Recognition of same-sex unions in Honduras: Difference between revisions

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{{blockquote|The State must recognize and guarantee all rights derived from a family bond between persons of the same sex in accordance with the provisions of Articles 11.2 and 17.1 of the American Convention. (…) in accordance with articles 1.1, 2, 11.2, 17, and 24 of the American Convention, it is necessary to guarantee access to all the existing figures in domestic legal systems, including the right to marry. (..) To ensure the protection of all the rights of families formed by same-sex couples, without discrimination with respect to those that are constituted by heterosexual couples.}}

{{blockquote|The State must recognize and guarantee all rights derived from a family bond between persons of the same sex in accordance with the provisions of Articles 11.2 and 17.1 of the American Convention. (…) in accordance with articles 1.1, 2, 11.2, 17, and 24 of the American Convention, it is necessary to guarantee access to all the existing figures in domestic legal systems, including the right to marry. (..) To ensure the protection of all the rights of families formed by same-sex couples, without discrimination with respect to those that are constituted by heterosexual couples.}}

Honduras ratified the American Convention on Human Rights on 8 September 1977 and recognized the court’s jurisdiction on 9 September 1981.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cidh.org/annualrep/2001port/anexo3.htm|title=ANNUAL REPORT OF THE IACHR 2001 – Annex III|website=cidh.org|language=Spanish}}</ref> In May 2018, a group of LGBT activists from the non-profit organization Somos CDC Honduras ({{lang|es|Centro para el Desarrollo y la Cooperación LGBTI}}) filed a lawsuit with the [[Supreme Court of Honduras]] to legalise same-sex marriage and recognize marriages validly performed in other countries.<ref name=”prensa”/> A second case was filed shortly thereafter, but was dismissed on technical grounds in November 2018.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.elheraldo.hn/pais/1232503-466/comunidad-gay-en-batalla-legal-por-matrimonio-igualitario-en-honduras|title=Comunidad gay en batalla legal por matrimonio igualitario en Honduras|website=Diario El Heraldo}}</ref> In February 2019, it was reported that the Supreme Court was expected to rule on the case within “the next few days”, but it was announced in May 2019 that they were “expected to rule later [that] year”.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://proceso.hn/mas-noticias/32-m%C3%A1s-noticias/sala-de-lo-constitucional-admite-nuevo-recurso-que-permita-matrimonio-gay.html|title=Sala de lo Constitucional admite nuevo recurso que permita matrimonio gay|work=Proceso Digital|date=6 February 2019|language=Spanish|access-date=7 January 2023|archive-date=13 February 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190213035302/http://www.proceso.hn/mas-noticias/32-m%C3%A1s-noticias/sala-de-lo-constitucional-admite-nuevo-recurso-que-permita-matrimonio-gay.html|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.hrw.org/news/2019/05/23/lgbt-hondurans-march-against-hate#|title=LGBT Hondurans March Against Hate: Activists Call for Gender Identity Law, Equal Marriage, Adoption|last=Postema|first=Mirte|date=2019-05-23|website=Human Rights Watch|access-date=2019-06-12}}</ref> The court ruled in January 2022 that same-sex marriages violate the Constitution of Honduras and the Family Code, and dismissed the case.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.washingtonblade.com/2022/01/21/corte-suprema-de-justicia-de-honduras-impide-que-personas-lgbtq-puedan-casarse-y-tengan-derechos-civiles/|title=Corte Suprema de Justicia de Honduras impide que personas LGBTQ puedan casarse y tengan derechos civiles |language=es|date=21 January 2022|work=The Washington Blade|last=Vallecillo|first=Luis}}</ref> In September 2022, plaintiffs asked the [[Inter-American Commission on Human Rights]] to review Honduras’ same-sex marriage ban.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.swissinfo.ch/spa/honduras-lgbti_lgtbi-pide-a-cidh-intervenir-para-que-honduras-registre-matrimonio-homosexual/47923052|title=LGTBI pide a CIDH intervenir para que Honduras registre matrimonio homosexual|work=swissinfo.ch|language=es|date=22 September 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.infobae.com/lgbt/2022/09/23/comunidad-lgbt-de-honduras-pidio-a-la-cidh-intervenir-para-registrar-un-matrimonio-gay/|title=Comunidad LGBT+ de Honduras pidió a la CIDH intervenir para registrar un matrimonio gay|language=es|work=Infobae|date=23 September 2023}}</ref>

Honduras ratified the American Convention on Human Rights on 8 September 1977 and recognized the court’s jurisdiction on 9 September 1981.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cidh.org/annualrep/2001port/anexo3.htm|title=ANNUAL REPORT OF THE IACHR 2001 – Annex III|website=cidh.org|language=Spanish}}</ref> In May 2018, a group of LGBT activists from the ({{lang|es|Centro para el Desarrollo y la Cooperación LGBTI}}) filed a lawsuit with the [[Supreme Court of Honduras]] to legalise same-sex marriage and recognize marriages validly performed in other countries.<ref name=”prensa”/> A second case was filed shortly thereafter, but was dismissed on technical grounds in November 2018.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.elheraldo.hn/pais/1232503-466/comunidad-gay-en-batalla-legal-por-matrimonio-igualitario-en-honduras|title=Comunidad gay en batalla legal por matrimonio igualitario en Honduras|website=Diario El Heraldo}}</ref> In February 2019, it was reported that the Supreme Court was expected to rule on the case within “the next few days”, but it was announced in May 2019 that they were “expected to rule later [that] year”.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://proceso.hn/mas-noticias/32-m%C3%A1s-noticias/sala-de-lo-constitucional-admite-nuevo-recurso-que-permita-matrimonio-gay.html|title=Sala de lo Constitucional admite nuevo recurso que permita matrimonio gay|work=Proceso Digital|date=6 February 2019|language=Spanish|access-date=7 January 2023|archive-date=13 February 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190213035302/http://www.proceso.hn/mas-noticias/32-m%C3%A1s-noticias/sala-de-lo-constitucional-admite-nuevo-recurso-que-permita-matrimonio-gay.html|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.hrw.org/news/2019/05/23/lgbt-hondurans-march-against-hate#|title=LGBT Hondurans March Against Hate: Activists Call for Gender Identity Law, Equal Marriage, Adoption|last=Postema|first=Mirte|date=2019-05-23|website=Human Rights Watch|access-date=2019-06-12}}</ref> The court ruled in January 2022 that same-sex marriages violate the Constitution of Honduras and the Family Code, and dismissed the case.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.washingtonblade.com/2022/01/21/corte-suprema-de-justicia-de-honduras-impide-que-personas-lgbtq-puedan-casarse-y-tengan-derechos-civiles/|title=Corte Suprema de Justicia de Honduras impide que personas LGBTQ puedan casarse y tengan derechos civiles |language=es|date=21 January 2022|work=The Washington Blade|last=Vallecillo|first=Luis}}</ref> In September 2022, plaintiffs asked the [[Inter-American Commission on Human Rights]] to review Honduras’ same-sex marriage ban.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.swissinfo.ch/spa/honduras-lgbti_lgtbi-pide-a-cidh-intervenir-para-que-honduras-registre-matrimonio-homosexual/47923052|title=LGTBI pide a CIDH intervenir para que Honduras registre matrimonio homosexual|work=swissinfo.ch|language=es|date=22 September 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.infobae.com/lgbt/2022/09/23/comunidad-lgbt-de-honduras-pidio-a-la-cidh-intervenir-para-registrar-un-matrimonio-gay/|title=Comunidad LGBT+ de Honduras pidió a la CIDH intervenir para registrar un matrimonio gay|language=es|work=Infobae|date=23 September 2023}}</ref>

===Legislative action===

===Legislative action===

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==Public opinion==

==Public opinion==

According to a [[Pew Research Center]] survey conducted between 9 November and 19 December 2013, 13% of [[Hondurans]] supported same-sex marriage, while 83% were opposed.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.pewforum.org/2014/11/13/chapter-5-social-attitudes/|title=Social Attitudes on Moral Issues in Latin America|work=Pew Research Center|date=13 November 2014}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.pewforum.org/2014/11/13/appendix-a-methodology/|title=Appendix A: Methodology|work=Pew Research Center|date=13 November 2014}}</ref> According to the 2017 [[Latin American Public Opinion Project|AmericasBarometer]], 19% of Hondurans supported same-sex marriage.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.vanderbilt.edu/lapop/dr/AB2016-17_Dominican_Republic_Country_Report_W_12.11.17.pdf|title=CULTURA POLÍTICA DE LA DEMOCRACIA EN LA REPÚBLICA DOMINICANA Y EN LAS AMÉRICAS, 2016/17}}</ref> A 2018 CID Gallup ({{lang|es|Consultoría Interdisciplinaria en Desarrollo}}) poll found that 75% of Hondurans opposed same-sex marriage, while 17% were in favor and the remaining did not know or refused to answer.<ref name=”prensa”>{{Cite web|url=https://www.laprensa.hn/honduras/1178836-410/hondurenos-rechaza-matrimonio-homosexual-planificacion-familiar|title=Más del 70% de los hondureños rechaza el matrimonio homosexual|website=Diario La Prensa}}</ref>

According to a [[Pew Research Center]] survey conducted between 9 November and 19 December 2013, 13% of [[Hondurans]] supported same-sex marriage, while 83% were opposed.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.pewforum.org/2014/11/13/chapter-5-social-attitudes/|title=Social Attitudes on Moral Issues in Latin America|work=Pew Research Center|date=13 November 2014}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.pewforum.org/2014/11/13/appendix-a-methodology/|title=Appendix A: Methodology|work=Pew Research Center|date=13 November 2014}}</ref> According to the 2017 [[Latin American Public Opinion Project|AmericasBarometer]], 19% of Hondurans supported same-sex marriage.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.vanderbilt.edu/lapop/dr/AB2016-17_Dominican_Republic_Country_Report_W_12.11.17.pdf|title=CULTURA POLÍTICA DE LA DEMOCRACIA EN LA REPÚBLICA DOMINICANA Y EN LAS AMÉRICAS, 2016/17}}</ref> A 2018 CID Gallup poll found that 75% of Hondurans opposed same-sex marriage, while 17% were in favor and the remaining did not know or refused to answer.<ref name=”prensa”>{{Cite web|url=https://www.laprensa.hn/honduras/1178836-410/hondurenos-rechaza-matrimonio-homosexual-planificacion-familiar|title=Más del 70% de los hondureños rechaza el matrimonio homosexual|website=Diario La Prensa}}</ref>

==See also==

==See also==

Honduras does not recognise same-sex marriage or civil unions. The Constitution of Honduras has explicitly banned same-sex marriage since 2005. In January 2022, the Supreme Court dismissed a legal challenge to the ban, but a request to review whether the ban violates the American Convention on Human Rights is pending with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. A same-sex marriage bill was introduced to the National Congress in May 2022.

In 2005, the Constitution of Honduras was amended to expressly ban same-sex marriage and civil unions.[1] This constitutional amendment further forbids same-sex marriages or unions legally contracted in other countries from being recognized in Honduras. It also prohibits same-sex couples from adopting.[2][3] Article 112 reads: “The right of a man and a woman to contract marriage is recognized, as well as the legal equality of spouses. […] Marriage and de facto unions between persons of the same sex are prohibited. Marriages and de facto unions between persons of the same sex celebrated or recognized under the laws of other countries shall not be valid in Honduras.”[a] In January 2021, the National Congress of Honduras passed a constitutional amendment that banned abortion under all circumstances and established that any future changes to the articles on abortion and marriage require approval by three-quarters of Congress rather than two-thirds.[5] Human Rights Watch opposed the amendment, saying that it “contravene[s] constitutional and international obligations to protect and guarantee human rights.”[6][7]

Before the November 2017 elections, three candidates running in the Francisco Morazán Department for the National Party and the Christian Democratic Party announced their support for same-sex marriage, adding that they would be open to introducing a same-sex marriage bill to the National Congress.[8] However, none of the three candidates won a seat in the National Congress.[9] On 12 October 2018, President Juan Orlando Hernández told reporters at a press conference, “Personally as a Christian, I am against marriage of persons of the same sex; obviously, it is the judiciary that, according to Honduran law, has to rule on it. [Regardless of sexual preferences] people should be treated with dignity, no matter what their inclination. People should be treated with dignity and this issue is very important.”[10]

2018 Inter-American Court of Human Rights advisory opinion

[edit]

Homosexuality laws in Central America and the Caribbean Islands.

  Same-sex marriage

  Other type of partnership

  Unregistered cohabitation

  Country subject to IACHR advisory opinion

  No recognition of same-sex couples

  Constitution limits marriage to opposite-sex couples

  Same-sex sexual activity illegal but law not enforced

On 9 January 2018, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACHR) issued an advisory opinion that parties to the American Convention on Human Rights should grant same-sex couples “accession to all existing domestic legal systems of family registration, including marriage, along with all rights that derive from marriage”.[11][12][13] The advisory opinion states that:[14][15]

The State must recognize and guarantee all rights derived from a family bond between persons of the same sex in accordance with the provisions of Articles 11.2 and 17.1 of the American Convention. (…) in accordance with articles 1.1, 2, 11.2, 17, and 24 of the American Convention, it is necessary to guarantee access to all the existing figures in domestic legal systems, including the right to marry. (..) To ensure the protection of all the rights of families formed by same-sex couples, without discrimination with respect to those that are constituted by heterosexual couples.

Honduras ratified the American Convention on Human Rights on 8 September 1977 and recognized the court’s jurisdiction on 9 September 1981.[16] In May 2018, a group of LGBT activists from the Center for LGBTI Development and Cooperation (Somos CDC; Centro para el Desarrollo y la Cooperación LGBTI) filed a lawsuit with the Supreme Court of Honduras to legalise same-sex marriage and recognize marriages validly performed in other countries.[17] A second case was filed shortly thereafter, but was dismissed on technical grounds in November 2018.[18] In February 2019, it was reported that the Supreme Court was expected to rule on the case within “the next few days”, but it was announced in May 2019 that they were “expected to rule later [that] year”.[19][20] The court ruled in January 2022 that same-sex marriages violate the Constitution of Honduras and the Family Code, and dismissed the case.[21] In September 2022, plaintiffs asked the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights to review Honduras’ same-sex marriage ban.[22][23]

In May 2022, José Rodríguez Rosales, a deputy from the governing Liberty and Refoundation party, introduced a same-sex marriage bill to the National Congress. The bill was quickly opposed by religious organizations. The president of the Tegucigalpa Pastors’ Association, Gerardo Irías, called the bill an “aberration in God’s eyes” and urged President Xiomara Castro to oppose “immoral laws”.[24] In December 2022, the Minister of Human Rights, Natalie Roque Sandoval, said that the legalization of same-sex marriage was “not on the [government’s] agenda”.[25]

While many Indigenous cultures historically practiced polygamy to some extent, there are no records of same-sex marriages being performed in these cultures in the way they are commonly defined in Western legal systems. Unlike Canada and the United States, there is no strong evidence for the existence of two-spirit individuals or identities and behaviours that may be placed on the LGBT spectrum in these communities, as many of these cultures are poorly documented in both colonial sources and modern ethnography.[26][27] Indigenous people have deep-rooted marriage traditions, placing a strong emphasis on community, family and spiritual connections. Among the Tolupan, marriage (tjawaya)[28] was primarily monogamous, with a variation of patrilocality as the typical household residential pattern.[29] Concubinage (ʼamyula) was also recognized as an institutionalized practice. Chʼortiʼ marriages (nujb’ya’r)[30] were typically arranged, patrilocal and monogamous—though elites often practiced polygyny.[31] Garifuna men of high rank were also polygynous. Marriage patterns were typically matrilocal and matrilineal, though formal marriage (Garifuna: mariei) historically was not always the central unit of family life; long-term partnerships and visiting relationships (similar to Caribbean “visiting unions”) were common.[32]

According to a Pew Research Center survey conducted between 9 November and 19 December 2013, 13% of Hondurans supported same-sex marriage, while 83% were opposed.[33][34] According to the 2017 AmericasBarometer, 19% of Hondurans supported same-sex marriage.[35] A 2018 CID Gallup poll found that 75% of Hondurans opposed same-sex marriage, while 17% were in favor and the remaining did not know or refused to answer.[17]

  1. ^ Spanish: Se reconoce el derecho del hombre y de la mujer, que tengan la calidad de tales naturalmente, a contraer matrimonio entre sí, así como la igualdad jurídica de los cónyuges. […] Se prohibe el matrimonio y la unión de hecho entre personas del mismo sexo. Los matrimonios o uniones de hecho entre personas del mismo sexo celebrados o reconocidos bajo las leyes de otros países no tendrán validez en Honduras.[4]
  1. ^ University of Toronto – Faculty of Law (2011). “Honduras: Country Report for use in refugee claims based on persecution relating to sexual orientation and gender identity” (PDF). Retrieved 6 October 2016.
  2. ^ “Gay Honduras News & Reports”. archive.globalgayz.com.
  3. ^ “Honduras: Constitución de 1982”. pdba.georgetown.edu.
  4. ^ “La Constitución de Honduras” (PDF). OAS (in Spanish). Retrieved January 7, 2023.
  5. ^ “Ratifican en Honduras reforma que prohíbe aborto y matrimonio igualitario”. Deutsche Welle (in Spanish). 29 January 2021.
  6. ^ “The unconstitutionality of a constitutional reform: the case of Honduras”. constitutionnet.org. 31 March 2021.
  7. ^ “Honduras: Ataque a los derechos reproductivos y el matrimonio igualitario”. Human Rights Watch (in Spanish). 23 January 2021.
  8. ^ “Estas candidatas a diputadas apoyan el ‘matrimonio gay’ en Honduras”. Diario La Prensa.
  9. ^ “Estos son los 128 diputados que conforman el Congreso Nacional (2018-2022)”. Diario El Heraldo.
  10. ^ Diario, El Nuevo. “El Nuevo Diario”. El Nuevo Diario.
  11. ^ Pretel, Enrique Andres (January 10, 2018). “Latin American human rights court urges same-sex marriage legalization”. Reuters. Archived from the original on June 2, 2020. Retrieved January 12, 2018.
  12. ^ Chinchilla, Sofía; Cambronero, Natasha (January 9, 2018). “Corte Interamericana ordena abrir la puerta al matrimonio gay en Costa Rica” (in Spanish). La Nación. Archived from the original on June 2, 2020. Retrieved June 2, 2020.
  13. ^ “Inter-American Court endorses same-sex marriage”. Yahoo7. Agence France-Presse. 9 January 2018. Archived from the original on 9 January 2018. Retrieved 9 January 2018.
  14. ^ “OPINIÓN CONSULTIVA OC-24/17 DE 24 DE NOVIEMBRE DE 2017SOLICITADA POR LA REPÚBLICA DE COSTA RICA” (PDF) (in Spanish). Inter-American Court of Human Rights. Archived (PDF) from the original on June 2, 2020. Retrieved June 2, 2020.
  15. ^ Contesse, Jorge (July 26, 2018). “The Inter-American Court of Human Rights’ Advisory Opinion on Gender Identity and Same-Sex Marriage”. American Society of International Law. Archived from the original on June 5, 2020. Retrieved June 5, 2020.
  16. ^ “ANNUAL REPORT OF THE IACHR 2001 – Annex III”. cidh.org (in Spanish).
  17. ^ a b “Más del 70% de los hondureños rechaza el matrimonio homosexual”. Diario La Prensa.
  18. ^ “Comunidad gay en batalla legal por matrimonio igualitario en Honduras”. Diario El Heraldo.
  19. ^ “Sala de lo Constitucional admite nuevo recurso que permita matrimonio gay”. Proceso Digital (in Spanish). 6 February 2019. Archived from the original on 13 February 2019. Retrieved 7 January 2023.
  20. ^ Postema, Mirte (2019-05-23). “LGBT Hondurans March Against Hate: Activists Call for Gender Identity Law, Equal Marriage, Adoption”. Human Rights Watch. Retrieved 2019-06-12.
  21. ^ Vallecillo, Luis (21 January 2022). “Corte Suprema de Justicia de Honduras impide que personas LGBTQ puedan casarse y tengan derechos civiles”. The Washington Blade (in Spanish).
  22. ^ “LGTBI pide a CIDH intervenir para que Honduras registre matrimonio homosexual”. swissinfo.ch (in Spanish). 22 September 2022.
  23. ^ “Comunidad LGBT+ de Honduras pidió a la CIDH intervenir para registrar un matrimonio gay”. Infobae (in Spanish). 23 September 2023.
  24. ^ “Presentarán iniciativa de ley para que el matrimonio igualitario sea legal en Honduras”. 18 May 2022.
  25. ^ “Matrimonio gay no está en agenda de presidenta Xiomara Castro, asegura ministra Natalie Roque”. El Heraldo (in Spanish). 2 December 2022.
  26. ^ López Oro, Pablo Joseph (25 November 2022). “The Queerness of Indigenous Blackness”. The Caribbean Philosophical Association.
  27. ^ Hull, Kerry M. (2009). “Dualism and Worldview among the Ch′orti′ Maya”. Florida Scholarship Online: 187–197. doi:10.5744/florida/9780813033310.003.0014.
  28. ^ “Tol-Español” (PDF). se.gob.hn. Retrieved 22 November 2025.
  29. ^ “The Tolupan Today”. Gehlen Mission Honduras. Retrieved 22 November 2025.
  30. ^ “Oj ronerob´Ch’orti’“ (PDF). popol-mayab.org. 2000. Retrieved 22 November 2025.
  31. ^ “Ch’orti’“ (PDF). Database for Indigenous Cultural Evolution. Retrieved 22 November 2025.
  32. ^ Fyffe, Denise (2014). “Topic: Describe the various family forms found in the Caribbean and discuss the factors responsible for such diversity” (PDF). University of the Aegean. Retrieved 23 November 2025.
  33. ^ “Social Attitudes on Moral Issues in Latin America”. Pew Research Center. 13 November 2014.
  34. ^ “Appendix A: Methodology”. Pew Research Center. 13 November 2014.
  35. ^ “CULTURA POLÍTICA DE LA DEMOCRACIA EN LA REPÚBLICA DOMINICANA Y EN LAS AMÉRICAS, 2016/17” (PDF).

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