Home › Recent News › 2026 › ParlAmericas supports the National Congress of Honduras in strengthening its open parliament process

ParlAmericas supports the National Congress of Honduras in strengthening its open parliament process

August 27, 2026 | Activity

Six formally dressed individuals standing in a line in front of multiple national flags in a formal setting.

Legislative reform processes require regulations and political decision-making, but their implementation also depends on the knowledge, experience and day-to-day work of parliamentary staff. Parliamentary diplomacy can play a key role in promoting peer learning and facilitating political and technical dialogue.

Against this backdrop, a ParlAmericas delegation paid an institutional visit to the National Congress of Honduras on the 26th and 27th of August in Tegucigalpa, in the framework of a joint political dialogue and technical cooperation process aimed at supporting the implementation of the Declaration of the National Congress of Honduras as an Open Congress.

The delegation was led by Chilean Senator Iván Flores García, President of ParlAmericas, and included Luis Rojas Gallardo, Secretary-General of the Senate of Chile, who was the first Coordinator of the ParlAmericas Open Parliament Network.

The Declaration forms part of a broader process of institutional strengthening within Congress, which combines the modernization of processes with the development of new mechanisms for transparency, integrity and public participation. These aspects were a recurring theme throughout the various dialogue spaces and exchanges that took place during the visit.

One of the central focuses of the visit was the event entitled “Strengthening an Open Congress in Honduras: Towards Greater Transparency, Accountability and Citizen Participation”, organized jointly by the National Congress and ParlAmericas to deepen political and institutional dialogue on the implementation of the Declaration and to enrich this process through the exchange of experiences and comparative perspectives.

The first day brought together parliamentarians to discuss, from a political and institutional perspective, ways to strengthen parliamentary transparency and integrity, as well as the opportunities offered by digital transformation to modernize legislative administration, guarantee the right of access to information, and strengthen the relationship between Parliament and the public. During the sessions, the ParlAmericas delegation shared lessons learnt on implementing the open parliament approach, particularly in Chile, contributing experiences and perspectives, alongside panellists from the United Nations, including the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and the Central American Bank for Economic Integration (CABEI). Within this framework, work was based on the key themes and recommendations of the Roadmap towards Legislative Openness 2.0, drawn up by ParlAmericas to guide parliamentary work in this area.

On the second day, parliamentary staff from the National Congress and representatives of civil society organizations came together to share experiences on the role of parliamentary staff in implementing and upholding commitments to openness, transparency and integrity. The day then moved on to working groups aimed at identifying concrete actions to incorporate citizens’ voices more systematically into the legislative process, strengthen Congress’s links with young people and institutionalize coordination with civil society organizations.

Taken together, the two days’ proceedings provided an opportunity to examine the implementation of the Declaration from its various political and institutional perspectives and to identify opportunities to ensure the continuity of this process in the day-to-day workings of the Congress.

The visit also included institutional meetings aimed at deepening political dialogue and cooperation between ParlAmericas and the National Congress. In this vein, Senator Flores held a bilateral meeting with Tomás Zambrano, President of the National Congress of Honduras. The discussion covered the Congress’s progress and priorities regarding modernization and openness, as well as opportunities to strengthen the participation of Honduran parliamentarians in ParlAmericas’ forums for inter-parliamentary dialogue and cooperation.

The delegation also met with the Ethics and Transparency Committee, chaired by Member of Congress Sara Estrada Zavala, to learn about the progress Congress is making in the areas of integrity, access to legislative information, the modernization of voting systems, accountability and public oversight. The dialogue also provided an opportunity to identify ways of linking these priorities with the experiences of other parliaments through the ParlAmericas Open Parliament Network.

As part of the visit, the National Congress of Honduras and ParlAmericas also signed the Joint Declaration on Parliamentary Cooperation between the National Congress of the Republic of Honduras and ParlAmericas, which establishes a framework for continuing cooperation and developing joint initiatives between the two institutions.

  • Four professionals sit at a long conference table with microphones and water bottles; a flag is visible in the background.
  • Six professionals pose for a formal group photo in a room with flags and portraits behind them, all in business attire.
  • Six officials seated at a long table in a council chamber, with a glowing crest on the wall and a colorful flag behind them.
  • Man in a dark suit and glasses gestures while speaking at a panel, with a laptop and microphone in front of him, Iván Flores nameplate visible.
  • Two officials on a conference panel; a man in a suit speaks into a microphone while a woman in a beige blazer listens beside him.
  • Two men in suits sign a document at a formal meeting, with flags and wood-paneled walls behind them.
  • Formal signing ceremony in a wood-paneled room; officials in suits stand along a long conference table as two people present documents at center, with flags and portraits in the background.
  • Professionals seated around a round table in a room with a vibrant mural, reviewing documents and laptops.
  • Formal meeting or conference with attendees seated at long white-clothed tables in a mural-filled room, with a pink laptop on the front table and bright ceiling lights.
This activity was carried out with the support of the Government of Canada, through Global Affairs Canada.