148.
In the friendly settlement agreement, the State agreed to the following:
The State undertakes to carry out all relevant actions to ensure access to justice in the
Mosquitia region. To this end, at a minimum, it will establish and maintain permanent
and free legal counseling and representation programs through the Ministry of Labor
and Social Security; it will ensure that in the processes in which Miskito persons are
parties, there will be competent interpreters who not only speak the Spanish and
Miskito languages, but who are also familiar with the legal procedures and the culture
of the Miskito people; and it will maintain brigades and itinerant campaigns to bring
the institutions of justice to all the Miskito communities. Within six months after signing
this agreement, the State shall present a study on how to achieve the implementation
of this measure and the timetable for its effective fulfilment.
All the measures under this point of the agreement shall be implemented in accordance
with Convention No. 169 of the International Labour Organization and the Convention
on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, especially Article 13, as well as the current
standards derived from the application and interpretation of these instruments by the
competent bodies.
149. Therefore, the Court considers that the State, in compliance with its commitment to
guarantee access to justice in the Mosquitia region, must adopt measures so that its justice
administration system meets the following criteria: 1) ensures the inalienable right of workers
to have recourse to the competent judicial authorities to submit labor disputes of all kinds,
except in cases where other means of conflict resolution are legally provided for; 2) a
specialized jurisdiction with exclusive jurisdiction over labor matters, in accordance with the
number of labor cases and claims; 3) the application of a gender perspective in the resolution
of labor disputes; 4) the provision of a specialized procedure that takes into account the
specificities of labor issues; 5) the distribution of the burden of proof, the evidentiary analysis
and the grounds for judicial decisions in accordance with principles that compensate for the
inequalities inherent in the world of work, such as the principle of in dubio pro operario and
the principle of favorability; 6) free labor justice and 7) the guarantee of the right to a
specialized defense. 160 The State must also guarantee the presence of competent interpreters
and translators, who are familiar with the legal procedures and speak the Spanish and Miskito
languages, in the processes in which Miskito persons are parties.
C.8. Strengthening the education system in La Mosquitia
150.
In the friendly settlement agreement, the State agreed to the following:
The State recognizes that the educational lag in La Mosquitia is one of the sources of
inequality and poverty in that region, which forces the population to work in activities
that violate their dignity and put their integrity and life at risk.
Consequently, the State is committed to providing free education in La Mosquitia, in
accordance with the provisions of the Constitution. It will also continue to reinforce the
region’s education system by strengthening the recently created the Mistruk National
University of Agriculture, and will provide electrical materials to support the
sustainability of a photovoltaic project at the university.
Through the Ministry of Education, and with the support of the Alliance for the
Development of the Honduran Mosquitia (ADMH), it undertakes to manage the
allocation of funds so as to increase the budget of the education system throughout
the department, and ensure that schools have adequate facilities with sufficient
qualified teaching staff who speak the Miskito language.
160
Cf. Advisory Opinion OC-27/21, supra, para. 116.
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