diving is old and does not benefit from any maintenance, nor is there adequate training, which is provided by co-workers who have not had any training either. The divers spend long periods of time diving, extending from 12 to 17 days, and in order to fish larger quantities of seafood, they are forced to stay in the sea at great depths for prolonged periods and return to the surface very quickly, in contravention of diving safety standards. All of this takes place without proper supervision by the State. Therefore, divers run the risk of suffering from preventable accidents such as drowning or decompression sickness. [...] as a result of these conditions, various Miskito divers have died or sustained permanent physical and mental injuries [...] the absence of rehabilitation measures and a hyperbaric chamber that would be able to immediately help divers suffering from decompression sickness in La Mosquitia has led to permanent disabilities for hundreds of them over the years. Nevertheless, neither the company selling the lobsters that employs them, nor the State, has adopted measures to prevent this situation from continuing or to take care of those suffering from some type of disability. The Commission was informed that, in 2013, 20 persons were reported dead as a result of underwater fishing accidents and about 400 persons were reported injured. Honduras is the country with the world’s highest number of persons suffering from decompression sickness. Furthermore, the State does not keep a record with information about the accidents sustained or the number of divers injured or killed. The IACHR also learned that, once the Miskito divers are physically disabled for life, they find no empowerment, rehabilitation, medical care, or any other employment [...].Even when living as injured persons, because of the absence of other job alternatives, on many occasions Miskito divers continue to carry out their respective activities. According to information received by the Commission, this leads to the worsening of the disability and even more severe impacts on the family, such as difficulties in ensuring access to education for those who depend on them financially and breakup of the nuclear family. According to the information received, there are no mechanisms to supervise the working conditions of the Miskito divers. Also, there is little presence of the State in the area to offer protection and judicial guarantees for the divers. The State indicated that it would examine the subject in depth to find a solution. 27 39. Regarding the remedies available to Miskito divers, the procedure for requesting compensation for work-related accidents is as follows: i) presentation of the labor claim at the office of the Ministry of Labor in La Ceiba or Tegucigalpa; ii) summons to the employer to accept or not the facts; iii) medical report of temporary disability to claim compensation; iv) calculation of labor rights by the Ministry of Labor based on data presented by the worker; v) notification to the employer; and vi) filing of the labor lawsuit. Most of the indemnities paid to Miskito divers have been agreed without the corresponding calculation for each case, since the claimants must be evaluated by specialized doctors from the Ministry of Labor. 28 C. The situation of the victims 40. The Court recalls that the instant case concerns 42 victims of the Miskito indigenous community living in the department of Gracias a Dios and their next of kin, who are divided into four groups: 29 a) 34 divers who suffered accidents due to deep dives which caused them 27 Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. Report on the Situation of Human Rights in Honduras, December 31, 2015, paras. 427 to 435. 28 Cf. Report of AMHBLI. Analysis of the Situation of Injured Divers of the Miskito Zone (merits file, folio 31). 29 For a description of the facts related to each of the victims, see Annex 2 of this Judgment. 13

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