Hondurans know well the human cost of corruption. In 2022 we visited a multi-million dollar mobile hospital aimed at increasing Covid-19 treatment capacity, something that was of vital need. However, the beds were pushed together and the units had no ventilation. Doctors told us that the modules that made up the hospital seemed designed to spread the virus rather than stop it.
That mobile hospital was one of seven that Honduras acquired in a purchase tainted by corruption. In one of the poorest countries in Latin America and the Caribbean, investigations by the Prosecutor's Office point to the embezzlement of millions of dollars intended to combat poverty in rural areas and diseases such as dengue in the last decade.
The corruption systemic deprives the Government of funds that could be used for health, education, drinking water, housing and other rights. It also dangerously affects essential functions of public institutions and undermines the rule of law. Its harmful effects influence the decision of thousands of Hondurans to undertake the dangerous journey north in search of a new life.
Honduras has the opportunity to begin to break that dynamic by creating an international anti-corruption commission. A previous attempt, started in 2016 due to citizen pressure, was somewhat a victim of its own success. The Support Mission against Corruption and Impunity in Honduras, known by its Spanish acronym, MACCIH, and supported by the Organization of American States, carried out investigations that affected powerful interests. After a corporate reaction from Congress, then-president Juan Orlando Hernández refused to extend his mandate in 2020.
During the 2021 presidential campaign, Xiomara Castro promised to recreate an international anti-corruption commission. Almost two years after his inauguration, his government has moved forward very slowly.
In December 2022, he signed a memorandum with the Secretary General of the United Nations (UN) to create the commission, with the aim of investigating high-profile cases, proposing legislative and policy changes, and training Honduran officials to reinforce the fight against corruption. The memorandum expired on December 15 and was just renewed.
In September, the Castro government presented a proposal to the UN on the commission's mandate and functions. But the Government has yet to appoint a team to negotiate those details with the UN. The Government also has yet to draft a resolution for the UN General Assembly to authorize the Secretary General to move forward with the installation of the commission.
Honduras and the UN should take into account not only the previous experience of the MACCIH, but also of the UN-backed international commission that operated in Guatemala between 2007 and 2019, known as CICIG. Their investigations uncovered more than 120 corruption schemes in the three branches of government and led to the resignation and arrest in 2015 of the then president and vice president of the country.
One of the lessons from Guatemala is that, in response to the investigations, authorities counterattacked by opening spurious proceedings against national CICIG staff. It is important that commission staff operating in Honduras have protection to avoid similar reprisals.
Another key lesson from the Guatemala experience is that the terms of the commission's creation must allow it to prioritize the most serious and damaging cases of corruption.
The previous mission to Honduras found serious evidence of corruption, but its cases stalled in court and few resulted in convictions. This experience underlines that an international commission does not work alone. No matter how committed, diligent and honest its staff are, it is doomed to fail if the rest of the judicial system collapses or is dominated by political interests.
This year, President Castro's government worked with Congress to repeal certain laws that had made the fight against corruption difficult. But obstacles remain, including a law that, in broad language, prohibits any type of sanction against deputies for actions taken “in the exercise of their duties.”
In other respects, the prospects for fighting corruption have worsened under President Castro.
In June, Gabriela Castellanos, director of Honduras' main anti-corruption organization—the National Anti-Corruption Council—was threatened after publishing a report on nepotism in the government and left the country. Castellanos returned after a month, pledging to fight corruption despite the risks.
A government-sponsored amnesty approved by Congress for people accused “for political motivations” has been used to dismiss corruption cases against dozens of officials who served during the presidency of her husband, Manuel Zelaya.
The new members of the Supreme Court of Justice were selected from a list prepared by a board that evaluated their merits, which was a positive step. But Congress distributed the positions, allowing political parties to elect magistrates who they considered aligned with their interests.
Now political parties are trying to do the same with the election of prosecutors. Deputies failed to appoint a new attorney general before September, when the previous one's term ended. In November, a congressional commission made up of pro-government deputies appointed an “interim” attorney general and deputy prosecutor, a move that some experts condemned for subordinating the Public Ministry to the ruling party.
These events are a bad omen. To have a lasting impact, any commission will need to promote reforms to the justice system, giving it greater independence from political maneuvering.
The Government has given little information to the public about the process to create the commission. Nor did he engage in dialogue with civil society about the powers of the commission or how it should operate. This has been a mistake.
Authorities should treat the fight against corruption not as a partisan project but as a collective effort to improve the lives of all Hondurans, and should consult with as many sectors of society as possible about the process.
What will not work, if Honduras wants to end corruption, is to follow the same old practices: dark negotiations and under a cloak of secrecy to rig the justice system with the aim of rewarding allies and investigating and punishing enemies.
In a Central America plagued by the theft of public funds, President Castro has the opportunity to be remembered for having taken a crucial step in the fight against corruption. She must act quickly to create an international anti-corruption commission and promote the legislative and political changes necessary for it to succeed. Approaching the middle of her term, her time is running out.
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