Caribbean & Central America - October 2015 (ISSN 1741-4458)

In response to a request by the government led by President Juan Orlando Hernandez for “support in the strengthening and reform of the Honduran justice system”, the secretary general of the Washington-based Organization of American States (OAS), Luis Almagro, on 29 September announced a new Mission to Support the Fight Against Corruption and Impunity in Honduras (MACCIH).

Representatives for the civic protest movement known as Los Indignados immediately rejected the MACCIH, on the grounds that it will be “diagnostic” only, with no investigatory or prosecutory powers. The Indignados insist that they want an international anti impunity commission for Honduras similar to the United Nations (UN)-backed Commission Against Impunity in Guatemala (Cicig), which, in accordance with the laws of Guatemala, acts as a complementary prosecutor.

Cicig, whose corruption investigations led to the resignation of Guatemala’s President Otto Pérez Molina in early September, can carry out criminal prosecutions or join prosecutions begun by the Guatemalan public prosecutor's office (MP) in cases related to crimes allegedly committed by members of criminal structures that fall under the commission’s mandate (which is “to eradicate illegal groups and clandestine security structures” affecting the Guatemalan State). This makes it possible for Cicig to cooperate with the MP in such cases and support the fact-finding process. Cicig can also request the performance and approval of investigative actions, pursuant to Guatemalan law.

By contrast, the MACCIH looks to be solely an advisory body, with a mandate to guide, support and supervise measures to improve the Honduran judicial system. As such, the five areas of action of the Mission are:

The MACCIH

1. The establishment of a group of recognized international judges and prosecutors whose task is to supervise, advise and provide support to Honduran bodies charged with the investigation and criminal prosecution of crimes involving acts of corruption.

2. The preparation of an assessment of the state of the justice system in Honduras by the Center for Justice Studies of the Americas (CEJA).

3. Support in the implementation of the recommendations of the Follow-Up Mechanism for the Implementation of the Inter-American Convention against Corruption (MESICIC) in Honduras.

4. Assistance in the implementation of the recommendations of the National System of Citizen Security (SNSC) made by the OAS.

5. The creation of a Justice Observatory made up of Honduran academic organizations and civil society groups to follow-up and evaluate progress in the reform of the Honduran justice system.

President Hernández on 30 September said he and Almagro had also discussed adding three further elements to the process, two of which are from the judicial reform package proposed by Hernández in June, the Sistema Integral Hondureño de Lucha Contra la Corrupción e Impunidad (SIHCIC). Hernández said that he would like the MACCIH to help also to establish a new special unit for the security of judges, prosecutors, their families and judicial installations, as well as a new system of business integrity setting out ‘best practices’ to deter private and public sector corruption. Thirdly, he suggested that the OAS could participate in a legislative initiative sent down by the executive to congress to regulate campaign financing.

• “Worse than corruption is impunity”

Luis Almagro said that the main objective of the MACCIH “is to strengthen institutions….so that the justice system can be an effective tool against impunity, that it wins the respect of the Honduran people and that this becomes an essential part of the democratic system”. “The eyes of the hemisphere will be on Honduras”, he added, “it is our job to make everyone equal before the law, and that the example set by Honduras becomes a definitive example for the entire continent”.