From Steady Progress to Severely Wounded: A Two-Year Report on the Performance of the Oas Mission in Support of the Fight Against Corruption and Impunity in Honduras

Abstract

This report analyzes the experience of MACCIH in reducing corruption and impunity in its first two years. Based on dozens of interviews with OAS and MACCIH officials; Honduran officials; representatives of Honduran and international civil society organizations; and diplomats of the United States, United Nations and other international stakeholders, the report considers the extent to which MACCIH has contributed to the fight against corruption. Although we examine degrees to which MACCIH has reasonably fulfilled its mandate during its initial two years, the report assesses the contribution of the MACCIH experiment beyond its strict mandate, examining how its creation and evolution have contributed to combating impunity and corruption in Honduras. We analyze MACCIH as an example of a particular type of tool of national and international decision-makers – an international body created with national government consent to work in close collaboration with authorities and civil society in the realm of rule of law and anti-impunity.

Keywords: OAS, MACCIH, Honduras, Corruption, Impunity