RIGHTS OF LESBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL, TRANSGENDER AND INTERSEX PEOPLE The Senate supported bills which discriminated against LGBTI people; they were pending approval by the Chamber of Deputies at the end of the year. In July, the Senate voted for certificates to be issued which would vouch for an individual’s “good moral” standing and from which anyone deemed to be “homosexual” would be excluded. In August, it approved a law making same-sex marriage and public support or advocacy for “homosexuality” illegal. HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS Human rights defenders David Boniface and Juders Ysemé reported fearing for their lives following the sudden death in March of their colleague Nissage Martyr. He died a day after the three men filed a lawsuit in the USA against Jean Morose Viliena − former Mayor of Les Irois, their hometown in Haiti − for grave human rights violations. Jean Morose Viliena had fled to the USA from Haiti in 2009. The men said that they had been subjected to repeated death threats and to violent attacks by or on behalf of the former Mayor since 2007. However, the authorities did not implement adequate protection measures, although the InterAmerican Commission on Human Rights granted them precautionary measures to ensure their safety in 2015.2 Sanièce Petit Phat reported that she had received death threats because of her work in defence of the rights of women and girls.3 RIGHT TO EDUCATION In June, the UN Economic and Social Council Ad Hoc Advisory Group on Haiti criticized inefficiency in the education sector. It noted that most schools were privately managed, “making education an expensive, profit-based system” too expensive for many Haitian families. Illiteracy among over-15s was over 50%. Amnesty International Report 2017/18 1. Following political crisis Haiti must urgently advance human rights agenda (AMR 36/5899/2017) 2. Haiti: Human rights defenders’ lives in danger (AMR 36/6045/2017) 3. Haiti: Women’s rights defender threatened with death: Sanièce Petit Phat (AMR 36/7598/2017) HONDURAS Republic of Honduras Head of state and government: Juan Orlando Hernández Alvarado The level of insecurity and violence remained high. Widespread impunity continued to undermine public trust in the authorities and the justice system. Protests in the aftermath of the presidential election were brutally repressed by security forces. Honduras remained one of the most dangerous countries in the Americas region for human rights defenders, especially for those working to protect land, territory and the environment. The government announced the creation of a Ministry for Human Rights and Justice, to become operational in 2018. EXCESSIVE USE OF FORCE Mass protests, which began on 29 November around the country to denounce the lack of transparency around the presidential election, were brutally repressed by security forces. Hundreds of people were arrested or detained and a 10-day curfew was implemented in December. Security forces used excessive force against protesters, including with lethal weapons. At least 31 people were killed, and multiple cases of people being injured by firearms or brutally beaten by security forces were also reported, as well as cases that could amount to torture and other cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment. HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS Human rights defenders, particularly environmental and land activists, continued to be at risk of human rights abuses. They 185