Comité de Familiares de Detenidos Desaparecidos en Honduras
Encyclopedia
Committee of Relatives of the Disappeared in Honduras (COFADEH, Spanish: Comité de Familiares de Detenidos Desaparecidos en Honduras) is a human rights
NGO in Honduras
founded in 1982 by 12 families of disappeared
Hondurans, including Bertha Oliva de Nativí (also spelt: Berta, Olivia), whose husband Professor Tomás Nativí was disappeared
in 1981.
and military governments during the second half of the twentieth century. A civilian government was elected in 1981, but human rights violations continued. The military unit Battalion 3-16, which received training and support from the United States Central Intelligence Agency
both in Honduras
and at U.S. military bases and in Chile
during the presidency of the dictator Augusto Pinochet
., carried out political assassinations and torture
of suspected political opponents of the government. Amnesty International
estimated that at least 184 people were "disappeared"
during from 1980 to 1992 in Honduras, most likely by the Honduran military.
in 1982. At the end of the year, 12 families, including Bertha Oliva de Nativí, whose husband Professor Tomás Nativí was disappeared in 1981, created COFADEH.
COFADEH became a legally recognised organisation in 2001.
and followed." Amnesty International
states that Bertha Oliva received "two death threats" on 27 January 2009 and an "act of surveillance" on 11 March 2009.
On 22 September 2009, following the return of elected president Manuel Zelaya
to Honduras during the 2009 Honduran constitutional crisis
, 15 police under the responsibility of de facto president Roberto Micheletti
fired tear gas canisters at the COFADEH office in Tegucigalpa
, at a moment when about 100 people were in the COFADEH office. Amnesty International
stated that the attack occurred when a large number of people were at the COFADEH office to report human rights violations that had occurred earlier that day.
regarding whether or not Battalion 3-16 still existed. The COFADEH representative replied that Battalion 3-16 had taken various forms since 1979.
Human rights
Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...
NGO in Honduras
Honduras
Honduras is a republic in Central America. It was previously known as Spanish Honduras to differentiate it from British Honduras, which became the modern-day state of Belize...
founded in 1982 by 12 families of disappeared
Forced disappearance
In international human rights law, a forced disappearance occurs when a person is secretly abducted or imprisoned by a state or political organization or by a third party with the authorization, support, or acquiescence of a state or political organization, followed by a refusal to acknowledge the...
Hondurans, including Bertha Oliva de Nativí (also spelt: Berta, Olivia), whose husband Professor Tomás Nativí was disappeared
Forced disappearance
In international human rights law, a forced disappearance occurs when a person is secretly abducted or imprisoned by a state or political organization or by a third party with the authorization, support, or acquiescence of a state or political organization, followed by a refusal to acknowledge the...
in 1981.
Background
Honduras had a history of several coups d'etatCoup d'état
A coup d'état state, literally: strike/blow of state)—also known as a coup, putsch, and overthrow—is the sudden, extrajudicial deposition of a government, usually by a small group of the existing state establishment—typically the military—to replace the deposed government with another body; either...
and military governments during the second half of the twentieth century. A civilian government was elected in 1981, but human rights violations continued. The military unit Battalion 3-16, which received training and support from the United States Central Intelligence Agency
Central Intelligence Agency
The Central Intelligence Agency is a civilian intelligence agency of the United States government. It is an executive agency and reports directly to the Director of National Intelligence, responsible for providing national security intelligence assessment to senior United States policymakers...
both in Honduras
Honduras
Honduras is a republic in Central America. It was previously known as Spanish Honduras to differentiate it from British Honduras, which became the modern-day state of Belize...
and at U.S. military bases and in Chile
Chile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
during the presidency of the dictator Augusto Pinochet
Augusto Pinochet
Augusto José Ramón Pinochet Ugarte, more commonly known as Augusto Pinochet , was a Chilean army general and dictator who assumed power in a coup d'état on 11 September 1973...
., carried out political assassinations and torture
Torture
Torture is the act of inflicting severe pain as a means of punishment, revenge, forcing information or a confession, or simply as an act of cruelty. Throughout history, torture has often been used as a method of political re-education, interrogation, punishment, and coercion...
of suspected political opponents of the government. Amnesty International
Amnesty International
Amnesty International is an international non-governmental organisation whose stated mission is "to conduct research and generate action to prevent and end grave abuses of human rights, and to demand justice for those whose rights have been violated."Following a publication of Peter Benenson's...
estimated that at least 184 people were "disappeared"
Forced disappearance
In international human rights law, a forced disappearance occurs when a person is secretly abducted or imprisoned by a state or political organization or by a third party with the authorization, support, or acquiescence of a state or political organization, followed by a refusal to acknowledge the...
during from 1980 to 1992 in Honduras, most likely by the Honduran military.
Creation
According to COFADEH, people from 69 families in Honduras were disappearedForced disappearance
In international human rights law, a forced disappearance occurs when a person is secretly abducted or imprisoned by a state or political organization or by a third party with the authorization, support, or acquiescence of a state or political organization, followed by a refusal to acknowledge the...
in 1982. At the end of the year, 12 families, including Bertha Oliva de Nativí, whose husband Professor Tomás Nativí was disappeared in 1981, created COFADEH.
COFADEH became a legally recognised organisation in 2001.
Aims
COFADEH states that its original aim was to get back their disappeared family members alive. It says that this has been achieved in some cases, but not for the majority. It claims that "between 1980 and 1989 at least 184 persons disappeared without any investigation carried out by the state nor with any conviction of [those] responsible." Since then it has extended its aims to include other severe violations of human rights, promotion and education of human rights, and "investigation and legal documentation of cases".Threats against COFADEH members
COFADEH states that Bertha Oliva de Nativi, other members of COFADEH and their families have "been a target of constant threats", stating that "Almost all of them have received threats, some have been assaulted, kidnappedKidnapping
In criminal law, kidnapping is the taking away or transportation of a person against that person's will, usually to hold the person in false imprisonment, a confinement without legal authority...
and followed." Amnesty International
Amnesty International
Amnesty International is an international non-governmental organisation whose stated mission is "to conduct research and generate action to prevent and end grave abuses of human rights, and to demand justice for those whose rights have been violated."Following a publication of Peter Benenson's...
states that Bertha Oliva received "two death threats" on 27 January 2009 and an "act of surveillance" on 11 March 2009.
On 22 September 2009, following the return of elected president Manuel Zelaya
Manuel Zelaya
José Manuel Zelaya Rosales is a politician who was President of Honduras from January 27, 2006 until June 28, 2009. The eldest son of a wealthy businessman, he inherited his father's nickname "Mel," and, before entering politics, was involved in his family's logging and timber businesses.Elected...
to Honduras during the 2009 Honduran constitutional crisis
2009 Honduran constitutional crisis
The 2009 Honduran constitutional crisis was a political dispute over plans to rewrite the Constitution of Honduras, which culminated in a coup d'état against Honduran President Manuel Zelaya by the Honduran military...
, 15 police under the responsibility of de facto president Roberto Micheletti
Roberto Micheletti
Roberto Micheletti Baín is a former de facto president of Honduras who served as a result of the 2009 coup d'état. The Honduran military was ordered by the Supreme Court to forcefully detain President Manuel Zelaya once the Court stated he was violating the Honduran constitution; Zelaya was exiled...
fired tear gas canisters at the COFADEH office in Tegucigalpa
Tegucigalpa
Tegucigalpa , and commonly referred as Tegus , is the capital of Honduras and seat of government of the Republic, along with its twin sister Comayagüela. Founded on September 29, 1578 by the Spanish, it became the country's capital on October 30, 1880 under President Marco Aurelio Soto...
, at a moment when about 100 people were in the COFADEH office. Amnesty International
Amnesty International
Amnesty International is an international non-governmental organisation whose stated mission is "to conduct research and generate action to prevent and end grave abuses of human rights, and to demand justice for those whose rights have been violated."Following a publication of Peter Benenson's...
stated that the attack occurred when a large number of people were at the COFADEH office to report human rights violations that had occurred earlier that day.
Interactions with international human rights organisations
COFADEH was interviewed in June 2002 by the United Nations High Commissioner for RefugeesUnited Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees , also known as The UN Refugee Agency is a United Nations agency mandated to protect and support refugees at the request of a government or the UN itself and assists in their voluntary repatriation, local integration or resettlement to...
regarding whether or not Battalion 3-16 still existed. The COFADEH representative replied that Battalion 3-16 had taken various forms since 1979.