; and (B) were characterized by a high prevalence of gang-related violence and crimes involving sexual and gender-based violence. (3) El Salvador and Honduras are both among the top 3 countries in the world with the highest child homicide rates, with more than 22 and 32 deaths per 100,000 children respectively, according to the nongovernmental organization Save the Children. (4) A November 2017 report by the United Nations Development Programme and UN Women stated that femicide is taking on a devastating magnitude and trend in Central America, where 2 in every 3 women murdered, are killed because of their gender. . (5) Since 2014, elevated numbers of unaccompanied minors, women, and other vulnerable individuals have fled violence in Central America’s Northern Triangle and left for the United States in search of protection. (6) Unaccompanied minors emigrating from El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras cite violence, forced gang recruitment, extortion, poverty, and lack of opportunity as reasons for leaving their home countries. (7) Challenges to the rule of law in the Northern Triangle continue to be exacerbated by high levels of impunity related to murders and violent crime. In 2015, approximately 95 percent of murders taking place in Honduras and El Salvador remained unresolved. (8) The presence of major drug trafficking organizations in the Northern Triangle contributes to violence, corruption, and criminality. According to the Department of State’s 2017 International Narcotics Control Strategy Report, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras continue to be transit countries for illicit drugs originating from countries in South America that are destined for the United States. (9) In June 2018, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights found that in El Salvador, a pattern of behavior among security personnel and weak institutional responses may have resulted in extrajudicial executions and excessive use of force, with official figures indicating an alarming increase in the number of persons