Honduran Civil Society Demands Independant International Commission to Investigate and End Corruption and Impunity

Floor Speech

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Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, in September I traveled to Honduras as
part of a fact-finding delegation organized by the Washington Office on
Latin America. Everywhere we went we heard about people's concern over
endemic corruption and impunity.

An unprecedented citizens' movement has inspired thousands of
Hondurans to take to the street in peaceful protest marches demanding
that Honduras establish an international, independent commission with
the mandate to investigate crimes of corruption and impunity and the
ability to participate in their prosecution. This type of a commission
is modeled on the successful work over the past decade of the ``CICIG''
in Guatemala.

This movement is called the ``outraged opposition,'' or ``Oposicion
Indignada.'' They are led, in large part, by an intelligent, thoughtful
and politically diverse group of young people who organize using social
media and who have come together because of their shared desire to end
corruption in their country. They now face constant threats for their
initiative, and I hope that the Honduran government will ensure their
protection and investigate the threats against them so that they may
continue to exercise their basic rights to freedom of speech and
association.

On September 28th, the Organization of American States presented to
the Honduran president a proposal for a commission that would help the
notoriously weak Honduran judicial system to gain capacity to carry out
its responsibilities. Regrettably, I believe this proposal falls
woefully short of what is required to break the culture of corruption
and impunity that so characterizes the Honduran State. As we learned
from Guatemala, to successfully bring to justice those who benefit from
corruption and impunity, a commission must be truly independent with a
mandate to investigate exemplar cases wherever the evidence warrants
and participate in the prosecution of those cases under national law.

Last week, on October 28th, a broad coalition of Honduran civil
society, the Coalition Against Impunity, issued a statement declaring
that the mission proposed by the OAS and the government is itself an
obstacle to creating a genuine, independent commission that can truly
tackle the rampant corruption and impunity in Honduras. Earlier, on
October 4th, the ``Indignados'' issued a similar critique, pointing out
the weaknesses of the OAS proposal to independently investigate crimes
of corruption and ensure their prosecution.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to submit a copy of the letter addressed to
the OAS by the Oposicion Indignada that outlines their concerns with
that proposal. It is my hope that the OAS will listen seriously to this
unprecedented citizens' movement and ensure that any commission that
comes into being in Honduras will be truly politically and financially
independent, and have the mandate to undertake independent
investigations into crimes of corruption and impunity and ensure their
prosecution.

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