A/HRC/33/42/Add.2 26. Indigenous peoples are also vulnerable to violence due to drug trafficking, organized crime and the subsequent response by the State. In May 2012, four members of the Miskito community of Ahuas, including pregnant women, died and others were wounded in an antidrug operation conducted by officials from Honduras and the United States of America. The survivors of the attack and the families of the victims rebutted the official version that the persons in the boat carrying them had fired at the officials. Efforts have been made, without success, to obtain appropriate compensation and justice from both Governments. 27. In December 2015, in Iriona in Colón Department, two young Garífuna men were killed by military personnel who fired without provocation at vehicles carrying unarmed persons, because they suspected them of being drug traffickers. This incident outraged the Garífuna, who demanded the withdrawal of military forces from their lands. 28. The lives of the Tawahka people are at great risk as a result of the activities of livestock farmers, loggers and drug traffickers, who buy and sell illegally on their lands. It is reported that entire Tawahka communities have fled their lands and that the physical and cultural survival of the Tawahka people is under threat. 29. Problems relating to the trafficking and prostitution of indigenous women and children, as part of organized crime activities in or around the indigenous territories, were also reported. B. Access to justice 30. The indigenous peoples complained of the lack of access to justice to enforce their rights. One basic problem is that justice officials are ignorant of the rights, cultures and languages of the indigenous peoples, in addition to the racism and discrimination that such peoples have historically suffered. Other basic, widespread problems include the lack of institutional capacity to investigate crimes and the serious lack of independence of the judiciary. This has resulted in a structural impunity, which, according to official figures, affects 80 per cent of cases of homicide committed in Honduras, while, according to civil society organizations, the figure is as high as 98 per cent. 10 The lack of confidence in the national justice system became apparent in relation to the investigations into the death of the Lenca leader, Ms. Berta Cáceres, when there were calls for the establishment of an international commission of independent experts to monitor the investigation carried out by the national authorities. 31. Mention should also be made of the abuse of the justice system by individuals and State officials who lay claim to the lands and natural resources of indigenous peoples. This has resulted in the criminalization of indigenous individuals, who, owing to the absence of effective mechanisms to obtain justice, have resorted to peaceful protests. In that context, a number of sources report that at least 27 indigenous leaders have been tried for such offences as appropriation of land and damage to private property, among others. 11 This situation reinforces the perception that the justice system does not benefit indigenous people. 32. Attention should be drawn to the important role that could be played by the Office of the Special Prosecutor for Ethnic Groups and Cultural Heritage as a mechanism for obtaining access to justice. However, it was clear to the Special Rapporteur that the Office lacked the financial and human resources to carry out its functions. A number of court cases 10 11 8 Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, Situation of Human Rights in Honduras (see footnote 8 above), paras. 263 and 277. Ibid., para. 78. GE.16-12632