk, and with special attachment to the land, must be protected during displacement;

• 4)

  Complete disclosure of information about the reasons and procedures of the displacement in question;

• 5)

  Free and informed consent of affected persons must be obtained by the authorities;

• 6)

  The authorities shall give special follow-up to areas affected by this type of displacement and shall take measures to overcome the causes that originated it to ensure the generation of conditions for safe, voluntary, and dignified return of the population;

• 7)

  The authorities must encourage the participation of forcibly displaced persons in the planning of their return or reintegration in another community; and,

• 8)

  While displacement lasts, the authorities shall give special care to property that is abandoned, for which they shall maintain strict records of all property, both movable and immovable, that remains in the place of displacement.

HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE. It is the primary duty and responsibility of the State to provide protection and humanitarian assistance without discrimination in cases of internal displacement. This delivery of assistance shall be provided to internally displaced persons if they do not have the necessary elements for their minimum subsistence, verified from a needs analysis. It comprises, among others, the purpose of relieving, assisting, and protecting victim persons and affected communities; addressing their needs for food, personal hygiene, supply management, kitchen utensils, medical and psychological care, emergency transportation, and safe temporary housing in dignified conditions. This must be accepted by the beneficiary persons, taking into account their culture, age, gender, and diversity, and must be adapted before, during, and after displacement. Humanitarian aid shall be provided in accordance with the humanitarian principles of humanity and impartiality, without any discrimination among the population. Humanitarian assistance must be:

• 1)

  Available in sufficient quantity and quality;

• 2)

  Accessible to all forcibly displaced persons;

• 3)

  Acceptable to the beneficiary persons; and,

• 4)

  Adapted to changing needs in different stages of displacement.

DELIVERY OF HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE. It is humanitarian aid delivered to those persons who declare having been displaced and who are in situations of heightened vulnerability, and who, according to the needs analysis, require it. This aid shall be determined by the State Secretary's Office for Human Rights, through the Directorate for the Protection of Persons Displaced Internally by Violence; and by the Municipal Units for Care and Protection of Forcibly Displaced Persons in coordination with the organs and institutions that are part of the National System for Response to Internal Forced Displacement (SINARDEFI). It shall be delivered for up to three (3) months. After three (3) months have elapsed, if the beneficiary persons still do not have the necessary elements for their minimum subsistence, provided by their own means or by measures established by the State, it may be extended for three (3) additional months. Civil society organizations and international agencies shall collaborate closely with the State in the provision of humanitarian assistance, especially when State capacities are insufficient for comprehensive attention to demand at the national level.

EMERGENCY HEALTH CARE. Public or private hospital institutions in the national territory that provide health services have the obligation to provide emergency care immediately to victims who require it, regardless of the socioeconomic capacity of those demanding these services and without requiring a prior condition for admission, when they require it due to having suffered damage to their personal integrity as a consequence of facts that occurred due to coercion to achieve the abandonment of their residence or during displacement.

HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE IN COLLECTIVE DISPLACEMENTS. The municipalities, in coordination with the State Secretary in the Office of Risk Management and National Contingencies (COPECO), shall be responsible for providing the humanitarian assistance referred to in this Law in cases of collective displacements, and for such purpose must install shelters or temporary camps in dignified and safe conditions, and support regulations related to emergencies and attention to collective cases. To do this, it must coordinate with the Directorate for the Protection of Persons Internally Displaced by Violence. The authorities must adopt measures to guarantee the availability of a sufficient and permanent supply of water of adequate quality, sanitation conditions and basic hygiene facilities. These must be accessible to all persons in conditions of security and considering particular needs based on gender, age, and diversity.

PROTECTION. Protection is understood as the set of activities aimed at preventing and ending violations of human rights and safeguarding them, guaranteeing access to justice, and promoting an environment of respect for these rights.

PROTECTION OF FAMILY UNITS. Every person has the right to establish a family and to have their family life respected. For this purpose, everything possible must be done to prevent their separation and, in the event that it occurs as a result of forced displacement, the prompt location and reunification of family members must be guaranteed. The Directorate of Childhood, Adolescence and Family (DINAF) in coordination with the Directorate for the Protection of Persons Internally Displaced by Violence and other entities of the National Response System to Internal Forced Displacement (SINARDEFI), shall have the responsibility of adopting the following measures:

• 1)

  Prevent cases of family separation as a consequence of forced displacement;

• 2)

  Enable the prompt location and reunification of family members separated by displacement;

• 3)

  Provide information on relevant procedures for family location and reunification;

• 4)

  Provide accompaniment, protection and assistance to persons separated from their families, as well as to families providing them support and care, particularly when it involves children and adolescents. Alternative care measures must be provided for children who cannot be reunified with their families, guaranteeing their protection against any form of violence, abuse, abandonment or exploitation;

• 5)

  Provide attention, in particular, to families headed by a single person, or composed of children, adolescents, women, elderly adults or persons with disabilities; and,

• 6)

  The competent authorities shall endeavor to ascertain the fate and whereabouts of disappeared internally displaced persons and shall cooperate with competent international organizations dedicated to this work. They shall inform the closest relatives of the progress of the investigation and notify them of the results.

PROTECTION OF THE RIGHT TO EDUCATION. The State Secretary in the Office of Education in coordination with the Directorate for the Protection of Persons Internally Displaced by Violence and other entities of the National Response System to Internal Forced Displacement (SINARDEFI), shall establish measures to:

• 1)

  Review and modify internal regulations and procedures, to ensure that these are sensitive to situations of conflict and violence within educational centers;

• 2)

  Adopt the necessary measures so that public educational centers constitute spaces of protection free from violence, and are safe for students and educators;

• 3)

  Guarantee priority access at any time of year for children, adolescents, youth and adults forcibly displaced, whose academic year is interrupted as a consequence of displacement;

• 4)

  Ensure the free and expedited issuance of documents and certificates that certify the educational level of persons forcibly displaced, so that they may transfer to another educational center within or outside the country;

• 5)

  Maintain a confidential record of cases of students and teachers forcibly displaced;

• 6)

  For cases where children, adolescents, youth and adults who are outside the educational system due to forced displacement, without possibility of resuming their educational projects, it shall ensure that they are incorporated into special programs that allow them to reintegrate into the educational system. For this purpose, a special program of reintegration to the educational system must be created for children, adolescents, youth and adults forcibly displaced, which must be designed within a period of twelve (12) months, counted from the date this Law enters into force; and,

• 7)

  Ensure that teachers in public educational centers, at risk of displacement or in situations of displacement, do not lose their employment as a consequence of the threat and/or risk. For this purpose, a special protection protocol for teachers at risk must be developed, where promptness and protection of teachers' rights shall take priority. When the reintegration of displaced children and youth into the formal educational system is not possible, the National Institute of Professional Training (INFOP) shall facilitate its programmatic offerings to them on a voluntary basis. Furthermore, it shall manage support with civil society organizations and international bodies to facilitate their inclusion in non-formal training programs.

PROTECTION OF THE RIGHT TO IDENTITY. The National Registry of Persons (RNP), the National Migration Institute (INM) and the Honduran Social Security Institute (IHSS) shall provide persons forcibly displaced with identification documents when these have been lost or destroyed as a consequence of forced displacement. Identification documents shall be issued in a secure, expedited and free manner. In cases where persons forcibly displaced are identified without any civil registry or with the urgent need for death certificates or other documents, the National Registry of Persons (RNP), upon prior certification issued by the State Secretary in the Office of Human Rights, must give priority attention, adapting requirements and procedures when necessary to ensure that these do not go to the detriment of the protection of the human right to life and personal integrity.

PROTECTION AGAINST SEXUAL AND GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE. Persons forcibly displaced, particularly women, girls, boys and LGBTI persons shall be protected against harassment, rape, mutilation, torture, forced prostitution, sexual exploitation or any other form of gender-based violence. These persons shall have access to emergency medical and psychosocial assistance for the time they require it, through state services, civil society organizations or existing international bodies. The organs and institutions that make up the National Response System to Internal Forced Displacement (SINARDEFI), particularly the State Secretary in the Office of Health, the State Secretary in the Office of Security and the State Secretary in the Office of Women's Affairs (SEMUJER), must incorporate and adapt their programs, policies, plans, budgets, protocols and internal regulations that they have, as well as those that arise from this Law, to prevent, eliminate and address the impact of gender-based violence toward women, girls, and LGBTI persons in all stages of displacement.

PROTECTION OF PROPERTY AND POSSESSIONS. Persons forcibly displaced shall have the right to state protection against arbitrary deprivation, appropriation, occupation or destruction of their properties and/or possessions, whether individual or collective.

LEGAL AND MATERIAL PROTECTION OF PROPERTY AND THE REGISTRY OF ABANDONED AND DISPOSSESSED PROPERTY. The Registry of Abandoned Property (RBA) is hereby created, where property abandoned by persons forcibly displaced and property dispossessed from persons within any presumed victimizing circumstance established in this Law shall be registered. The administration, management and operation of the Registry of Abandoned Property (RBA) shall be the responsibility of the Property Institute (IP). For the Property Institute (IP) to proceed with the registration of abandoned or dispossessed property, the State Secretary in the Office of Human Rights through the Directorate for the Protection of Persons Internally Displaced by Violence must:

• 1)

  Receive and process requests for protection of abandoned or dispossessed property made by persons forcibly displaced, once they have been recognized as such;

• 2)

  Request the municipalities where the property subject to protection is located to carry out the necessary measures for its material protection. In these cases, the municipalities must coordinate with the National Police, National Defense or other mechanisms that are created for the material protection of property;

• 3)

  Verify the aspects presented by persons forcibly displaced with respect to ownership, possession and/or holding of the property. For this purpose, it must avail itself of institutional sources of information, such as municipalities and the Property Institute (IP), as well as any types of documents presented by the requesting person, including witnesses;

• 4)

  Verify the state and physical condition of the property, with the assistance of the municipalities where the property subject to protection is located;

• 5)

  In case the ownership of persons forcibly displaced over the property subject to protection of registrable nature cannot be determined, the State Secretary in the Office of Human Rights must maintain its own record of such property in the Single Registry of Persons Internally Displaced by Force (RUPDEF), and request the Property Institute to register them in the Registry of Claims that they manage; and, 6) In case it is proven that the ownership of the property subject to protection of registrable nature effectively belongs to the person forcibly displaced, issue a Resolution of Abandoned Property, and request the Property Institute (IP) to register it. Scope of the Registry of Abandoned and Dispossessed Property:

  • 1)

    Prohibition of entering into acts and contracts regarding the abandoned property, while the voluntary consent of the person holding title to the property is not established;

  • 2)

    Exemption from payment of the Property Tax by the municipality where the abandoned property is located. This measure must be maintained until persons forcibly displaced can exercise property rights without risk; and,

  • 3)

    Public, private or mixed institutions or companies that provide water, sanitation and electrical energy services must interrupt their services and avoid the consequent generation of costs. This circumstance must be maintained until further communication from the State Secretary in the Office of Human Rights to suspend or modify the measure. The Property Institute (IP), the municipalities, the National Police, National Defense and other service-providing entities must without delay respond to requests for information, assistance and cooperation made by the State Secretary in the Office of Human Rights regarding legal and material protection of property of persons forcibly displaced.

EXTENSION OF CREDIT PAYMENT DEADLINES. When as a consequence of forced displacement the persons referred to in this Law have lost their means of livelihood and maintain a credit obligation on their property, the creditor entities must grant an extension of up to twelve (12) months for payment of their obligations, time that will be added to the remaining months of the credit, without any increase or surcharge of any type of interest for default. To comply with this Article, it shall suffice to present the certification issued by the State Secretary in the Office of Human Rights regarding the lack of means of livelihood of the person forcibly displaced. This Certification shall be issued only once, and may be addressed to all creditor entities for which the displaced person holds a pending obligation at the time of making the request for attention and protection. The certification must also be directed to the Credit Information Center of the National Commission of Banks and Insurance (CNBS) and to other public and private risk centers. The creditor entities and the public and private risk centers must without delay carry out the corresponding administrative and operational actions. The Regulations of this Law shall establish the requirements and process to follow for granting the extension.

ACCESS TO JUSTICE, LEGAL GUIDANCE AND ASSISTANCE. The Judicial Branch, through the Public Defender's Office, as well as the Municipal Units for the Care and Protection of Persons Forcibly Displaced and the National Commissioner of Human Rights (CONADEH), must have permanent and specialized teams to accompany and advise the displaced population, and provide legal assistance and guidance free of charge. They may enter into agreements with Law Schools, university legal clinics and other organizations that provide services to persons forcibly displaced. The Supreme Court of Justice (CSJ), courts of appeal and special courts, as well as courts, that hear matters related to persons forcibly displaced, particularly children, indigenous peoples and Afro-Honduran peoples, must attend to matters in a preferential manner and without delay, and must ensure the protection and guarantee of the right to life and personal integrity involved in such matters, as well as the best interest of the child.

RIGHT TO WORK. Persons who as a consequence of forced displacement have had to absent themselves from their work and have not been able to submit the corresponding legal notices, with the immediate consequence of loss of employment, shall not lose all the labor rights to which they are entitled. The procedure that must be observed to guarantee this right shall be defined in the Regulations of this Law, which must be approved by the Supreme Court of Justice (CSJ), in coordination with the State Secretary in the Offices of Labor and Social Security.

OBLIGATION OF COOPERATION OF GOVERNMENT ORGANISMS AND ENTITIES. The three (3) Branches of Government and other institutions of a private or mixed nature are obligated to assist with preferential and urgent character the institutions that make up the National Response System to Internal Forced Displacement (SINARDEFI) in order to comply with this Law.

REGISTRIES. The National Institute of Statistics (INE) together with the State Secretary in the Office of Human Rights must generate information annually through administrative records and statistics on the situation of vulnerability of persons and households displaced by this Law, as well as the guarantee of their fundamental rights. This with the purpose of:

• 1)

  Monitoring the implementation of this Law with data from displaced households and persons;

• 2)

  Identifying rural and/or urban areas with the highest incidence of internal displacement, so that with this information, the State Secretary in the Office of Security, takes the appropriate measures; and,

• 3)

  Analyzing and generating inputs for the design and implementation of evidence-based public policies on the situation of risks and impacts on rights to the displaced population or those at risk of displacement.

REQUEST FOR ATTENTION AND PROTECTION. The request for attention and protection referred to in this Law must be made provided that the victimizing act that caused the forced displacement occurred within the twelve (12) months prior to such request. This may be made after twelve (12) months provided that there continues to exist an imminent risk to the life, liberty and personal integrity of the applicant or members of their family unit, which shall be determined by the State Secretary in the Office of Human Rights through the Directorate for the Protection of Persons Internally Displaced by Violence.

SUBMISSION OF THE REQUEST. The request for attention and protection may be submitted by the person or group of persons displaced directly; and in their representation, by duly accredited humanitarian agents in the country and civil society organizations.

IDENTIFICATION OF CASES AND SUBMISSION OF REQUEST. Through the case identification guidelines designed by the Inter-institutional Commission for the Protection of Persons Forcibly Displaced (CIPPDEF); the National Police, the National Commissioner of Human Rights (CONADEH), the State Department of Foreign Relations and International Cooperation, the Presidential Program City Woman, and other State institutions; as well as civil society organizations and humanitarian agents operating in the country, shall identify cases of persons forcibly displaced, which shall be referred to the Directorate for the Protection of Persons Internally Displaced by Violence. The Municipal Units for Assistance and Protection of Persons Forcibly Displaced (UMAPPDEF) shall provide emergency humanitarian assistance to cases they identify directly, and must inform the Directorate for the Protection of Persons Internally Displaced by Violence of such cases within a period not exceeding seventy-two (72) hours, to coordinate the other actions referred to in this Law. The procedure to be followed in these cases shall be established in its Regulation.

MUNICIPALITIES WITHOUT MUNICIPAL UNITS FOR ASSISTANCE AND PROTECTION OF PERSONS FORCIBLY DISPLACED (UMAPPDEF). In municipalities that do not have a Municipal Unit for Assistance and Protection of Persons Forcibly Displaced (UMAPPDEF), the municipality where the requesting person is located shall have the responsibility to provide assistance and humanitarian aid during the first seventy-two (72) hours. The foregoing is without prejudice to referring the case to the Directorate for the Protection of Persons Internally Displaced by Violence, within a period not exceeding forty-eight (48) hours so that it may continue with the procedure established by this Law.

ANALYSIS AND ADMISSIBILITY OF REQUEST. Once the request for assistance and protection has been submitted, the Directorate for the Protection of Persons Internally Displaced by Violence shall:

• 1)

  Analyze and determine whether the requesting person is or is not subject to protection under this Law;

• 2)

  In case the request is admitted, the type of procedure to be applied shall be determined, whether ordinary or extraordinary;

• 3)

  Evaluate the humanitarian assistance and protection needs of the requesting person;

• 4)

  Issue humanitarian assistance measures, to be implemented within a period not exceeding seventy-two (72) hours as determined by the needs analysis;

• 5)

  Issue protection measures, for the institutions that make up the National System for Response to Internal Forced Displacement (SINADERFI) to proceed with their immediate implementation;

• 6)

  When needs are identified in matters of education, health, and documentation, immediate access to these rights shall be guaranteed with the competent institutions;

• 7)

  When appropriate, refer cases to the corresponding Municipal Units for Assistance and Protection of Persons Forcibly Displaced (UMAPPDEF), so that these may provide humanitarian assistance;

• 8)

  When appropriate, submit requests for legal protection and material protection of assets to the Attorney General of the Republic (PGR); and,

• 9)

  Manage and promote durable solutions.

EXTRAORDINARY PROCEDURE. An extraordinary risk is considered to be one that no person has the legal duty to bear and that occurs when there is present an extreme risk that threatens the life or personal integrity and freedom of an individual, family, or group of persons. The State shall adopt special protection measures, provided that the following requirements are met:

• 1)

  That the person, family, or group of persons be specific and individualisable;

• 2)

  That the risk be concrete, based on particular and manifest actions or facts and not on indeterminate suppositions;

• 3)

  That it threatens to injure protected legal interests, such as life, freedom, and personal integrity;

• 4)

  That it be exceptional and disproportionate in that it should not be borne by the generality of persons; and,

• 5)

  That the existence of threats or aggressions can materialize within the following seventy-two (72) hours from the submission of the request. These circumstances shall be deemed fulfilled when a member of the nuclear family of the requesting person has directly suffered a victimizing act against their life and/or personal integrity.

EXTRAORDINARY MEASURES. Should the extraordinary procedure be applied, the Directorate for the Protection of Persons Internally Displaced by Violence shall agree upon the urgent protection measure with the requesting person within a period not exceeding forty-eight (48) hours following their admission. Informed consent may be given in person, by telephone, or through any other communication channel; and may be given by the spouse, household partner, daughters or sons, or any relative within the fourth degree of blood relationship and second degree of affinity. The Directorate for the Protection of Persons Internally Displaced by Violence shall place on record in writing the acceptance of the accepted measures, or rejection, as the case may be. The implementation of the agreed protection measures shall be carried out within a period not exceeding eight (8) hours. The Regulation of this Law shall define the process and the institutions involved in these cases. The State Department of Security is obligated to provide security measures, if required and accepted by the requesting person.

VALIDITY OF EXTRAORDINARY PROTECTION MEASURES. Extraordinary protection measures shall remain in effect until the Directorate for the Protection of Persons Internally Displaced by Violence conducts a new needs assessment, in the two (2) weeks following the adoption of the measure.

ORDINARY PROCEDURE. This shall be applicable in all those cases where the circumstances referred to in Article 64 of this Law are not met.

ORDINARY MEASURES. Should the ordinary procedure be applied, the case evaluation shall be carried out within a period not exceeding ten (10) business days. Requesting persons shall provide all available documentation and information they have, as well as such information as may be required of them. The burden of proof shall not be transferred to the requesting person under any circumstances. The Regulation of this Law shall define the process and the institutions involved in these cases. The Directorate for the Protection of Persons Internally Displaced by Violence shall agree upon the protection measure with the requesting person. Informed consent shall be given as established in Article 65 of this Law. The implementation of the agreed protection measures shall be carried out within a period not exceeding forty-eight (48) hours.

VALIDITY OF ORDINARY PROTECTION MEASURES. Ordinary protection measures shall remain in effect until the Directorate for the Protection of Persons Internally Displaced by Violence conducts a new needs assessment, one (1) month after the adoption of the measure and makes a determination regarding its continuation and/or modification.

FRAUDULENT REQUESTS. In case it is proven that the beneficiary person, by deceptive or fraudulent means, simulated a situation of risk or forced displacement, with the purpose of accessing the assistance and protection mechanisms referred to in this Law, the measures that have been granted to them shall be revoked, and the return of the resources that have been delivered for this purpose shall be ordered, without prejudice to criminal or administrative actions.

REGARDING DECISIONS OF THE STATE DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN RIGHTS, THROUGH THE DIRECTORATE FOR THE PROTECTION OF PERSONS INTERNALLY DISPLACED BY VIOLENCE. Any requesting person or beneficiary who disagrees with the decisions issued by the Directorate for the Protection of Persons Internally Displaced by Violence and the Municipal Units for Assistance and Protection of Persons Forcibly Displaced (UMAPPDEF), has the right to challenge the decision before the superior hierarchical body in accordance with the Administrative Procedure Law. Challenges must be submitted within a period not exceeding five (5) business days after being notified of the resolution, and these must be resolved preferentially and urgently, in accordance with the pro persona principle, within twenty-four (24) hours.

RESPONSIBILITY OF PUBLIC SERVANTS. Public servants who, through actions or omissions, deny or obstruct compliance with the measures referred to in this Law to protect the human rights of persons forcibly displaced, incur the offense of violation of the duties of public officials, and other applicable offenses as the case may be. Such proceedings must be initiated ex officio by the Public Ministry, without prejudice to the corresponding civil and administrative responsibilities.

DURABLE SOLUTIONS AND OVERCOMING THE SITUATION OF DISPLACEMENT. A durable solution is achieved when persons forcibly displaced, through their own means or through measures established by the State, manage to meet their assistance and protection needs linked to displacement, when they can enjoy their human rights without discrimination due to displacement, and when they advance in a sustained process of return to their place of origin, local reintegration in areas where they have taken refuge, or resettlement in another part of the country.

RIGHT TO ACHIEVE A DURABLE SOLUTION. All persons forcibly displaced have the right to achieve a solution in a safe, dignified, informed, and voluntary manner. They also have the right to participate in the planning and management of programs and strategies that concern them. Persons forcibly displaced have the responsibility to cooperate with the State in the search for durable solutions.

RETURN, RELOCATION. The entities that make up the National System for Response to Internal Forced Displacement (SINADERFI), shall establish the conditions and provide the means that allow persons forcibly displaced to advance progressively towards a solution through return to their place of origin, reintegration in the place of arrival, or resettlement in another part of the country, under conditions of voluntariness, enjoying the same rights as the rest of the population and without being a victim of any inequality based on having been a person forcibly displaced. Persons forcibly displaced shall under no circumstance be encouraged or obligated to return to their place of origin or to relocate to other areas where their life, freedom, security, or health are at risk. The institutions that make up the National System for Response to Internal Forced Displacement (SINADERFI), shall provide legal guidance for access to reparation mechanisms by those responsible for forced displacement, and for the recovery of their assets.

ACCESS TO PROGRAMS FOR ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL INTEGRATION. The National System for Response to Forced Displacement (SINARDEFI) shall facilitate the achievement of solutions through the following measures:

• 1)

  Prioritization of the inclusion of forcibly displaced persons in the State's social protection programs and credit schemes;

• 2)

  Through a psychosocial process, the return, reintegration or resettlement of forcibly displaced persons shall be planned, monitored and accompanied when the necessary security conditions are present;

• 3)

  Development of awareness-raising processes to reduce stigma and discrimination toward forcibly displaced persons;

• 4)

  Creation of mechanisms for social integration through the establishment of dialogue spaces between affected communities;

• 5)

  Guidance programs for access to employment and income generation;

• 6)

  Access to vocational training programs;

• 7)

  Development of special mechanisms for this purpose; and,

• 8)

  Others that the Regulations of this Law may specify. TITLE IV FINAL PROVISIONS SINGLE CHAPTER FINAL PROVISIONS

BUDGET OF THE NATIONAL SYSTEM FOR RESPONSE TO INTERNAL FORCED DISPLACEMENT (SINARDEFI). The State shall allocate adequate financial resources for the operation and performance of the bodies that compose the System at the national and local levels. For the effective compliance with this Law, the Ministry of State in the Office of Finance is ordered to allocate sufficient and necessary financial resources from the General Budget of Income and Expenses of the Republic. Likewise, it must allocate complementary budget items. The financing for the bodies of the National System for Response to Internal Forced Displacement (SINARDEFI) is constituted by the following resources and assets:

• 1)

  Contributions, funds, trusts and subsidies from institutions;

• 2)

  Donations, inheritances and bequests, as well as national and international cooperation of lawful origin, from natural or legal persons, public or private, of which an accounting shall be given through a special report in accordance with the norms and procedures regulated by the Supreme Court of Accounts (TSC), and the body or person providing the cooperation; and,

• 3)

  Those granted by special laws and others that may be obtained in any form.

REGULATIONS. Within six (6) months from the effective date of this Law, the Ministry of State in the Office of the Presidency, together with the Ministry of State in the Office of Human Rights, being able to be supported by international organizations in an advisory capacity, as well as other actors that may be invited, shall proceed to draft and issue the Regulations of this Law, and the protocols for the operation of the units of the Directorate for the Protection of Persons Internally Displaced by Violence.

CALL FOR ELECTION OF MEMBERS OF THE INTERINSTITUTIONAL COMMISSION FOR THE PROTECTION OF FORCIBLY DISPLACED PERSONS AND NATIONAL SYSTEM FOR RESPONSE TO FORCED DISPLACEMENT. The Ministry of State in the Offices of Governance, Justice and Decentralization shall, within twenty (20) days counted from the publication of this Law in the Official Gazette "La Gaceta", call upon the civil society organizations that integrate the Interinstitutional Commission for the Protection of Forcibly Displaced Persons (SINARDEFI) so that the General Assembly is held where the election of their respective principal representatives and their alternates takes place.

DEADLINE FOR CREDITOR ENTITIES AND RISK CENTRAL OFFICES. A deadline of no more than six (6) calendar months, counted from the publication of this Law in the Official Gazette "La Gaceta", is granted to public and private Creditor Entities and Risk Central Offices to carry out the operational and administrative adjustments to their systems, in order to comply with Article 54 of this Law.

EXEMPTIONS. Persons referred to in this Law are exempted from the payment of the municipal Real Property Tax while their situation of displacement persists and they cannot exercise ownership actions over their properties without running risk, provided that these are registered in the Registry of Abandoned and Dispossessed Property. Likewise, persons forcibly displaced are exempted from the payment of fees, tariffs and costs as payment for the issuance of administrative acts for personal identification documents referred to in this Law, according to what is established in Article 50. The Regulations to be issued shall detail the procedure to be followed for each case.

EFFECTIVE DATE. This Law shall enter into force twenty (20) days after its publication in the Official Gazette "La Gaceta". Given in the city of Tegucigalpa, municipality of the Central District, in the Session Hall of the National Congress, on the twenty-first day of the month of December of two thousand twenty-two. LUIS ROLANDO REDONDO GUIFARRO PRESIDENT CARLOS ARMANDO ZELAYA ROSALES SECRETARY LUZ ANGÉLICA SMITH MEJÍA SECRETARY To the Executive Branch For Execution: Execute. Tegucigalpa, M.D.C., December 30, 2022. IRIS XIOMARA CASTRO SARMIENTO PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE OFFICE OF HUMAN RIGHTS MELINA NATALIE ROQUE SANDOVAL