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InterAmerican Commission to Review War on Youth Gangs
Honduras, El Salvador
and Guatemala have established repressive measures against youth gangs,
yet the countries do not offer children the opportunities to which they
have a right as an alternative to prevent their involvement in these gangs.
Casa Alianza and CEJIL (the Center for Justice and International Law)
will present their concerns for the manner in which these countries are
violating the human rights of thousands of children now jailed as criminals
for simply bearing a tattoo, before the Inter American Commission of Human
Rights this Wednesday, March, 3rd at 12 noon in a closed session in Washington
D.C.
Casa Alianza is an independent, non-profit organization dedicated to the
rehabilitation and defense of street children in Guatemala, Honduras,
Mexico, Nicaragua and Costa Rica. Casa Alianza is the Latin American branch
of the New York-based Covenant House.
"We consider that the new anti-gang laws approved by Honduras and El Salvador,
and being considered by Guatemala, are contrary to the rights of children
as defined by the American Convention on Human Rights. Furthermore, countries
should be taking the measures needed in order to give the children opportunities
not jail them without evidence other than a tattoo", said Bruce Harris,
Regional Director for Latin American Programs of Casa Alianza.
According to local authorities 60,500 people, including many children,
belong to gangs in Central American countries. In Honduras, it is estimated
that the "maras" (the Spanish term for youth gangs) have 36,000 members,
65% of the total in Central America. There are 14,000 in Guatemala, 10,500
in El Salvador, 4,500 in Nicaragua, 2,600 in Costa Rica, 1,385 in Panama
and 100 in Belize.
The new "anti-gang" laws allow the arrest and detention of anybody for
simply being a member of the gang, often "proven" by the child having
a tattoo with the name of the gang. They can be sentenced to up to five
years in jail for elicit association.
"The Presidents of Honduras and El Salvador have said that all the gang
members are murderers, thieves and rapists. There are laws against murder,
theft and rape, so why - if they are so certain - do they not investigate
the perpetrators and judge them under the current law? The anti-gang laws
lower the level of proof that the government needs to lock up a child
to simply having a tattoo", stated Harris.
Yet, contrary to the political justification, the measures have not been
effective in fighting violence. The number of executions of children and
youth under 23 years old in those countries has not decreased. Five hundred
and fifty seven children and youth under the age of 23 were murdered in
Honduras in 2003, eight more than in 2002. Last year, 747 children and
youth were murdered in Guatemala, 229 of them under the age of 18.
Authorities have said that "maras" committed the majority of the country's
crimes, but investigations remain inconclusive. Casa Alianza has
been following the cases and has asked for the prosecution of the responsible
parties, but most of them have not come to trial or conviction.
Extrajudicial Executions in Honduras
Another case to be studied by the Inter American Commission this week
in Washington presented by Casa Alianza and CEJIL is know as "Los Cuatro
Puntos Cardinales" (Four Cardinal Points). Marco Antonio Servellon Garcia
(15), Rony Alexis Betancourt Hernandez (17), Diomedes Obed García (19)
and Orlando Alvarez Rios (32) were illegally detained in September 1995
and transferred to police cells in Tegucigalpa.
According to witnesses, several Honduran police officers took the young
men out of their cells during the early hours of the morning and hours
later, their tortured bodies were found in the four different points of
the city. Forensic evidence showed that the same weapon killed all four
youth.
The First Criminal Court in Honduras refused to order the capture of the
police who took the youth from the police cells claiming that the witnesses
were "common delinquents".
"This is the first of hundreds of cases of extra judicial executions of
children and youth that Casa Alianza plans to present before the Inter
American Commission on Human Rights in the next year. Governments in Honduras
have had the chance to do stop the murder of children and prosecute the
murderers, but they have chosen not to do so. Their inaction is a violation
of the human rights of children", said the British Harris.
On Thursday, March 4th, at 11:15 am, the Commission will analyze a series
of cases that Casa Alianza has brought against the State of Guatemala
which are in the process of "friendly settlements". In these cases, the
State of Guatemala has recognized their responsibility in the violation
of the child victim's rights under the American Convention and has agreed
to compensate the families of the victims.
One such case occurred on September 20th, 1994, when 12-year-old street
boy Marcos Fidel Quisquinay Concua, who washed cars and took care of his
blind grandmother, was working outside a restaurant in Zone 15, Guatemala
City. As he was begging for something to eat, two unidentified men gave
him a bag, seemingly containing food. But inside the bag was a hand grenade
that exploded as the boy was holding it and blew him to pieces. The case
was never properly investigated.
Other cases to be heard by the Inter American Commission this week
The Commission may pronounce regarding the case Bruce Harris has brought
against the State of Guatemala regarding the violation of his freedom
of speech in that country as a result of his having spoken out publicly
about illegal adoptions. The Guatemalan Constitutional Court ruled that
only journalists have freedom of speech, in clear violation of the individual
and universal rights under the American Convention on Human Rights.
On Thursday, March 4th, the Commission will hear a case brought by Casa
Alianza and CEJIL against the State of Nicaragua regarding the illegal
detention of children in police cells in Nicaragua.
Casa Alianza and CEJIL will also present a new case to the Inter American
Commission on Human Rights regarding international adoptions in Guatemala.
The much-questioned Guatemalan Judicial system violated a biological father's
right to participate in the abandonment process of his son, having been
excluded from the process. His son, who is now living with adoptive parents
in the United States, was taken from his biological family in a process
that has been declared illegal.
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For more information, please contact Casa Alianza in Costa Rica +506-253-5439
or media@casa-alianza.org Arrangements can be made for interviews
with Bruce Harris, the Regional Director for Latin American Programs,
and Arturo Echeverria, the National Director of Casa Alianza Guatemala,
whilst in Washington from Monday through Friday.
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