CASE N° HOND/02 - MIGUEL ANGEL PAVON SALAZAR - HONDURAS

Resolution adopted without a vote by the Inter-Parliamentary Council at its 161st session
(Cairo, 16 September 1997)

The Inter-Parliamentary Council,

Referring to the outline of the case, as contained in the report of the Committee on the Human Rights of Parliamentarians (CL/161/10(a)-R.1), and to the resolution adopted at its 160th session (April 1997) concerning the case of Mr. Miguel Angel Pavón Salazar, of Honduras,

Taking into account the communication from the Vice-President of the National Congress dated 23 June 1997 by which he conveyed a copy of a report of the Criminal Investigation Branch on the results of additional investigations, and the communication from the Office of the National Commissioner for Human Rights dated 8 September 1997,

Recalling that Mr. Pavón Salazar was shot dead on 14 January 1988; that the judicial investigations which established a link between his murder and evidence he gave in October 1987 before the Inter-American Court of Human Rights concerning " disappearances " came to a practical standstill until, in 1994, the Honduran National Commissioner for Human Rights published a report concluding that the investigations had not been carried out properly, thereby causing oversight of the investigation to be entrusted to the Special Prosecutor for Human Rights,

Recalling also that, despite this measure, no progress in the investigations was made by the competent investigating judge of the Third Criminal Court (Juzgado Tercero de Letras de lo Criminal), that finally, on 4 July 1996, the Criminal Investigation Branch of the Public Prosecutor's Office (DIC) resumed the investigations into the murder of Mr. Pavón Salazar and that it appointed two investigators to elucidate the circumstances of that murder,

Recalling further that, in their report of March 1997, they concluded that Jaime Rosales - already presumed to be implicated in the murder in the 1994 report of the National Human Rights Commissioner - and the then Lieutenant Mario Asdrubal Quiñones Aguilar were the culprits,

Recalling finally that, at the time, the DIC stated that the new investigation would give rise to the corresponding legal action and that, with the evidence that had come to light, the indictment would be lodged with the courts, its success depending, however, " as originally, on the collaboration extended in this different historical period by the Public Security Force and the Armed Forces in locating the presumed culprits and turning them over to the corresponding courts, since there are now a great many police and military personnel with warrants out for their arrest who are still evading justice ",

Considering that, as emerges from the DIC report conveyed by the Vice-President of the National Congress on 23 June 1997, the Special Human Rights Prosecutor and the Head of the DIC, in view of the evidence collected by the two DIC investigators, decided that before any indictment could be filed it was necessary to establish the veracity of the various testimonies collected and that, consequently, additional investigations were carried out which seemed to confirm that Lieutenant­Colonel Mario Asdrubal Quiñones Aguilar and Sergeant-Major Jaime Rosales alias Quico were indeed the presumed murderers,

Considering also that, according to the Office of the National Commissioner for Human Rights, as some data were still missing, no indictment has as yet been filed, the case filed under N° 6128 remaining pending before the Third Criminal Court,

Noting finally that, according to the Secretariat of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, the amicable settlement proceedings are still under way and the petitioner has requested a hearing for the Commission's next session, to be held from 29 September to 17 October 1997,

1. Reiterates its thanks to the Honduran authorities for their exemplary co-operation;

2. Notes that the Special Human Rights Prosecutor and the Head of the Criminal Investigation Department deemed it necessary to carry out additional investigations before an indictment could be filed;

3. Notes with regret that, contrary to earlier expectations, the evidence collected so far has not been sufficient for appropriate court action to be taken;

4. Earnestly hopes that the additional investigations which are apparently still under way will rapidly yield results permitting the filing of an indictment;

5. Remains hopeful that the coming judicial proceedings will finally restore the right to justice in this case;

6. Calls again on the Honduran civilian authorities, and in particular the Honduran Parliament, to take the necessary measures to ensure that the Public Security Force and the Armed Forces extend their co-operation to the judiciary and turn the presumed culprits over to the courts;

7. Trusts that the authorities will make every effort to guarantee the security of persons who gave testimony to the DIC investigators;

8. Emphasises once more that, in accordance with generally accepted standards of human rights, the families of victims are entitled to adequate material compensation, and notes that amicable settlement proceedings are under way in this respect before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights;

9. Requests the Secretary General to convey these considerations to the National Congress of Honduras and the competent authorities, requesting them to keep the Committee informed of progress in the relevant judicial proceedings;

10. Also requests the Secretary General to maintain contact with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights regarding this case;

11. Requests the Committee on the Human Rights of Parliamentarians to continue examining the case and report to it at its next session (April 1998).

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