In the first place, I would like to say that in the last few years the state of Honduras has not shown any policy of human rights violations, like we saw during the last century. The state has also recognized that there has been infiltration of different sectors, like the police, for example, and in that respect the state has had to take measures related to how to proceed with the investigation of human rights violations.
The main aspect of these processes is that we have proceeded to do a cleanout of the police services. We have created a special unit of investigation, and also for development of careers in the police. There has been a reform of the public safety sector, and the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights has also been created as a new ministry by this government to provide answers to the issues related to human rights.
This year we've seen the publication of a report on the situation of human rights violations that has information relating to 2011 and 2012. In this respect it is recognized that the country continues to be immersed in a situation of violence. The right to life continues to be an issue, and this is an issue that has been growing within Honduran society.
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Included in the report by the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights produced by a state institution are facts about the wave of violence in recent times in the country, with an increase to 2,631 homicides, particularly in sectors such as cases of violence against women, as well as homicides of men, of judicial and legal figures in the country, and of professional actors and players like journalists and those in social communication. This is something we have seen.
The main problem outlined in the report is the weakness of state institutions in proceeding with investigations in a timely and effective manner to fight against impunity. That's one of the challenges the state is facing right now in Honduras. It is also important to mention that we are looking for solutions and alternatives.
As I said at the beginning of my presentation, we are currently going through a reform process in the public safety sector, with the objective of strengthening judicial institutions to facilitate the investigation and cleanup of the institutions involved. Journalists are also going through a process in hand with the secretariat of human rights to produce a law for the protection of human rights that would include journalists and social communicators, with the participation of all players in the justice system, to facilitate protection, and also investigations, particularly in the case of journalists.
On the other hand, and further to the case of journalists, we have seen in the national committee for telecommunications a proposal for reforms in this sector, to reform the law governing the telecommunications sector, which presents topics, the main one being the democratization of telecommunications to include private and public media as well as community media.
The country is also going through a process of open discussions regarding freedom of expression as well as freedom of the press. The different sectors include the private sector, media, journalists, and organizations related to the different social sectors as well as players in the human rights and freedom of expression sectors in the country who are participating in this debate.
We must also recognize the challenges surrounding violence and human rights in the country. During the last few years, in an area of the country known as Aguan, where access to land has been an issue...despite the fact that there have been some agreements with different sectors of the government, it represents the highest rates of violence and conflict, with a strong presence of police forces and state players and continued conflict between the peasant sectors and the entrepreneurial sectors of the area.
I don't know if you have any questions now regarding any particular topics.