VZCZCXYZ0004
PP RUEHWEB

DE RUEHTG #1333/01 2071927
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 261927Z JUL 06
FM AMEMBASSY TEGUCIGALPA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 2809
INFO RUEHZA/WHA CENTRAL AMERICAN COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS TEGUCIGALPA 001333 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR WHA/CEN, DRL/PHD, CA, AND DS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV SMIG PHUM ECON PREL KFRD HO
SUBJECT:  HONDURAS NATIONAL REGISTRY OF PERSONS: ORGANIZATIONAL 
REFORM HAS VARIED RIPPLE EFFECT 
 
REFTEL (A) Tegucigalpa 1181 
       (B) Tegucigalpa 1124 and previous 
 
¶1.  Summary: In early June, the Honduran National Congress discussed 
amending Article 54 of the Constitution in order to make changes in 
the directorate of the National Registry of Persons (RNP), the GOH's 
civil registry.  The RNP has often been used as a political tool and 
the proposed changes were meant to rotate the organization's 
directorate and balance the power more evenly among individuals in 
charge.  However, among the proposed changes was an amendment to 
strip the organization of its autonomy, a step back in the effort to 
de-politicize the RNP.  Congress may finalize these changes now that 
it has returned from recess July 4, but the recent scandal involving 
two Cameroonians who obtained false passports has brought a new 
sense of urgency to the need for reform in this area.  The ability 
for people to unlawfully obtain documents through the RNP compounds 
the political issues by creating a situation in which fraudulent 
documents could potentially be used as part of trafficking in 
persons or for the purpose of fraudulently obtaining U.S. visas 
using an assumed identity.  Meaningful change in the RNP thus 
becomes a pressing matter not only of electoral integrity, but also 
of human rights and national security.  End Summary. 
 
¶2.  The National Register of Persons (RNP) was formerly part of the 
National Electoral Tribunal, until it became an independent entity 
in 2003 electoral reforms in order to separate it from the newly 
created Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE).  The RNP is the body 
responsible for registering persons into a national database and 
administering vital personal documents such as birth and death 
certificates and the national identity card, known as a "cedula". 
Currently, Congress elects a director and two sub-directors to head 
the organization. 
 
¶3.  Given the current method of electing the organization's 
directorate, the reforms of 2003 did not serve to de-politicize the 
RNP.  The national identity card is requisite for voting in 
Honduras, but many Honduran citizens have not received their 
identity documents in time for elections, and corrupt politicians 
have allegedly been able to use their influence to gain votes from 
unregistered, or in some cases deceased, persons by providing false 
identity documents to their supporters.  As a June 20 editorial from 
"La Prensa" states: "The issuance of personal documents has been 
almost exclusively conditioned by electoral demands." 
 
¶4.  The need for institutional reform at the RNP was a topic under 
discussion at the last session of the Honduran National Congress 
that recessed in June, in which the following changes were proposed: 
1) restructuring of the directorate to replace the director and two 
sub-directors with three directors, representative of the five 
different political parties (these directors would be hierarchically 
indistinct but would be assigned differing technical, administrative 
and executive duties); 2) placing the directorate on a one year 
rotation; and 3) suspending the phrase "autonomous" from the RNP's 
mandate (Article 54 of the Honduran Constitution).  The last 
proposed change would reverse the effect of decentralizing the RNP. 
This begs the question of who the RNP will answer to if it is 
re-centralized and, consequently, whose political will it may be 
made to serve.  The argument made by Congress to justify this shift 
was that the RNP cannot be considered an autonomous, decentralized 
institution according to their Law of Public Administration, in part 
because Congress elects its directors.  Here, then, it becomes 
apparent that, while rotating membership (as is done at the TSE) 
could be an important step towards alleviating the political 
pressures placed on the RNP, stripping away the organization's 
autonomy is likely to only politicize it further. 
 
¶5.  Politicization and corruption in the RNP may also have serious 
ramifications beyond electoral issues.  The June 9 detention of two 
Cameroonian citizens who had obtained Honduran passports brought 
many of these issues to a head (reftels).  According to a June 16 
article in "El Tiempo", thousands of Hondurans have never registered 
for their identity cards.  As a result, those who provide false 
documentation can register a non-Honduran under the name of someone 
who has yet to register.  The trafficker providing the documentation 
must have a contact within the RNP who has access to the database. 
This allows the person receiving the documents to be prepped on the 
correct answers about their family history, etc., which then allow 
them to register and apply for an identity card.  Individuals with 
fraudulent documentation are then able to apply for Honduran 
passports, which they can use to travel to a third country and often 
to apply for a visa to travel to the U.S. 
 
¶6.  The current case that has brought this issue to the fore is not 
believed to be isolated.  Julian Suazo, the RNP's current director 
claims to be taking drastic measures to end the practice of identity 
theft and trafficking of birth certificates.  He also promised to 
name publicly those officials involved in these practices.  The 
first person implicated in the case involving the Cameroonians was 
Yuri Rolando Castellanos Suazo, the RNP window employee who helped 
register the individuals found later with falsified documents. 
 
According to a June 22 article in "El Tiempo" and the RNP, the 
following three individuals were also later fired from their 
positions in the RNP for involvement in this or other incidents of 
document falsification: Carlota Matute Zelaya, Norma Lidia Morales, 
and Carlos Roberto Hernandez.  It is clear, however, that this 
problem goes far beyond this isolated case and this handful of 
employees.  As of June 22, RNP Director Suazo had submitted at least 
15 other cases to the Public Ministry for investigation.  Suazo has 
also promised to make other changes in the RNP in order to prevent 
non-Hondurans from fraudulently obtaining identity documents.  These 
measures are to include: rotating key personnel, applying stricter 
internal security measures, and performing an audit of the company 
in charge of issuing the national identification cards. 
 
¶7.  A June 22 article in "El Pais" illustrates another facet of the 
RNP's problems: a lack of sufficient resources.  The article 
explains that 600 applications for "cedulas", or national ID cards, 
sent from San Pedro Sula have been returned to the capital because 
of irregularities stemming from the fact that the RNP's database in 
San Pedro Sula has not been updated for four years.  The "weak 
point" of the system, according to the article, is that other cities 
cannot check fingerprints and other information against the database 
in Tegucigalpa, which is up-to-date.  This issue is being rectified 
in San Pedro Sula, and ID applications have been suspended until the 
database is updated. 
 
¶8.  Comment:  Endemic corruption in the RNP, as well as 
Congressional political pressures on the RNP, are a threat to the 
Honduran electoral process, as the national ID card is needed to 
vote and is often used as a political tool.  Furthermore, this issue 
encompasses problems of human rights and national security as 
smugglers can use false documents to engage in trafficking in 
persons, and individuals can apply for a U.S. visa using an assumed 
identity.  The Charge's decision to temporarily suspend visa 
appointments (reftel A) will hopefully ensure that current 
investigations lead to meaningful changes in the RNP.  It remains to 
be seen, however, if the organizational structure itself will 
undergo sufficient rehabilitation to become a properly functioning 
organization that can protect electoral integrity and both the U.S. 
and Honduras' national security.  So far, investigations into the 
current scandal have focused on those employees who administer 
documents and register individuals.  While it is necessary to 
reprimand all involved in providing fraudulent documents, this 
approach is not likely to correct the institutional pathologies at 
the root of the RNP's problems.  The reconvened Congress will 
discuss the proposed changes to the RNP.  In light of the scandal 
that has come forth since Congress went into recess, this discussion 
will take on an even greater level of significance. 
 
¶9.  Comment continued:  The RNP is badly in need of reform in order 
to: a) de-politicize the selection of its directorate to guard 
against irregularities in personal identity documents at election 
time, and b) prevent employees from making deals with traffickers of 
fraudulent documents.  As long as Congress is responsible for 
selecting the RNP's directors and does so in a political manner, it 
will be nearly impossible to ensure that the body is apolitical and 
accountable.  For current internal investigations to truly provide 
change in the organization's activities, they must be prepared to 
look at problems inherent in all levels of administration.  End 
Comment. 
 
Ford.