§ Mr. HancockTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations the Government have made to the Government of Honduras on the murder in June this year of 29 Honduran children and young people. [184298]
§ Mr. RammellWe have not made specific representations to the Honduran Government about the deaths of 29 children and young people in June as reported by Casa Alianza, the leading NGO in Central America dealing with child protection.
176WWe have a regular and on-going dialogue with the Government of Honduras and with NGOs on the issue of child protection. We are currently co-funding an investigation into the juvenile justice system in Honduras, run by the University of Essex's Children's Legal Centre. The study, for which our Ambassador has secured the full support of the Honduran Government, will make recommendations to improve juvenile justice and child protection in line with Honduras's commitments to international human rights norms.
I also refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave him on 8 July 2004(Official Report, column 851W) which describes dialogue we have had with the Honduran Government bilaterally and with EU partners.