The international community should strongly back the efforts of prosecutors in the human rights unit of the Honduras Attorney General’s office to investigate army and police abuses in Honduras and to overturn a decree by the de facto government that severely restricts freedoms of speech and assembly.

The UN Human Rights Council concluded its session with mixed results. The council adopted helpful resolutions on the human rights situations in Burma, Somalia, Honduras, and Cambodia and unanimously supported resolutions on freedom of expression, migrants' rights, HIV/AIDS, and access to medicines.

Honduran security forces seized the offices of Radio Globo and Cholusat Sur television early today and shut down their broadcasting, two days after the decree was issued. Both broadcasters have been openly supportive of deposed president Manuel Zelaya.

The Organization of American States should press the Honduran de facto government to halt the excessive use of force against protesters and to guarantee other fundamental rights.

Honduras's de facto government should refrain from using excessive force against supporters of the ousted president, Manuel Zelaya. The authorities should also refrain from abusing emergency powers to undermine the basic rights of protesters, journalists, and others in Honduras.

The finding by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights of widespread abuses in Honduras should compel the international community to take firm action, such as targeted sanctions, to resolve the country's ongoing crisis.

Evidence obtained by Human Rights Watch suggests that Honduran soldiers may have used excessive force against supporters of the ousted president, Manuel Zelaya, outside the Tegucigalpa airport on July 5, 2009.

In a letter released to Organization of American States (OAS) Secretary-General José Miguel Insulza, Human Rights Watch says the OAS should press Honduras' de facto government to ensure full respect for human rights guarantees.