Representing the Fifteenth District of New York
PRESS RELEASE
December 4, 2015
Washington, DC – Congressman José E. Serrano—along with 53 members of the House of Representatives—today sent a letter to U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry urging him to support the creation of a UN-sponsored commission to reduce impunity and corruption in Honduras. The proposed International Commission against Impunity in Honduras, modeled on the successful International Commission against Impunity in Guatemala, would bring an international, independent team of prosecutors and investigators to help root out corruption and reduce impunity. The initiative is supported by an overwhelming number of Hondurans and a broad range of civil society organizations. For years, Honduras has been plagued by extreme levels of violence that have driven thousands to flee to the U.S. and by rampant corruption by political parties, business people, and government officials. An independent, internationally-backed commission will help restore justice and Honduran’s faith in their government.
“This is a key issue to the future of Honduras,” said Congressman José E. Serrano. “We cannot expect to fully address issues of violence and instability in Honduras when people do not feel as though they can trust their government or judicial system. It is time to establish an independent commission to root out corruption and restore trust.”
“The scale of the problem cannot be understated. There have been serious allegations of corruption involving political parties, business people, and government officials. However, the Honduran government has failed to investigate adequately and lacks the independence necessary to address the severity of the issues. For that reason, hundreds of thousands of Hondurans from every walk of life have protested to demand justice. A central demand of this movement—backed by a broad range of civil society organizations—is for Honduras to establish an independent, UN-sponsored International Commission against Impunity in Honduras (CICIH), modeled on the International Commission against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG, in Spanish). The goal of the commission is to bring an international, independent team of prosecutors and investigators to help root out corruption and reduce impunity. We believe this is the only way to ensure justice and the rule of law in Honduras,” the letter says.
https://friendshipamericas.org/sites/default/files/Honduras – Serrano Final Letter.pdf