A/HRC/4/40/Add.4 page 6 I. INTRODUCTION 1. The Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, which was established pursuant to Commission on Human Rights resolution 1991/42 and whose mandate was assumed by the Human Rights Council by its decision 1/102, visited Honduras from 23 to 31 May 2006 at the invitation of the Government. The delegation consisted of Ms. Leïla Zerrougui, Chairperson-Rapporteur of the Working Group and head of the delegation, and Ms. Manuela Carmena Castrillo, member of the Working Group. The delegation was accompanied by the Secretary of the Working Group, an official from the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, and two interpreters from the United Nations Office at Geneva. 2. The Working Group would like to express its gratitude to the Government of Honduras, as well as to the United Nations Country Team, which greatly assisted with the logistics of the visit, and to the Honduran civil society representatives whom it met. II. PROGRAMME OF THE VISIT 3. The delegation of the Working Group visited the capital, Tegucigalpa, and the cities of San Pedro Sula and La Ceiba. The delegation was able to visit the following detention facilities: in Tegucigalpa, the Penitenciaría Nacional and the centres for juvenile offenders “Renaciendo” (male) and “Sagrado Corazón” (female); in San Pedro Sula, the Centro Penal, the centre for male juvenile offenders “El Carmen” and the “Casitas Blancas” centre for girls at risk; and in La Ceiba, the Granja Penal “El Porvenir”. The delegation further visited the holding cells of the police stations in all three cities. 4. The Working Group met with the Minister for Foreign Affairs and the Minister of Security, with commanding officers of the National Police, judges of the Supreme Court and of trial and appeals courts, the Human Rights Ombudsman, the Chief Prosecutor and representatives of prosecutors’ offices, and with lawyers of the Public Defender’s offices. The delegation also held meetings with representatives of several non-governmental organizations and professional associations, including the bar association. III. LEGAL AND INSTITUTIONAL FRAMEWORK A. Institutional framework 1. The transition from authoritarian Government to democracy and the 1982 Constitution 5. While the purpose of the present report is not to provide a history of the institutions dealing with public security, criminal justice and detention in Honduras, it is important to note that the country was governed by military regimes between 1963 and 1982. In 1982 a new Constitution entered into force, providing for a President elected for a non-renewable four-year term as Head of State and Government, and a legislature, the National Congress. In spite of the return to civilian rule during the 1980s, the armed forces nonetheless waged a systematic campaign of arbitrary detentions, torture, disappearances and extrajudicial executions, particularly against left-wing activists.