What is the crisis about?
At least 423,845 people have been internally displaced in Honduras as a result of generalised violence according to UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency. This is the equivalent of around 4.5% of the country’s population.
Many more have fled abroad, especially toward Mexico and the United States. The Norwegian Refugee Council considers the crisis in Honduras to be one of the world’s ten most neglected displacement crises.
What is the background of the crisis?
The displacement crisis is due to a combination of violence, poverty, organised crime, weak institutions, and climate-related disasters.
One of the biggest drivers is violence from gangs such as MS‑13 and Barrio 18. These groups control neighbourhoods, extort businesses, recruit children, and threaten families. Many people flee after receiving death threats or refusing extortion payments.
UNHCR describes Honduras as facing “violence, organized crime, extortion, human rights violations, and gender-based violence,” all contributing to forced displacement.
Women, children, LGBTQI+ people, journalists, and activists are especially vulnerable. Honduras has one of the highest femicide rates in Latin America, and gangs often target youth for forced recruitment.
Honduras is one of the poorest countries in the region. UNHCR reported poverty levels of around 64% in 2023, which worsens vulnerability to displacement. High unemployment, inequality, and limited public services leave many families unable to survive safely where they live.
People often face a combination of threats: violence plus no work, inadequate housing, and food insecurity. This makes migration seem like the only option.
In addition, Honduras is extremely vulnerable to hurricanes, floods, and droughts. Climate shocks repeatedly destroy homes, crops, and infrastructure. The 2020 Hurricanes Eta and Iota affected more than four million people in Honduras and displaced huge numbers of residents.
Many Hondurans do not trust police or the justice system to protect them. Corruption, impunity, and limited state presence allow criminal groups to operate freely in some areas.
Even when people report threats, authorities are often unable or unwilling to provide protection. This encourages repeated displacement and onward migration.
Honduras has also become a major source of migrant caravans and asylum seekers.
What impact does it have?
Forced displacement significantly impacts housing security, education continuity, and income stability, while people in mixed movements require urgent shelter, and basic needs support.
Local civil society had reported over 620 homicides by mid-April 2026, reflecting continued security concerns compared to the same period in 2025.
Extortion continued to affect communities, livelihoods, public transportation and access to essential services. Reports also highlighted the continued presence and influence of criminal groups in different parts of the country, contributing to protection risks and potential displacement in affected communities.
UNHCR anticipates a rise in internally displaced numbers due to the persistence of forced displacement triggers, despite progress on legal protection mechanisms.
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What is the UN doing?
The UN is responding to Honduras’s displacement crisis mainly through agencies such as UNHCR, IOM (International Organization for Migration), UNICEF (the UN Children’s Agency), and UNDP (UN Development Programme). Their work focuses on people displaced by gang violence, extortion, poverty, climate disasters, and insecurity.
UNHCR provides shelter, legal support, emergency cash assistance, psychosocial care, and protection services for internally displaced people (IDPs), refugees, asylum seekers, and returnees. Special attention is given to women, children, LGBTQI+ people, and Indigenous communities.
The UN strongly supported Honduras’s 2022–2023 law on internal displacement, considered a landmark reform. UNHCR is helping the government implement it.
UNDP, IOM, and UNHCR work together on longer‑term solutions such as strengthening local institutions, improving community safety, supporting livelihoods and education, preventing gang recruitment, and helping displaced families reintegrate safely.