Committee on the Protection of the Rights of All

Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families

Forty-first session

Summary record of the 620th meeting

Held at the Palais Wilson, Geneva, on Monday, 8 December 2025, at 3 p.m.

Chair:Ms. Diallo

Contents

Consideration of reports submitted by States Parties under article 73 of the Convention (continued)

Second periodic report of Honduras(continued)

The meeting was called to order at 3 p.m.

Consideration of reports submitted by States Parties under article 73 of the Convention (continued)

Second periodic report of Honduras (continued) (CMW/C/HND/2; CMW/C/HND/Q/2; CMW/C/HND/RQ/2)

At the invitation of the Chair, the delegation of Honduras joined the meeting.

A representative of Honduras, replying to questions put by Committee members at the previous meeting (CMW/C/SR.619), said that the cooperation agreement between the Government of Honduras and the Government of the United States of America provided for the transfer to Honduras of individuals whose applications for asylum in the United States had been rejected. The first transfer had taken place in October 2025, when seven persons had been sent to Honduras. They had been followed by a second group of nine persons in November 2025. Five of those individuals had submitted asylum applications in Honduras, while the rest had been safely returned to their countries of origin. Upon arrival in Honduras, the individuals were provided with legal advice and were taken to one of the country’s support centres for migrants with irregular status, where they received psychological support, food and medical care and were helped to contact their families. Each individual was then interviewed in order to determine whether they were vulnerable in any respect. Those who formally applied for asylum in Honduras were referred to Caritas Internationalis, a humanitarian organization that provided them with livelihood support for three to six months in order to facilitate their integration into the community. Individuals who chose to return to their countries of origin were referred to the relevant consulates, with support provided by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) through its assisted voluntary return programme.

The transformation of centres for migrants with irregular status from detention facilities to centres offering comprehensive assistance had been one of the measures taken in application of the human rights-based approach adopted by the current Government. Such centres, which had separate units for men, women, families, persons with disabilities and lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender individuals, had provided assistance to more than 160,000 persons in 2024 and 2025. The centres had been visited four times over that period in order to verify that the human rights of the individuals housed there were being respected.

The National Institute of Migration had provided support to five migrant women who had given birth while in Honduras, including by helping them to register their child. One family with a one-month-old infant was currently being housed in a support centre for migrants with irregular status. In accordance with article 23 of the Constitution, the infant had acquired Honduran nationality as a result of being born in the national territory. The enjoyment by foreign nationals of the same civil and fundamental rights as Hondurans was provided for in articles 31 and 61 of the Constitution, respectively.

A representative of Honduras said that Honduran nationals who had migrated to the United States in an irregular manner enjoyed fewer social security guarantees than those with regular migration status. The situation of Honduran migrants had worsened in recent months owing to the migration policies of the current Government of the United States, under which their rights were being systematically violated. The United States was not a Party to the Ibero-American Multilateral Agreement on Social Security, and no bilateral social security agreement was in place between the United States and Honduras, which meant that any contributions made in the United States were not recognized in Honduras and vice versa. Individuals who had been deported from the United States were required to meet a number of requirements and complete an administrative procedure in order to obtain access to the social security benefits acquired through their contributions in that country. All returnees, regardless of their status in the United States, were eligible to receive psychosocial and employment-related support.

As a member of the Global Alliance to Eradicate Forced Labour, Modern Slavery, Human Trafficking and Child Labour, Honduras was committed to making progress in that area. The National Commission for the Gradual Eradication of Child Labour in Honduras had been reactivated, and the Ministry of Labour and Social Security had stepped up its efforts to conduct inspections focused on child labour and the protected adolescent work regime, with a view to ensuring that no child under 14 years of age was working or being subjected to the worst forms of labour. The first official study on the incidence of child labour, conducted in 2023, had revealed that around 40% of children between the ages of 5 and 17 years were engaged in hazardous work or worked excessively long hours. The data gathered through that study had not, however, been disaggregated by migration status, which meant that the Government was not in a position to indicate exactly how many migrant children in Honduras or Honduran children in the United States were concerned. National efforts to tackle child labour had also been informed by the results of a study conducted by IOM, which had found that most migrant girls who worked were employed in the agricultural or construction sectors or were engaged in informal trade. More than 21,000 children who had returned to Honduras between 2022 and 2025 had been referred to education, health and social protection services and received support designed to prevent them from turning to child labour.

Honduras had ratified the International Labour Organization (ILO) Labour Inspection Convention, 1947 (No. 81) in 1983. It had an integrated labour inspection, occupational health and social security system, which was overseen by the Directorate General of Labour Inspection. In 2024 and 2025, the Directorate had opened two new offices in northern Honduras, which was home to a large proportion of the country’s working population. The expansion of the Directorate’s presence had led to an increase in the number of complaints of labour rights violations received. Between 2023 and July 2025, inspectors had conducted approximately 28,000 extraordinary inspections and 3,200 ordinary inspections. A further 2,000 inspections had been carried out in workplaces that formed part of the informal economy. The Honduran Labour Cases System had been established with support from ILO in order to facilitate the digital management of inspection case files and strengthen traceability and transparency. In recent years, ILO had also supported the development and strengthening of national inspection strategies. Action had been taken to ensure the comprehensive monitoring of inspection activities; in 2024, for example, audits of 163 inspection case files had been conducted in order to identify and address any shortcomings in inspection practices, and auditors had accompanied inspectors on 35 visits. The offices of the Directorate General of Labour Inspection in regions with large Indigenous populations had been provided with the technology and equipment needed to enhance their inspection activities.

The Government was of the view that all individuals, regardless of their migration status, had the right to decent and safe jobs. It was thus committed to working towards the ratification of the ILO Occupational Safety and Health Convention, 1981 (No. 155) and the ILO Promotional Framework for Occupational Safety and Health Convention, 2006 (No. 187). Steps in that direction had included the initiation of a tripartite dialogue in March 2025, which had then been followed by the submission of a formal request for technical assistance from the ILO office for Central America in May of the same year. In particular, the office had been asked to identify inconsistencies between Honduran legislation and ILO Conventions No. 155 and No. 187 and propose amendments to be made to national laws. The Government had earmarked $30,000 for the recruitment of experts, the conduct of technical studies, the development of proposals for legislative and institutional improvements and the strengthening of social dialogue, with a view to creating the conditions for the ratification of the two conventions.

The Economic and Social Council of Honduras was currently holding a formal tripartite dialogue on the ILO Violence and Harassment Convention, 2019 (No. 190), the aim of which was to drive progress towards the ratification of that instrument. While the Government had not yet ratified the ILO Labour Inspection (Agriculture) Convention, 1969 (No. 129), it remained committed to strengthening inspection activities in the agricultural sector and was conducting a comprehensive evaluation of that instrument as part of its efforts to enhance the enjoyment of labour and social security rights by agricultural workers. Steps were being taken to analyse whether the provisions of the ILO Migration for Employment Convention (Revised), 1949 (No. 97) and the ILO Migrant Workers (Supplementary Provisions) Convention, 1975 (No. 143) were consistent with Honduran legislation and the country’s international commitments.

Strengthening mechanisms for safe, orderly and regular migration was a priority for the Government, which would welcome support from the international community in that area. Work was being done to implement a programme through which Hondurans could find temporary jobs overseas through free, transparent and safe recruitment processes, thereby reducing the risk of exploitation, strengthening circular migration and improving living standards. The programme also promoted gender equality by providing men and women with equal access to job opportunities. Participants were provided with detailed information prior to their departure and had access to consular support while abroad. Agreements had been signed with the Governments of the United States, Canada and Spain to enable Honduran migrants to find jobs in those countries. Under those agreements, in 2025, 554 individuals had gone to work in the United States, 31 had found jobs in Canada and 737 had obtained work in Spain. Such agreements strengthened the national economy by enabling Hondurans to find decent jobs and boost their income and helped meet the demand for labour in the destination countries.

According to data for the period from January to 9 July 2025, more than 800 migrants had received at least one kind of employment-related support. Of those persons, 796 had received vocational guidance, 83 had benefited from job placement services and 2 had been directed towards professional training. The gap between the number of persons who received guidance and the number who began a placement or training highlighted the need to strengthen coordination between the Government and the private sector, create links with vocational training centres, enhance the quality of jobs and earmark sufficient resources to ensure that all migrants were supported in exercising their right to work.

A representative of Honduras said that the 2024–2033 National Policy for Early Childhood, Childhood and Adolescence had been drawn up to promote and protect children’s rights. Work under the policy was led by the Government in coordination with cooperation bodies, community organizations, networks of children’s organizations and children themselves. In accordance with an agreement concluded in 2022 by the Ministry for Children, Adolescents and the Family, the Inter-Agency Commission to Combat Commercial Sexual Exploitation and Human Trafficking in Honduras and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), 201 municipal committees had been established to uphold the rights of children and adolescents by conducting community-level monitoring activities and coordinating protection services. Supporting the delivery of local protection and comprehensive care services for children was one of the main objectives of the System for the Protection of the Rights of Children and Adolescents in Honduras. In 2024, more than 39 billion lempiras (L) had been invested in programmes and services aimed at safeguarding the rights of children, adolescents and families.

The Inter-Agency Commission to Combat Commercial Sexual Exploitation and Human Trafficking in Honduras had been established to lead efforts to identify, support and rescue victims of trafficking, including those with irregular migration status. The budget allocated to the Commission had been increased fivefold, which demonstrated the importance the Government attached to the issue of trafficking. The Commission had opened new regional offices, including two located in border areas. Its six regional offices deployed immediate response teams to deliver comprehensive care and social and psychological assistance for victims. The President had approved the creation of a fund to provide victims and their families with redress and ensure that they had access to the support they required to reintegrate into society. Any child victims also received assistance in returning to the education system.

Between 2022 and 2025, 280 victims of trafficking had been rescued and provided with assistance. The Government had worked with its international partners to establish a national observatory and system to monitor victims’ cases from the moment they were rescued to the point at which they were able to reintegrate into society. Assistance had also been provided to around 4,230 individuals whose relatives had been subjected to trafficking. Direct and indirect victims were entitled to medical, legal and psychosocial assistance, food packages and hygiene supplies. They were supported in obtaining dignified jobs and starting businesses, with a view to preventing them from falling victim to trafficking or resorting to irregular migration. Three prevention campaigns aimed at raising public awareness of trafficking had been launched by the Office of the President.

The Binational Protocol for the Protection and Care of Unaccompanied Migrant Children and Adolescents set out the comprehensive assistance to be provided to migrant children who were in street situations, had been subjected to forced labour or had been left behind along migration routes. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation worked with the Ministry for Children, Adolescents and the Family and the Inter-Agency Commission to Combat Commercial Sexual Exploitation and Human Trafficking in Honduras in order to ensure the safe return of such children.

A representative of Honduras said that, while the Government had made significant progress in tackling the structural challenges, such as the high homicide and poverty rates, that had forced Hondurans to leave the country, it also recognized that migration was a human right.

It was estimated that around 1 million Hondurans were currently overseas. Dealing with migratory emergencies that involved States that were not Parties to the Convention was extremely challenging for countries like Honduras. The implementation of the National Emergency Strategy for the Protection of Honduran Migrants had contributed to the significant decline in the number of Hondurans who were being held in detention in the United States, which had decreased from more than 210,000 in 2022 to around 40,000 in 2025. The work carried out to strengthen the network of Honduran consulates, which provided services that were consistent with those set out in the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, had also played a role. Such consulates had increased the number of visits they paid to detention facilities in order to verify respect for the human rights of Honduran detainees and worked tirelessly to obtain as much information as possible on the situation of those individuals. The Committee should work with all States Parties to the Convention to encourage those States that had not yet ratified the instrument to do so, with a view to ensuring that all States involved in discussions on the situation of migrants in a given country would be on an equal footing.

Honduras was committed to fulfilling its responsibility under national and international law to provide dignified humanitarian assistance and integration support to returnees and migrants in transit. As a country of transit, it guaranteed the right of migrants to travel freely through its territory and used all available means to provide them with comprehensive assistance. The Government had earmarked a sum of L 50 million for the operation of an assessment and training programme for returnees. Some 500 individuals had already completed the programme, upon the conclusion of which they had each received a grant worth $1,000 to help them start their own businesses. In 2025, the National Bank for Agricultural Development had approved 321 low-interest loans for returnees, which had been worth a total of L 75 million. Centres for Migrant Returnees conducted primary health assessments to determine whether returnees required specialist medical or psychiatric care.

Civil society organizations had participated in every stage of the development of the Binational Protocol for the Protection and Care of Unaccompanied Migrant Children and Adolescents, which addressed matters such as the identification of unaccompanied migrant children, the assessment of their situation, the delivery of primary humanitarian assistance for them and the restoration of their rights. The protocol was the result of successful bilateral cooperation between Honduras and Guatemala, and the Government hoped to develop similar instruments with other States that were along the migration route to the United States. While the medical cooperation agreement with Cuba had been the subject of some criticism, the arrival of Cuban doctors in Honduras had helped to strengthen the country’s network of hospitals and, in particular, improve the services offered by ophthalmology centres.

All families who wished to register a child born in Honduras had the right to do so. Efforts had been made to improve the consular system in order to facilitate the registration of children born abroad to at least one Honduran parent. The Constitution established that all such children, regardless of their country of birth, had the right to Honduran nationality provided that their parents submitted the requisite documentation from the clinic in which the child had been born. More than 11,000 children born abroad had been registered under that procedure, which had been introduced following the amendment of the relevant legal framework to prevent statelessness among the children of Honduran migrants.

More than 400,000 Hondurans in the United States had completed the procedure to obtain the national identification document they needed to gain access to consular support services and exercise their civil and political rights, including the rights to vote and to run for elected office, while overseas. Ahead of the most recent elections, the National Electoral Council had decided that Honduran migrants who lived in the United States could cast their vote from abroad. As a result of that decision, the voter turnout rate among Honduran migrants had reached the highest level seen in years. The electoral process had been facilitated by the use of a biometric system through which voters could be securely identified by their fingerprint.

Mr. Charef (Country Rapporteur) said that it would be interesting to hear what was being done to protect the rights of the Garifuna community, whose members had been among the first individuals to migrate from the State Party in the 1940s. He would welcome a response to his question, put at the previous meeting, on whether the security measures that had been introduced to tackle gang-related crime had been accompanied by any social measures, in particular in view of the fact that unaccompanied migrant adolescents were one of the groups most vulnerable to recruitment by gangs. The delegation might comment on reports that Honduran women who had migrated to work in the agricultural sector in countries including Canada and Spain had been forced to leave their children behind, had endured harsh working conditions and received no support while overseas. He wished to know what steps had been taken to reduce the cost of transferring money to the State Party from abroad and whether policies had been developed to ensure that the income generated by remittances was used to support local, regional and national development efforts.

Mr. Corzo Sosa (Country Rapporteur) said that he wished to know whether the State Party had taken the steps described in paragraph 43 of its report to improve the National Protection System, what specific challenges were preventing the implementation of sustainable measures to protect human rights defenders and whether the relevant protection mechanisms had protocols for investigating attacks against such defenders, in particular those who worked on issues affecting migrants. It would be useful to learn whether the State Party was working to give effect to the recommendations made to it by the Subcommittee on Accreditation of the Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions, with a view to ensuring that the Office of the National Commissioner for Human Rights would continue to enjoy category A status.

He would be grateful for information on the situation of Venezuelan migrant workers in the State Party, including on whether steps had been taken to grant them any kind of permit or regularize their migration status. He wished to know whether the State Party would consider amending the Migration and Aliens Act to incorporate provisions that would prevent the criminalization of irregular migration.

It would be helpful if the delegation could comment on reports that the regulations implementing the Act for the Prevention of Internal Displacement and the Protection and Care of Internally Displaced Persons had not been issued within the six-month deadline provided for in the Act and that the members of the Inter-Agency Commission for the Protection of Forcibly Displaced Persons had not yet been appointed. He wondered what had been done to strengthen the Directorate for the Protection of Persons Internally Displaced as a Result of Violence and ensure that it could fulfil its duties as set out in the aforementioned Act. It would be interesting to learn whether the State Party had established a single register of forcibly displaced persons and whether a specific budget line had been created for the delivery of humanitarian assistance and protection measures for victims.

With regard to the search for and identification of missing Hondurans, he would be grateful for clarification as to which stakeholders had access to the records contained in the national DNA database and whether protocols and guarantees had been put in place to ensure the proper handling of those records. He wished to know what had been done to support the implementation in Honduras of the Mechanism for Mexican Support Abroad in Search and Investigation Activities, whether the family members of missing persons and the organizations supporting them had been invited to participate in the search and activities organized under the Mechanism and what outcomes such activities had produced.

He would appreciate a response to his request for an update on the Solidarity Fund for Honduran Migrants and wished to know what other initiatives had been introduced to ensure that remittances were used to improve lives in the State Party. The delegation might describe what was being done to ensure that all returned migrants were provided with psychological support as part of the basic medical care they received, with a view to identifying those migrants who were suffering from severe mental disorders and could represent a threat to themselves.

Mr. Ceriani Cernadas (Country Rapporteur) said that, while he appreciated the information provided on the bilateral agreement between Honduras and Cuba, he was interested to know whether the State Party’s labour laws contained specific provisions to protect Cuban doctors who were working in the country. He would also be interested to hear more about the role of the Honduran State in legal proceedings before the courts of the United States. As the institutionalization of vulnerable children and persons with intellectual and/or psychosocial disabilities was a structural problem that might affect migrants, he would be grateful for additional information on efforts to reform the State Party’s mental health system.

The information provided on the voting rights of Honduran nationals abroad was welcome; however, he would appreciate an explanation of whether those rights were enshrined in law. While he accepted that the State Party might not be able to deploy voting infrastructure to all countries, it was unclear why the thousands of Honduran nationals living in Spain had been excluded from the electoral process.

The Committee would welcome information on steps taken to regulate and monitor private recruitment agencies, including information on cases of exploitation, fraud and other abuses committed by such agencies and on the establishment of complaint mechanisms to which migrants could turn.

The Committee noted the figures provided on the falling homicide rate. However, given that Honduras continued to experience high rates of femicide and violence against women – a structural cause of migration – and the reduced likelihood that persons in need of protection could claim asylum in the United States, it wished to know what steps had been taken or were planned to reinforce the progress that had been made in reducing the homicide rate.

He would also be glad to receive information on the labour conditions and the rights of Honduran migrants in Costa Rica and El Salvador. In that regard, he wondered whether the Government had taken any steps in response to the introduction of the requirement for Honduran nationals to present a criminal record certificate when entering Costa Rica. He would also be interested to hear about any measures to protect persons from the Lenca, Miskito and Tolupán Indigenous communities who decided to migrate as a result of displacement linked to the non-recognition of their ancestral lands.

Lastly, in view of the imminent change of government, he asked whether the proposed amendments to the Migration and Aliens Act would soon be adopted and, if not, whether the reform process would continue under the next Government.

Ms. Dzumhur said that she would appreciate additional information on the treatment of migrants in transit, including data on their length of stay in the country. She would be interested to know how the State Party registered such migrants and what measures were taken if they failed to regularize their status.

As the Committee was concerned that recent changes in the immigration policy of the United States would have a serious impact on Honduran migrants, she would like to know what measures were in place for receiving repatriated Honduran migrants, how effective those measures were and whether the State Party conducted an assessment of the needs of returnees. She would also like to know what steps were taken to reintegrate returning migrant children and young people into the education system. She would be glad to receive statistical data on the birth registration of Honduran children born abroad and to know whether they encountered any difficulties in obtaining Honduran citizenship.

It would be interesting to know the extent to which the State Party engaged with civil society in formulating policies on migration and providing assistance for migrants in transit and returnees. The delegation might describe the main causes of migration from Honduras, such as violence against women, and the Government’s policy for addressing them. For example, did the State Party have a gender action plan or human rights action plan, and did civil servants and police officers receive training in the treatment and protection of women?

Lastly, the Committee would be grateful for statistics on missing persons, including migrants. It would be useful to know which authorities were responsible for the identification of missing persons, including migrants, and whether effective cooperation mechanisms had been established among the different institutions that dealt with migrants.

Ms. Gahar, noting that children aged 14 years and older were legally able to work, said she would like to know whether the State Party had any plans to raise the minimum legal working age. She would be interested to know more about how the National DNA Database System functioned, including how the authorities identified missing migrants and contacted their families and what measures were in place for the protection of personal data.

In terms of the social reintegration of returned migrants, she had read that few children benefited from reintegration services. She wished to know why that was so, and what obstacles prevented the State Party from fully realizing children’s rights in accordance with joint general comments No. 3 and No. 4 of the Committee on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families/No. 22 and No. 23 of the Committee on the Rights of the Child (2017). She wondered whether the State Party was able to identify obstacles to the delivery of reintegration services in priority municipalities.

She would be interested to know more about the family reunification process, both for migrant children in transit, who came mainly from the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, Colombia and Haiti, and for Honduran children abroad. Given the risks to which Honduran children were exposed in Guatemala, Mexico and the United States, she would like to know what child-friendly measures were taken by the consular service to include children in its protection work. Lastly, she asked what coordination mechanisms had been established with foreign authorities to prevent the prolonged detention and ensure the safe return of Honduran nationals.

The Chair said that she would appreciate details on the nature of the 17 administrative complaints filed by domestic workers that had been resolved during the previous five years, including clarification of whether the complaints in question were those that had been received by the labour inspectorate. If so, the number seemed very small and raised the question of whether the country’s 135,000 paid domestic workers had access to complaint mechanisms and administrative and judicial remedies. She would be grateful for examples of administrative and judicial decisions that had been handed down to protect the rights of domestic workers, including migrant domestic workers, and information on the nature and outcome of each case.

She would also appreciate a reply to her question regarding the bills on domestic workers and the protection of children in street situations. In particular, she wished to know whether the bills had been enacted and whether the scope of the bill on children in street situations extended to children of migrant workers who found themselves on the streets.

According to the Inter-Agency Commission for the Protection of Forcibly Displaced Persons, only 32% of internally displaced persons retained ownership of their property after displacement – in most cases, the homes were sold, abandoned, occupied or destroyed. She would like to know what efforts had been made to help displaced persons to retain their property, so that they could eventually return to their homes, and what had been the general impact of the Act for the Prevention of Internal Displacement and the Protection and Care of Internally Displaced Persons since its adoption.

Furthermore, she wished to know what measures had been taken to address to the situation of migrants and other persons displaced by the impact of climate change. Had the Government established any procedures, mechanisms or strategies to effectively protect their rights, and did they receive humanitarian assistance?

The meeting was suspended at 4.45 p.m. and resumed at 5.10 p.m.

A representative of Honduras said that the National Institute of Migration had prepared a preliminary draft of a new Migration and Aliens Act that was in conformity with the Convention and other relevant international human rights treaties ratified by Honduras, including the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment and the Cartagena Declaration on Refugees.

The Institute had also established mechanisms to ensure access to administrative and judicial remedies for migrant workers and members of their families. Reporting channels such as the email address denuncia@inm.gob.hn had been established as a mechanism for migrant workers to report rights violations and submit administrative complaints. The Institute’s internal legal unit received complaints, provided legal guidance and, where necessary, filed complaints with the Public Prosecution Service. The Institute coordinated with other institutions, such as the Ministry of Labour and Social Security, to deal with allegations of violations that were outside its remit, thus facilitating migrant workers’ access to the appropriate legal remedies.

The Government had recorded 545,000 migrants in transit in 2023; a figure that had fallen sharply to 374,000 in 2024 and 37,184 so far in 2025. The time taken to transit through the national territory depended on each migrant’s economic situation and health. Approximately 95% of migrants in transit left the country within one or two days. Less than 1% remained for longer than a month, usually as a result of a health problem.

The National Institute of Migration kept figures on the immigration of Venezuelan nationals through the National Register of Foreigners. Temporary residence permits had been granted to 260 Venezuelans, including children, for the purposes of work and study and on humanitarian grounds, among other reasons. Permanent residence had been granted to 116 Venezuelan nationals with family ties to Honduras.

A representative of Honduras said that the implementing regulations of the Act for the Prevention of Internal Displacement and the Protection and Care of Internally Displaced Persons had been the subject of extensive consultations. State institutions, campesino and Indigenous social movements and persons displaced by violence had been consulted, in different parts of the country, with a view to adopting regulations that were human rights-based and gender-sensitive. The drafting process was complete and the regulations were due to be adopted in early 2026. A fund for the protection of displaced persons had been established with an annual budget of L 150 million. The Ministry of Human Rights had a humanitarian assistance and relocation protocol that afforded protection for groups of people who had been forced to flee their homes. It also studied the cases of persons who had been displaced as a result of their activities in defence of territories or common natural assets. The Act provided for assistance only for victims of violence – the cases of persons displaced by climate change were handled by the Ministry of Risk Management and Contingency Planning. In keeping with the Government’s commitment to the protection and support of vulnerable groups, the Property Institute had set up a register of abandoned property in order to guarantee the property rights of persons displaced by violence.

The Government had reaffirmed its commitment to the protection of the Miskito and Garifuna peoples, who had been seeking to regularize the legal status of the land they had historically occupied and used. In 2024, the State had granted definitive land titles, pertaining to over 9,000 hectares, to 27 Miskito and Garifuna communities in the Department of Gracias a Dios, benefiting some 23,000 inhabitants.

The authorities had received no complaints of discrimination – whether on the grounds of sex or marital or family status – from those who had applied to work in Canada under the Temporary Foreign Worker Programme. Access to the programme was free and open to all, and the eligibility requirements were set out in regulations and laws. To be recruited, applicants had to be Honduran nationals residing in the country, be at least 18 years of age, have all necessary documents, have a written contract in conformity with the Labour Code and fulfil the job profile specified by the foreign employer. Efforts to narrow the gender gap had resulted in increased female participation in the Programme. In addition, Honduras had ratified the ILO Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention, 1958 (No. 111), which guaranteed equal opportunities in employment without distinction as to sex, race, religion, social origin or civil status.

The Ministry of Labour and Social Security had adopted regulations governing private employment agencies and related services in order to ensure the rights of jobseekers and workers and prevent abuses and illegal practices. In 2024, the Government, employers and workers had launched a tripartite consultation on the update of those regulations, incorporating equitable hiring principles and international standards. As part of that effort, the Government had developed an induction course to train private recruitment agents in the rules they must follow when providing services. The training covered relevant laws, including those on discrimination in employment. As of October 2025, there were 28 registered and licensed employment agencies in Honduras. The Government, in conjunction with international actors such as, ILO, IOM and the Government of Spain, had conducted multiple campaigns to combat fraud and trafficking in persons.

A representative of Honduras said that the State Party’s system for the return and reintegration of Honduran migrant children and adolescents was made up of the consular authorities, Centres for Migrant Returnees and, in particular, the Belén Child and Family Migrant Support Centre. Families were treated in a comprehensive, dignified and humane manner. Upon arrival in the country, they were referred to the Ministry for Children, Adolescents and the Family, which identified vulnerabilities and provided specialized assistance, including onward referral and follow-up. As part of that process, an analysis of the child’s family situation was conducted to determine which family members remained in the national territory and whether there was any likelihood of the child’s rights being violated upon return to the family unit. In 2025, the Ministry had successfully reunited 960 families, including 1,142 adults, 852 boys and 991 girls.

The National DNA Database System functioned with the cooperation of the Argentine Forensic Anthropology Team and the International Committee of the Red Cross. The Public Prosecution Service was responsible for data custody. Data could not be disclosed without the authorization of an inter-institutional team that included representatives of the National Registry Office, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Human Rights.

Following the decision by the Government of the United States to terminate temporary protected status, legal support was provided to Honduran nationals through the services of a law firm, while consular officials attended court hearings involving Honduran families in order to monitor and follow up on their cases. The consular service enjoyed good relations with the families and was working to respond to their requests and to identify their needs.

The Government was making good progress in its efforts to ensure the provision of comprehensive mental healthcare. A bill on mental health had been drafted but not yet submitted to the National Congress, while a mental health policy had been sent to the Office of the President and was pending approval. Half of the country’s 20 health regions had adopted a training scheme to strengthen primary healthcare that included a module on mental health.

Various initiatives were under way to promote the participation of the Honduran diaspora. One example was a project of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the National Autonomous University of Honduras to provide courses in eldercare and information and communications technology for Honduran nationals living in Spain and the United States. Another was the “Hondurans Connected” (Hondureños y Hondureñas Conectadas) development project to strengthen links between Hondurans living in the United States and their communities of origin.

Mr. Charef said that he had been pleased to note the statistical information that the delegation had provided during the dialogue, which highlighted the challenges and difficulties facing the State Party. The collection of reliable statistics was not easy but was necessary for the development of public policies consistent with international standards and for the evaluation of their outcomes.

The State Party was to be congratulated for its efforts to uphold the rights of migrants, including the adoption of numerous best practices. He wished to remind the State Party that, aside from being the subject of political speeches and controversies, migrants were human beings with individual destinies and that good governance was key to ensuring positive outcomes. Lastly, he invited the State Party to support the Committee in its efforts to persuade more countries to ratify the Convention.

Mr. Ceriani Cernadas, thanking the delegation for the dialogue, said that the Committee recognized that for decades the State Party had been suffering from profound structural problems in multiple dimensions. The circumstances were complicated, in particular, by the country’s location on the Meso-American migration route; the large number and the diversity of individuals travelling through its territory; organized crime, drug trafficking and violence in Mexico; and the tightening of immigration policies by the United States. He encouraged the State Party to address the challenges it faced by seeking rights-based solutions in the short, medium and long term. As the sacrifices of Honduran migrants and their families had resulted in a significant economic benefit for the country, it was fitting that the Government should strengthen policies for the protection of their rights.

Mr. Corzo Sosa said that, during the dialogue, the delegation had often mentioned the contributions that Honduras could make to the region and the wider world. He hoped that the Committee would be able to support that process by recognizing and promoting best practices.

He would be grateful if the State Party would give consideration to making the declarations provided for in articles 76 and 77 of the Convention, concerning, in particular, the Committee’s competence to receive individual communications. He also wished to remind the State Party that drafting legislation need not be a purely national process. The Committee was always willing to provide support for drafting processes, including by identifying provisions that were not in conformity with the Convention.

A representative of Honduras said that the Committee’s observations were a reminder that human dignity was an ethical imperative that should guide all public policies. Her delegation had described progress, challenges and ongoing efforts, recognized what needed to be changed and reaffirmed the Government’s determination to build a country where emigration was not the sole means of survival, but a free, informed and protected choice. However, that commitment could be sustained only by a fully effective democracy. For more than a decade, the country had been struggling under the weight of a democratic breakdown whose origins could be traced to external political interference, the manipulation of electoral processes and the imposition of illegitimate governments. As a result, inequality had increased, violence had worsened, the economy had weakened, and thousands of families had been forced to emigrate. The situation of migrant workers could not, therefore, be addressed without considering the structural causes that pushed them to leave, including fragile democracy. The Government had therefore set itself a historic task: restore democracy, ensure transparent elections and protect the sovereignty of the vote as the cornerstone of national dignity. Only a fully democratic State had the moral authority to demand respect for the rights of its people, both within its borders and beyond.

Honduras did not ask any indulgence: it asked for support; for the international community to recognize the threats to its institutions; for its self-determination to be respected; and for the Honduran people to be heard. In conclusion, her Government remained steadfast in its commitment to protect the country’s migrants and its democratic health, considering that a strong democracy would generate opportunities and deliver hope to the thousands of families who had been obliged to seek a future far from home.

The meeting rose at 6 p.m.