Open letter to President of Honduras – June 2019

THE WORLD MEDICAL ASSOCIATION, INC.
L’ASSOCIATION MEDICALE MONDIALE, INC
ASOCIACION MEDICA MUNDIAL, INC
Centre International de Bureaux
Immeuble A «Keynes» Website : www.wma.net Postal Address :
13, chemin du Levant Telephone : (33) 4 50 40 75 75 Boîte Postale 63
01210 FERNEY-VOLTAIRE Fax : (33) 4 50 40 59 37 01210 FERNEY-VOLTAIRE Cedex
France E-mail address : wma@wma.net France
Open letter
Mr Juan Orlando Hernandez
President of the Republic of Honduras
Presidential House
Boulevard Juan Pablo II
Tegucigalpa, Honduras
info@presidencia.gob.hn
12 June 2019
Your Excellency,
I am writing to you on behalf of the World Medical Association (WMA), the global federation of
National Medical Associations representing millions of physicians worldwide. Acting on behalf of
patients and physicians, the WMA endeavours to achieve the highest possible standards of medical
care, ethics, education and health-related human rights for all people. As such, the WMA plays a key
role in promoting good practice, medical ethics and medical accountability internationally. The
Association supports doctors at risk worldwide.
The purpose of this letter relates to the national strike started on May 30 in Honduras against the
health and education reforms. Doctors and teachers protesters fear that those reforms lead to mass
dismissals in the public sector and constitute a first step towards the privatization of education and
health services in the country.
We are very concerned to note the extreme repression of these demonstrations by the police,
charging demonstrators brutally and using tear gaz. We are also informed that the physical safety
and life of leaders and members of the board of directors of the medical school of Honduras have
been threatened.
The WMA condemns in the strongest terms the use of violence and threats against protesters. Such
acts constitute a severe violation of international human rights standards, including the freedom of
expression and assembly as stated in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights that
Honduras ratified in 1997.
Moreover, we deplore the fact that physicians’ leaders are exposed to threats to their life. Such
attitude can only accelerate severely tensions, preventing a serene context for a constructive
dialogue with protesters. Beyond the grave perpetration of human rights violations, the use of
violence is all the more absurd that it depreciates the social climate in the country, precisely where
the government aims to intervene through those reforms in the health and education sectors.
WMA page 2
We therefore support the recent call from the Latin American and Caribbean Medical Confederation
(CONFEMEL) to the authorities of Honduras to strengthen the national health system and protect
the right to health of the population. Accordingly, we urge you to take all the required measures as a
matter of urgency to:
• Bring to an immediate end the use of violence against protesters and protect their
constitutional right of protest;
• Conduct an independent and impartial investigation into the use of violence and bringing to
justice security force found to have ill-treated demonstrators or other members of the public.
• Open a dialogue with demonstrators, including physicians’ leaders, to seek consensus for a
prompt solution to the problem based on their claims.
I thank you for your attention.
Dr Leonid Eidelman, President
World Medical Association