Top 10 Issues/Proposals

Karolina: http://karosweet.blogspot.com/

• In Ivory Coast, the ex-president did not want to leave power and sent forces to burning villages, bombing presidential houses and even killing and raping civilians. Civilians are living extreme conditions without shleter and food, very difficult circumstances. This country is in major help of the United Nations to come and help with the circumstances taking place and take action to stop what is going on and provide refugee assistance.

Airined: http://airi05.blogspot.com/

• In Libya, the government of a dictatorship is making the whole country suffer. People have basically no rights and can do nothing against the government because otherwise they will be sentenced to death. This is unacceptable, the United Nations has to step in and protect the protests without any violence from the government. Libya needs freedom from the dictatorship and a new democratic government.

Luis Carlos: http://luis-carlos517.blogspot.com/

• Haiti is a very poor country, the poorest in the western hemisphere. It never had a stable government and the little rich people there is control most of the wealth. The earthquake haiti experienced last year made the country even more devastating. The United Nations definitely helped after the earthquake destroyed everything but it needs to halp Haiti build itself back together. And a stable democratic government needs to take place for the country to get out of debt and be stronger.

Lizbedy: http://lizlinviolet.blogspot.com/

• Indonesia is facing many human rights issues; there is no freedom of religion and military are abusing civilians. The United Nations should provide military support and refugee assitance to help the government and the economical problems in Indonesia.

Adriana: http://whumanrights.blogspot.com/

• Tibet has always suffered because China wants them to be part of China and not a separate country. Freedom is needed for Tibet because the Chinese are trying to get rid off everything they believe in, including costumes, cultture, and religion. The United Nations needs to join forces with Tibet to make the Chinese back off and let Tibet be a free country.

Gustavo: http://italy-italia-buongiornoprincipessa.blogspot.com/

• In Italy there is a lot of racism taking place and with this comes violence, crime, and discrimination. The government is doing absolutely nothing to stop it, here's when the United Nations can come in and help although racism is a problem that requires self-acceptance or at least tolerance.

Miguel C.: http://miguelwhblog.blogspot.com/

• Somalia is facing issues with police and militia violence and corruption. They need a stable government that can help them get past all these issues and killing occuring. The United Nations needs to send peacemakers and protect innocent civilians from this violence.

Natalia O.: http://mailyn12.blogspot.com/

• People  of Syria are protesting against the government because of the police and government. All they want is to have a stable democracy.

John: http://johnwh10b.blogspot.com/

• Women in India are being discriminated, mistreated, and have almost no rights. Murders are even occurring. Women should be treated as equal as men and be involved in whatever position they want to be in. United Nations should be sent as peacemakers.

Angelica H.: http://sudanhumanrights-hw.blogspot.com/

• Sudan is facing problems with racism, unequalness, and abuse. the government is abusing people and basically not giving them freedom of speech. The United Nations has to take action and provide civilians with safety and provide peaceful protests against the government.

My Proposal

In Honduras, recently, there have been murders or homicides of transgender women. This is a serious problem because it is violating article 7 in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Transgender women are not treated equal because of different points of view of the people in the country, therefore they are being killed because of discrimination. This is a situation where the United Nations needs to stand up and do something about it. They have to get involved because innocent people are being killed simply because of their sexual orientation.

The first thing that must be changed is the government. If they aren't doing anything to stop it, then they are not doing what they are supposed to, lead the country and its people on to the right path. They are supposed to represent each and every individual as a whole, not as transgendered and/or Honduran. The government has to make a bigger effort to find the people committing these crimes. They have to pay for their crimes. Because it is not fair that innocent lives are being killed because of who they are.

What I think that the U.N. should do is promote equality and have seminars to help people understand what a transgendered person is and what they go through. Because it takes a lot of courage for a lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender person to come out and show off their true selves. This way citizens of Honduras can try to understand and accept their way of being. They don't necessarily need to accept them, but at least tolerate the fact that they are like that. Because it is plain discrimination to kill a person just because they are "different". And sometimes I think religion gives this point of view to many people, saying that it is wrong.

In conclusion, this issue of killing transgendered women has to stop in order for the country of Honduras to move forward and be a better country. The issue of killing these people is something that is affecting the country, it is eliminating what makes Honduras unique! It is also giving the country a bad reputation of intolerance and discrimination toward the LGBT community. This problem has to be solved as soon as possible because these people cannot live in fear of being themselves.

Hondura's Human Rights Issues!

The Human Rights Watch recently, in January, wrote a letter to President Porfirio Lobo Sosa saying that an issue from 2009 has been repeated in the last two months. In 2009, there were reports of violence towards transgender people because of their sexual orientation. Since then there have been 34 reported homicides of members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community, particularly of transgender women.

The Human Rights Watch called the Presidents attention because what is happening are not accidents. In the last two months there have been six murders of transgender women. The women have been tortured before being killed and no arrest has been taken by the police in these crimes. Honduras is a party to the Internation Convenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), which affirms the equality of all people. The UN Rights Committee concluded that Honduras must take action to adopt legal policies to protect its most vulnerable groups and investigate the violence and abuse. They also called on Honduras to investigate and prosecute those responsible. Honduras has to fulfill the promise of equality and non-discrimination.

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights:
Article 7. All are equal before the law and are entitled without any discrimination to equal protection of the law. All are titled to equal protection against any discrimination in violation of this Declaration and against any incitement to such discrimination.

I personally give a lot of thought and criticism when it comes to this problem. Lesbians, gays, bisexuals, and transgender people are no different than the rest of the people. This is an act racism and discrimination, and others should know about this problem that is happening in the country of Honduras. This is totally unacceptable, and all the people from the LGBT community are scared to be themselves, thinking they could be killed in the streets. This kind of discrimination happens all the time because some people (extremists) from religions take things to a whole new level. This is a serious problem the country of Honduras is facing and needs to stop, and the people that are committing these crimes need to pay the price.

Murder of Transgender Women
BBC News
Investigations

Hondura's - Background History

Every country has a history that has lead to how the country is today; Honduras is no different. They have been colonized and have had conflicts with neighboring countries. Honduras was originally inhabited by different indigenous people, including Mayans, Lencas, and Tol, before the Spanish arrived and colonized in 1502. Columbus named the region "Honduras", meaning great depth, because of the deep water off the coast.

Honduras, along with four other Central American nations, gained independence from Spain in 1821. Honduras first became part of an independent Mexico and went on to join the newly formed United Provinces of Central America. however, this did't last long due to social and economic difference between Honduras and neighboring countries; the federation collapsed in 1838. General Francisco Morazan, an Honduran national hero, led unsuccessful efforts to maintain the federation. But Honduras left the Central American Federation in October 1838 and became independent.

Since its independence, Honduras has struggled internal rebellions, civil wars, changes in government, etc... In the 1900s, Honduras' agricultural economy was dominated by U.S. companies established in the country. Dictator Tiburcio Carias Andino controlled Honduras during these years of the Great Depression since 1932. A Liberal Party ruled from 1957-1963. In October 1963, conservative military officers exiled the Liberal Party and governed until 1970.

In 1969, Honduran government departed approximately 300,000 undocumented Salvadoran immigrants in Honduras. Tensions soon began with these two countries and El Salvador was overpopulated. During a soccer match in the preliminary of the World Cup, Salvadorans were killed. El Salvador decided to invade Honduras in what is called the Soccer War.  By threatening economic sanctions an military intervention, the Organization of American States (OAS) induced El Salvador to withdraw.

In October 1998, Hurricane Mitch devastated Honduras, leaving 13,000 people dead and 2 million homeless. This lead the country to poverty and caused more than $5 billion in damage. Honduras and Nicaragua had tensions in 2000 and 2001 because of maritime boundary dispute, but the relationship has improved. In 2002, president Ricardo Maduro promised to lessen corruption and crime but these problems didn't improve. In 2009, President Manuel Zelayas was disposed in a military coup, bringing instability to the country.

All these problems that have happened in Hondura's history is what has lead this country to so much poverty. These problems are being treated and you could say they have improved but they are still there. This is something that will not go away in a blink of an eye, these problems will take time to get better.

Honduran History Links:
http://www.honduras.com/history/
http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0107616.html?pageno=3
http://www.honduras-information.hotelhonduras.com/Honduras-History.htm



Celebration of Culture! :)

Language and Religion

Honduras' main language is Español (Spanish). Only a few people speak English and are considered bilingual. Some ethnic groups also have their own language, like for example the Tolupan speak the "Tol" tongue. Most Hondurans are members of the Roman Catholic Church. Catholicism has always been the strongest religion in the country. But there is a 3% of Protestant and recently Evangelism has become popular.

Traditions

Hondurans have some traditions in common with us. They celebrate Christmas, but for them it is a time of year with a lot of religious meaning. They spend time with their families and pray before midnight. Then it is time to eat! For Hondurans, the Christmas meal is very important and they spend days several days to prepare it. They serve typical Latin-American meals like tamales, torrejas, sweet potato puree, eggnog, roast ham, etc...

Honurans also have a special way to end the year. Children make a life-size doll of an old man, representing el Año Viejo. They decorate it and dress it up with old clothes and stuff it with firecrackers. At the stroke of midnight, the Año Viejo is set alight and everybody gathers around to see. This symbolizes "burning out" all the bad memories of the outgoing year.

Easter, also known as Semana Santa is also very important to Hondurans because most of them are Catholics. They celebrate it with religious parades. For birthday parties, especially kids', the tradition are piñatas. Kids gather with their fiends, have a meal, and then with a wooden stick, kids swing at the piñata, usually they are blindfolded. Kids love these because it is a lot of fun and they love the candy and chocolates that the piñata has inside.

Music, Dance, and Art

The Punta is originally from Honduras. It is the name of a very popular music in Honduras, but some say that it is very difficult to dance. They only dance it with their feet and the back of their bodies; this dance can get you very tired. Here is a video of the Punta dance in Honduras. In the background you can also hear the music. Hope you like it!

The historic evolution of the Honduran paintings can be put in four categories: The Pre-hispanic Era, The Colonial Era, The Post-independent Era, and The Liberal Post-Reform. Jose R. Ruiz (1838 - 1913), was an Honduran painter. He was the father of the
famous Pablo Picasso. His creative style paintings
 intrigued myriads.

Etiquette and Food

Honduran men greet each other by shaking hands. Women greet each other by kissing on the cheek, if they don't know each other then they shake hands as to say hello. men greet women by shaking hands unless they are good friends, then they kiss on the cheek and hug.

Honduran communication is very friendly and they are also very helpful.

Honduras has very strong gender roles. Women usually take care of the household, and the men do everything else.

Honduran food is first tortillas. Tortillas for Hondurans is like bread for us; they eat it every single day. Another thing they eat a lot are beans. The typical food for them includes totilla and beans. Rice is also a food that are in all plate specials. Honduran food is also always served with a salad on the side, usually shredded cabbage. Fish is also very common in Honduras, usually from North Coast or Bay islands.

A typical meal for Honduras:

• Breakfast: Scrambled eggs, beans, and tortillas.
• Typical Meal: Includes Rice, beans, tortillas, grilled meat, and a salad.
• It is also very common to have fresh fish, shrimp, lobster, or conch.

For more recipes you can visit: http://sidewalkmystic.com/Honduras_Recipes_Food.htm

Here you can see: Baleadas, Conch Soup with Vegetables, and Honduran Breakfast.

Language, Religion, and Traditions

Music and Dance

Food



Honduras - Country Overview

For my Human Rights Around the World Project, I have to find some information about Honduras! I really have no idea what this country is about or how it is, but this is one of the reasons why I decided to pick Honduras for my project. So let's just see what I can learn from Honduras, just some basic facts about it :)

Location: Central America, bordering the Caribbean Sea, between Guatemala and Nicaragua and bordering the Gulf of Fonseca (North Pacific Ocean), between El Salvador and Nicaragua.

Geography: Mostly mountains in interior, narrow coastal plains.

Capital City: Tegucigalpa.

Population: The current population of Honduras is 8,143, 564 people.

Current government type: Democratic constitutional republic. Is divided into Executive, Legislative and Judicial branches. The president is Porfirio LOBO Sosa.

Education and Literacy Rates: Students of Honduras have an average of 3.8% of GDP. Children of age 15 and over can read and write. The total population: 80%

Languages: Spanish (official), Amerindian dialects

Religions: Roman Catholic 97%, Protestant 3%

Birth Rates: 25.14 births/1,000 population.

Death Rates: 5.02 deaths/1,000 population.

Life Expectancy: The life expectancy is 70.61 years.

Ethnic Groups: Mestizo (mixed Amerindian and European) 90%, Amerindian 7%, Black 2%, White 1%

Legal System: Rooted in Roman and Spanish civil law with increasing influence of English common law; recent judicial reforms include abandoning Napoleonic legal codes in favor of the oral adversarial system; accepts ICJ jurisdiction with reservations.

Suffrage (voting rights): 18 years of age; universal and compulsory

Unemployment Rate: 5.1%

Population below poverty line: 65%

Industries: Sugar, coffee, woven and knit apparel, wood products, cigars

Communications:
Telephones (main lines in use): 830,000
Telephones (mobile cellular): 7.714 million
Internet country code: .hn
Internet users: 731,700

Military Service:

Military Braches: Army, Navy (includes Naval Infantry), Honduran Air Force (Fuerza Aerea Hondurena, FAH)

Military Service Age and Obligation: 18 years of age for voluntary 2 to 3 year military service.

CIA World Factbook