Honduras—Justicia Efectiva Contra la Criminalidad y Corrupción (Justicia Efectiva) Activity

Impunity in Honduras remains persistently high, which is exacerbated by corruption and crime that reduce public trust and weaken the independence of judicial institutions. This results in an erosion of security that drives many vulnerable Hondurans to migrate irregularly each year. Within this challenging context, Justicia Efectiva has identified ‘bright spots’ such as a vibrant civil society, opportunities for building solid partnerships with multi-sectoral actors, and political will among justice operators, all of which present strategic entry points.

Justicia Efectiva employs a comprehensive, people-centered approach to improve access to justice, enhance the effectiveness of the criminal justice system, and build trust in public institutions. This is achieved through innovative solutions across the Activity’s four strategic themes that enhance interinstitutional and multi-sectoral coordination and promote judicial independence: strategic criminal prosecution, local justice systems, people-centered justice, and open justice.

Through these themes, Justicia Efectiva strengthens democracy and the rule of law in Honduras by supporting civil society oversight and addresses the needs of vulnerable groups by improving judicial services, to rebuild the social contract between the government and its people. In doing so, the project tackles the root governance issues that underlie drivers of irregular migration, such as violence, impunity, and insecurity.

Sample Activities

• Pilot an innovative local justice systems model in four municipalities to strengthen multi-sectoral coordination, reduce impunity, and improve access to justice.
• Provide grants and technical assistance to civil society to strengthen local and non-state, complementary prevention, response, and recovery services and referral networks for victims of crime.
• Develop strategic criminal prosecution policies and training prosecutors, investigators, and forensic scientists to enhance the investigation and prosecution of priority crimes.
• Launch a People-Centered Justice Innovation Hub to incubate and accelerate the co-creation, piloting, and scaling of creative solutions to enhance access to justice.
• Support civil society advocacy for the creation of an international anti-corruption commission and providing technical assistance on the commission’s design and implementation upon its establishment.
• Integrate technology and innovations across judicial institutions to optimize case management and improve court administration and transparency.
• Enhance investigative journalism to bolster citizen oversight of the criminal justice system.

Select Results

• Trained 386 justice operators in strategic criminal prosecution, gender sensitivity, evidence manage, due process, and environmental crime.
• Supported 16 civil society groups in sustained advocacy interventions to promote merit-based procedures in the election of senior justice authorities.
• Facilitated the approval of a national open data policy.
• Created a national youth network to raise awareness and combat technology-facilitated gender-based violence.
• Reduced the 400-case backlog in a court in Tegucigalpa, in collaboration with the Public Defender’s Office.