,i #aadth ,,congress #b;d ,session ,h4 ,r4 #edgd ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of ,,representatives ,june #ad1 #bjaf ,mr4 ,johnson of ,georgia 7for himself1 ,mr4 ,conyers1 ,ms4 ,kaptur1 ,mr4 ,ellison1 ,mr4 ,serrano1 and ,ms4 ,schakowsky7 introduced the following bill2 which was referred to the ,committee on ,foreign ,affairs1 and in addition to the ,committee on ,financial ,services1 for a period to be subsequently determined by the ,speaker1 in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned ,a ,,bill ,to suspend ,united ,states security assistance with ,honduras until such time as human rights violations by ,honduran security forces cease and their perpetrators are brought to justice4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,berta ,cceres ,human ,rights in ,honduras ,act4 #b4 ,findings ,the ,congress finds the following3 7#a7 ,the ,honduran police are widely established to be deeply corrupt and commit human rights abuses1 including torture1 rape1 illegal detention1 and murder1 with impunity4 7#b7 ,the ,new ,york ,times revealed documents on ,april #ae indicating that top officials of the ,honduran police ordered the killings of drug-crime investigators ,julin ,arstides ,gonzles and ,alfredo ,landaverde in #bjji and #bjaa1 respectively1 with the subsequent knowledge of top police and1 evidently1 high-ranking government officials4 ,the ,times suggested in a subsequent article that the revelations were being manipulated by the ,president of ,honduras for his own corrupt purposes4 7#c7 ,individuals in the police with documented records of having committed gross human abuses with impunity continue to be appointed to top positions within the police4 7#d7 ,international human rights bodies have reported that the ,honduran military and police commit human rights abuses1 including killings1 with impunity4 ,the ,associated ,press has documented death squad activity by police4 ,human ,rights ,watch reports3 ,the use of lethal force by the national police is a chronic problem4 ,investigations into the police abuses are marred by inefficiency and corruption1 little information about them is made public2 and impunity is the rule44 7#e7 ,the ,department of ,state's ,honduran ,human ,rights ,report for #bjaf reports3 ,impunity remains a serious problem1 with prosecution in cases of military and police officials charged with human rights violations moving too slowly or remaining inconclusive44 7#f7 ,repeated efforts to clean up the ,honduran police have failed4 7#g7 ,human ,rights ,action documented the ,fifteenth ,battalion of the ,honduran ,armed ,forces allegedly participated with police and private security forces in some of the killings of over #ajj small-farmer activists in the ,agun ,valley beginning in #bjjj4 ,human ,rights ,watch confirms that the killings of ,agun farmers were met with no consequences4 7#h7 ,further examples abound of human rights abuses by the military3 in ,july #bjac members of the ,armed ,forces shot and killed ,toms ,garca1 a ,lenca ,indigenous activist1 and injured his son while they were peacefully protesting a dam project2 in ,may #bjad1 nine members of the ,ninth ,infantry reportedly tortured and killed ,amado ,maradiaga ,quiroz and tortured his son1 ,milton ,noe ,maradiaga ,varela4 ,the cases remain unresolved4 ,in a recent emblematic case1 on ,december #bg1 #bjae1 the ,honduran ,navy reportedly killed ,joel ,palacios ,lino and ,elvis ,armando ,garca1 two ,garfuna ,afro-,indigenous men who were engaged in digging a car out of the sand on a beach4 7#i7 ,the current ,government of ,honduras has expanded the military's reach into domestic policing1 including the creation of a #c1jjj-member ,military ,police in clear violation of the ,honduran constitution and with disastrous results1 including the killings of a #ae-year-old boy1 ,ebed ,yanes1 in #bjab and a student1 ,erlin ,misael ,caras ,moncada1 in #bjad1 after they had passed unarmed through checkpoints4 ,since the creation of the ,military ,police allegations of human rights abuses by the military have increased notably1 reports ,human ,rights ,watch4 7#aj7 ,the ,honduran judicial system has been widely documented to be rife with corruption4 ,judges1 prosecutors and other officials are interconnected with organized crime and drug traffickers1 contributing to near-complete immunity4 7#aa7 ,the ,department of ,state in its #bjae ,human ,rights ,report for ,honduras reports corruption1 intimidation1 and institutional weakness of the justice system leading to widespread impunity44 7#ab7 ,summarizing the situation1 ,human ,rights ,watch reports in #bjaf that ,rampant crime and impunity for human rights abuses remain the norm in ,honduras ''' ,efforts to reform the institutions responsible for providing public security have made little progress4 ,marred by corruption and abuse1 the judiciary and police remain largely ineffective44 7#ac7 ,the ,march #c1 #bjaf1 assassination of prominent ,lenca ,indigenous and environmental activist ,berta ,cceres1 world-renowned recipient of the #bjae ,goldman ,environmental ,prize for her work defending ,indigenous land rights against a hydroelectric dam project1 illustrates the human rights crisis in ,honduras1 and the deep complicity of the ,honduran government4 ,cceres1 the leader of ,,copinh1 the ,council of ,indigenous and ,popular ,organizations of ,honduras1 had reported to authorities #cc threats previous to her killing1 but none had been investigated1 and the government had failed to provide adequate protection measures as mandated by the ,inter-,american ,commission on ,human ,rights1 with protection by ,honduran security being withdrawn the day of her death4 7#ad7 ,five suspects have been arrested in the killing of ,cceres1 one of whom is a current officer in the military and two others are retired military4 ,these arrests raise serious questions about the role of the ,honduran military in her assassination1 including the chain of command within the military as well as the identity of the true authors of the assassination4 7#ae7 ,despite calls from #fb ,members of ,congress1 members of the family of ,berta ,cceres1 ,,copinh1 leaders of the ,european ,union1 the ,vatican ,pontifical ,council on ,peace and ,justice1 and many others1 the ,honduran government has not permitted the ,inter-,american ,commission on ,human rights to conduct an independent investigation of the case4 7#af7 ,in this context of corruption and human rights abuses1 trade unionists1 journalists1 lawyers1 ,afro-,indigenous activists1 ,indigenous activists1 small-farmer activists1 ,,lgbti activists1 human rights defenders1 and critics of the government remain at severe risk2 and previous human rights abuses against them remain largely unpunished4 7#ag7 ,the ,may #b1 #bjaf1 shooting of prominent opposition journalist ,flix ,molina illustrates the continued risk facing activists4 ,hours before he was shot1 ,molina had posted information potentially linking ,cceres's killing to a top government official1 members of an elite family1 and one of the prosecutors in the case4 7#ah7 ,the #bjaf ,appropriations ,act allocates approximately #ah1jjj1jjj to the ,honduran police and military1 in addition to funding in the #bjaf ,national ,defense ,appropriations ,act2 the ,president's funding request for fiscal year #bjag calls for an increase in security funding for ,honduras4 7#ai7 ,the ,inter-,american ,development ,bank in #bjab lent #ei1hjj1jjj to the ,honduran police1 with the ,united ,states approval4 #c4 ,suspension and restrictions of security aid extended to ,republic of ,honduras unless certain conditions have been met 7a7 ,suspension of security assistance ,no funds may be made available to the ,republic of ,honduras for the police and military1 including funds for equipment and training4 7b7 ,loans from multilateral development banks ,the ,department of the ,treasury shall be instructed to vote no on any and all loans to the ,republic of ,honduras for its police and military4 #d4 ,conditions for lifting suspensions and restrictions ,the provisions of this ,act shall terminate on the date on which the ,department of ,state determines and certifies to the appropriate congressional committees that the ,government of ,honduras has-- 7#a7 pursued all legal avenues to bring to trial and obtain a verdict of those who ordered and carried out-- 7,a7 the ,march #b1 #bjaf1 murder of ,berta ,cceres2 7,b7 the killings of over #ajj small-farmer activists in the ,agun ,valley2 7,c7 the ,december #bg1 #bjae1 killings of ,joel ,palacios ,lino and ,elvis ,armando ,garca2 and 7,d7 the ,may #c1 #bjaf1 armed attack on ,flix ,molina2 7#b7 investigated and successfully prosecuted members of military and police forces who are credibly found to have violated human rights1 and ensured that the military and police cooperated in such cases1 and that such violations have ceased2 7#c7 withdrawn the military from domestic policing1 in accordance with the ,honduran ,constitution1 and ensured that all domestic police functions are separated from the command and control of the ,armed ,forces of ,honduras and are instead directly responsible to civilian authority2 7#d7 established that it protects effectively the rights of trade unionists2 journalists2 human rights defenders2 ,indigenous1 ,afro-,indigenous1 small-farmer1 and ,,lgbti activists2 critics of the government2 and other civil society activists to operate without interference2 and 7#e7 taken effective steps to fully establish the rule of a law and to guarantee a judicial system that is capable of investigating1 prosecuting1 and bringing to justice members of the police and military who have committed human rights abuses4