Presentation of the Honduras Accountability Platform

Montevideo, July 2, 2021.

The Honduras Accountability Platform (RCH) is an initiative that seeks to promote transparency regarding the financing of electoral campaigns, as well as to assist Obligated Subjects in submitting their income and expenditure declarations. Additionally, it will contribute to improving the efficiency and effectiveness of the oversight processes for the declarations submitted to the Unit of Financing, Transparency, and Oversight of Political Parties and Candidates (UFTF).

Within the framework of the upcoming electoral process in Honduras, the first awareness and induction activity for the Honduras Accountability Platform took place on June 22. This project aims to facilitate Obligated Subjects in submitting income and expenditure declarations during the electoral campaign.

The platform is being developed for the Unit of Financing, Transparency, and Oversight of Political Parties and Candidates (UFTF), also known as the Clean Politics Unit of Honduras, and is supported by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP-PBF).

The virtual event included participants involved in the project, such as lawyer Alva Rivera, Coordinating Commissioner of the Clean Politics Unit; Dr. Osvaldo Lapuente, specialist in Rule of Law and Citizen Security at UNDP Honduras; the full board of commissioners; the technical team of the Clean Politics Unit; representatives of different political parties; and the Sofis Solutions team.

Sofis Solutions is the company responsible for carrying out the "Consultancy for the design, development, and implementation of a technological platform for accountability of the Unit of Financing, Transparency, and Oversight (UFTF)."

During the event, lawyer Alva Rivera, Coordinating Commissioner of the Clean Politics Unit, emphasized the importance of the platform’s awareness session for the upcoming general elections scheduled for November 28, 2021, in that country.

"... In this event, participants will learn about the scope of the Honduras Accountability technological platform, an instrument that will enable auditors of the Unit of Financing to perform audits in real time. The Unit expects to have an IT platform that allows Obligated Subjects to know political parties, internal movements, pre-candidates when applicable, and to prepare and submit their financial reports through a technological tool that will facilitate doing so in real time."

For his part, Dr. Osvaldo Lapuente, specialist in Rule of Law and Citizen Security at UNDP Honduras, highlighted: "UNDP has a strong commitment to transparency in general and electoral transparency in particular. Therefore, the Clean Politics Unit is a key counterpart and strategic ally for UNDP in Honduras, alongside MIPYME and many other efforts (...). The idea is to create a tool that contributes to the key word Transparency and thereby supports an electoral process and site capable of continuously sustaining democracy and peace, fully respecting the popular will (...). Our purpose is to strengthen electoral capacities, and this should not only happen when the electoral calendar is legally active, but must be ongoing."

Ing. Sergio Pío, Technical Coordinator for the development of the RCH Platform on behalf of Sofis Solutions, presented the project's objectives, requirements to access and use the platform, as well as platform operations, including accreditation and opening of files, submission of income and expenditure declarations, and closure of files. At the end, Ing. Pío opened a Q&A session to clarify doubts about this important tool.

The Honduras Accountability Platform (RCH) will be a fundamental tool for processes of transparency, inclusion, and accountability at the national level, helping to strengthen democracy, prevent and manage conflicts of interest, and advance towards a culture of peace for the upcoming elections.

This initiative is aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals, specifically SDG 16: Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions, which seeks to promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, facilitate access to justice for all, and build effective, accountable, and inclusive institutions at all levels.