TEGUCIGALPA (Reuters) – Honduras and the United Nations on Thursday signed an agreement that paves the way for a new international anti-corruption commission in the Central American nation, where widespread graft has fueled violence and spurred mass migration.
Honduran Foreign Minister Enrique Reina signed a memorandum of understanding in New York with U.N. Assistant Secretary-General Miroslav Jenca, in the presence of U.N. chief Antonio Guterres and leftist President Xiomara Castro.
Castro, who came to power in January, pledged in her campaign to install the new mechanism to investigate widespread corruption in Honduras, where close to three-quarters of people live in poverty.
On Wednesday night, the foreign minister told local television the agreement only marked a preliminary step, after which the U.N. and Honduras would need to sign a bilateral treaty for the anti-corruption commission to come into force.
The so-called International Mission Against Corruption and Impunity (CICIH) will be the second such commission installed in Honduras, after another anti-corruption mission backed by the Organisation of American States (OAS) left in early 2020.
The previous commission, known as the Mission to Support the Fight against Corruption and Impunity in Honduras (MACCIH), began work in 2016 and uncovered corruption of many officials, congressmen and politicians linked to former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez.
The OAS-backed MACCIH left the country after it failed to agree with then-President Hernandez on extending its stay. Hernandez was extradited to the United States in early 2022 on drug trafficking charges.
(Reporting by Gustavo Palencia; Writing by Sarah Morland, editing by Deepa Babington)
