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

Resolution adopted without a vote by the Inter-Parliamentary Council
at its 163rd session (Moscow, 12 September 1998)

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/163/12(a)-R.1), and to the resolution adopted at its 162nd session (April 1998) concerning the case of Mr. Miguel Angel Pavón Salazar, of Honduras,

Taking account of the letter from the Vice-President of the Human Rights Commission of the National Congress, dated 29 April 1998,

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; that after having long remained unproductive, the judicial investigation was relaunched on 4 July 1996 by the Criminal Investigation Branch (DIC) of the Prosecutor General's Office, bringing new evidence to light,

Considering that in April 1998 the Court of San Pedro Sula issued arrest warrants against the presumed culprits, Colonel Mario Asdrubal Quiñones and Sergeant-Major Jaime Rosales, and that the former has been in preventive detention in the 105th Infantry Brigade since 28 April 1998, whereas an arrest warrant could not be served on the latter since he is living in the United States of America,

1. Is gratified to learn that the investigation into the murder of Mr. Pavón has yielded tangible results, and trusts that the legal proceedings will make it possible to establish the facts and responsibilities and to punish the culprits accordingly, thus restoring the right to justice in this case;
2. Pays tribute to the National Congress for its diligence and for its decisive role in relaunching and activating the investigation, thereby assuming its responsibility of ensuring that this assassination of one of its members does not go unpunished and guaranteeing respect for the human rights of all its members and the people they represent; requests the National Group of Honduras to keep the Committee informed of any developments in the judicial proceedings under way;
3. Re-emphasises that, in accordance with generally accepted standards of human rights, victims of human rights violations are entitled to adequate material compensation, and wishes to ascertain the stage reached in the amicable settlement proceedings under way in this respect before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights;
4. Requests the Secretary General to convey this resolution to the authorities and to maintain contact with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights;
5. Requests the Committee on the Human Rights of Parliamentarians to continue examining the case and report to it at its next session (April 1999).

Note: you can download a complete electronic version of the brochure "Results of the 100th Conference and related meetings of the Inter-Parliamentary Union" in PDF format (file size approximately 570K). This version requires Adobe Acrobat Reader, which you can download free of charge.