Civil Society Index – Country report for Honduras
 

Centro Hondureño de Promoción para el Desarrollo Comunitario (CEHPRODEC)- www.lasociedadcivilhon.org

Honduras CSI Report: Executive Summary. Downloadable in pdf[54KB]

Honduras CSI Report: Full Report. Downloadable in pdf[843KB].

Honduras CSI Report: Summary Evaluation Report. Downloadable in pdf[60KB].

From Consultation to Participation

The Civil Society Index Report for Honduras was produced by the CIVICUS CSI and its country partner, CEHPRODEC (Centro Hondureño de Promoción para el Desarrollo Comunitario.The CSI index study in Honduras shows civil society’s limited strength in terms of its structure, in spite of effective and widespread networks. Civil society in this country operates in a relatively disabling environment, affected by widespread corruption, poverty and a difficult relationship with the private sector. Whilst promotion and practice of values such as poverty eradication by civil society is significant, transparency of CSOs as well as their internal democracy are both amongst its major weaknesses.

Civil society exerts considerable impact on society at large, especially in terms of citizens’ empowerment, while its success in influencing policy is rather moderate. Although Honduras has traditionally been one of the countries with the best social organisation in Latin America, its civil society is also very heterogeneous with strong social movements that have had significant impact on society at large between 1954-1984, that are currently grouped under the Popular Block or under an association called Coordinadora Nacional de Resistencia Popular (National Coordinating Unit for Popular Resistance).

Some CSO leaders occasionally have said that new types of CSOs (NGOs) have usurped their representation in the scenarios devoted to consensus building among the government, the international cooperation and the civil society. In spite of such complex relationships among civil society actors, they are still able to work together on the harmonisation of their actions, both to face current challenges as well as to use their resources efficiently, especially in emergency and post-emergency situations such as the consequences of Hurricane Mitch in 1998 which had left the country devastated.