Washington, D.C. – The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) filed on April 11, 2024, an application before the Inter-American Court of Human Rights in Case 13,645 with regard to Honduras, concerning the death of trans woman Leonela Zelaya and its subsequent impunity.
Leonela Zelaya's life was full of gender-based violence and discrimination. At 34, she was a sex worker in Tegucigalpa and lived with Talía Rodríguez, whom she considered like a sister. In 2004, Zelaya was beaten up and injured by police officers. Soon after that incident, she was found dead on the street, and the subsequent investigation established that she had been stabbed.
In Merits Report 450/21, the Commission said that Zelaya's murder had been a transfemicide, based on the violence she had suffered and on the state in which her body had been found, as well as on the context of historical discrimination faced by LGBTI persons in Honduras. Although it had been aware of this context, the State had failed to adopt effective measures to prevent these crimes and it also failed to adequately investigate this murder. The Commission further noted that Zelaya had previously suffered violence at the hands of officers of the State, so the State might have been involved in her death (the investigation has so far failed to disprove this).
The Commission found deficiencies in the criminal investigation, where the State ignored aspects that indicated that this might have been a prejudice-motivated crime and that officers of the State might have been involved in it. The authorities failed to apply the due diligence required to identify witnesses, gather evidence on the crime scene, and establish the details of the attack. Further, official documents concerning this case failed to adequately reflect Zelaya's identity, which reaffirmed gender stereotypes. The Commission noted that 17 years had passed without significant progress in this investigation.
The Commission also noted the suffering of family member Talía Rodríguez over Zelaya's death and over the lack of an adequate and timely judicial response.
The Commission therefore found that the State of Honduras was responsible for violations of the rights to life, personal integrity, honor and dignity, freedom of expression, equality and non-discrimination, equal protection, and judicial protection held in Articles 4.1, 5.1, 8.1, 11, 13, 24, and 25.1 of the American Convention, in keeping with the obligations held in Article 1.1 of the same instrument. The Commission also found that the State of Honduras was responsible for violations of Article 7 of the Inter-American Convention on the Prevention, Punishment, and Eradication of Violence against Women, concerning Zelaya and Rodríguez.
The Commission recommended that the State adopt the following redress measures:
- Provide comprehensive reparations—both material and immaterial—for all human rights violations mentioned in the report, including financial compensation and other redress measures.
- Provide any physical and mental healthcare necessary for the rehabilitation of Rodríguez, should she request it, in agreement with her
- Further pursue or re-open the relevant criminal investigation and conduct it in a diligent, effective, and timely manner, with a view to fully establishing what happened, identifying anyone responsible for Zelaya's death, and punishing anyone found guilty of the human rights violations mentioned in the report.
- Enabling non-recurrence mechanisms including the following: i) recognizing the self-perceived gender identity of trans, non-binary, and gender-diverse persons, in keeping with the applicable inter-American standards; ii) conducting an assessment of the violence faced by LGBTI persons in Honduras, complete with disaggregated, systematic data, to design a comprehensive prevention policy; iii) training law enforcement officers on issues concerning human rights and prejudice-motivated violence against LGBTI persons; iv) launching media campaigns about sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, and sexual diversity, to foster respect and inclusion; v) establishing accountability mechanisms for law enforcement forces in cases concerning violence based on prejudice against LGBTI persons; vi) ensuring access to justice in cases involving violence against LGBTI persons; and vii) promoting the ratification of the Inter-American Convention Against All Forms of Discrimination and Intolerance.
The IACHR is a principal and autonomous body of the Organization of American States (OAS), whose mandate stems from the OAS Charter and the American Convention on Human Rights. The Inter-American Commission has the mandate to promote the observance and defense of human rights in the region and acts as an advisory body to the OAS on the matter. The IACHR is made up of seven independent members who are elected by the OAS General Assembly in their personal capacity, and do not represent their countries of origin or residence.
