A/HRC/35/23/Add.1 creation of the Mission to Support the Fight against Corruption and Impunity in Honduras did not meet the expectations of the “indignados” movement.2 III. Legal and institutional framework for the protection of human rights A. Legal framework 7. The Honduran Constitution guarantees as inviolable the rights to life, dignity, physical, moral and mental integrity, and the right not to be subjected to torture or to cruel inhuman or degrading treatment. It also guarantees freedom of expression, movement, speech, thought, religion, assembly and association, and recognizes the writ of habeas corpus and the remedy of amparo. The Constitution provides for the creation of the National Human Rights Commission to guarantee the rights and freedoms recognized therein. Under the Constitution, international treaties ratified by the State form part of domestic law as soon as they enter into force, and shall prevail in case of conflict with domestic law.3 8. The Honduran Criminal Code was amended in 2011 to define the offences of torture, femicide, hate crimes against women and lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender persons, incitement to hatred and discrimination through the media. A further amendment in 2012 defined enforced disappearance as a specific offence. 9. In April 2015, the Congress enacted a law to protect human rights defenders, journalists and legal practitioners that led to the creation of a national system of protection, as described in section VII.D below. B. Role of the National Human Rights Commission 10. The National Human Rights Commission is mandated to receive complaints for human rights violations and provide recommendations to relevant authorities. Its presence is well established throughout the country’s 18 departments. Critics have noted the scarce budget of the Commission and the need to improve its independence and internal selection process. In 2011, the Commission was downgraded to B status by the Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions. 11. In view of its mandate, the National Human Rights Commission is ideally placed to lead policies in Honduras to better protect the right to life. Analysing developments in the country through the perspective of ensuring better protection for that right in a proactive way should be its main priority. During the visit, it was difficult to see concrete evidence of a close and systematic engagement in this field by the Commission. This is an underutilized resource in the struggle for the better protection of the right to life in Honduras. C. Human rights action plan and monitoring mechanisms 12. Honduras led a process of consultation to design and adopt its Public Policy and National Action Plan on Human Rights 2013-2022, which transforms into strategic action recommendations from civil society, the human rights treaty bodies and the truth and reconciliation commission. The action plan aims to mainstream a human rights perspective into all State actions. 13. Authorities informed the Special Rapporteur about the creation of the Observatory on Human Rights to monitor the implementation of the action plan and to assess progress 2 3 4 See www.amnesty.org/en/countries/americas/honduras/report-honduras/. See www.conaprev.gob.hn/index.php/biblioteca-virtual-pdf/send/19-leyes-de-interes/992constitucion-de-la-republica-de-honduras-actualizada-2014.