Mission:

CIP's Central American Program works with local civil society groups, international organizations and governmental institutions to advocate for environmental transparency, accountability, and justice in Central America.

History and Current Work:

The Center for International Policy was founded with the mission of promoting a U.S. policy based on international cooperation, demilitarization and respect for human rights. Since its early years, CIP has had a keen interest in the region and no where has the need for our work been more tangible. A U.S. policy based on militarization and a lack of respect for human rights has had tremendous impact on most of Central America. -- from the CIA-backed overthrow of Guatemalan president Jacobo Arbenz in 1954, to the support of the Contras in Nicaragua and right-wing death squads in El Salvador in the 1980's. The decades of misguided U.S. policies have been major factor as to why many regional governments today are plagued by corruption, weak institutions, flawed justice systems and a lack of transparency.

Today, many U.S. policy-makers and politicians continue to view Central America as their 'back yard,' as evidenced by the clumsy - and ultimately unsuccessful -- efforts to influence the 2006 Nicaragua presidential elections.
It is with this social, political and historical context in mind that CIP's Central American program along with its local partners has created initiatives to strengthen democracy in the region.

CIP's Central America Program began to work in Honduras in 2003, supporting the efforts of the Environmental Movement of Olancho (MAO), and its most visible leader, Father Andres Tamayo, in their struggle to curb the illegal logging which was quickly demolishing Honduras's forests. In illegal logging, CIP saw an issue which encompassed broader democratic principles that represents the Center’s guiding principals. ,

Our work in Honduras planted the seed for what would eventually become an autonomous organization which carries on CIP's work to strengthen the Honduran democracy: the Democracy without Borders Foundation (Fundacion Democracia sin Fronteras). Officially inaugurated in May 2006, the Foundation has already become a leading civil society organization, spearheading multiple high-impact initiatives to curb illegal logging, create a culture of transparency and promote the importance of access to information.

Beyond Honduras: Nicaragua and El Salvador

In the spring of 2006, encouraged by our success in Honduras, CIP decided to continue its work in Central America, and initiated a campaign against illegal logging in Nicaragua. Working closely with well-known Nicaragua journalist Carlos Fernando Chamorro, CIP produced a powerful documentary to expose the illegal logging that was taking place throughout the country, and pressure the Nicaragua government to make reforms to curb it, weed out corruption, and punish those involved in the activity. The documentary, along with accompanying news articles, and a CIP-sponsored international conference, generated a tremendous amount of feedback, and put the issue in the national spotlight in the months leading up to the November elections. Today, CIP continues to work with local groups in Nicaragua.

In 2007 CIP began to focus on El Salvador, positioning the issue of access to water as a human right. Despite sufficient water supplies, insufficient investments and political will has left thousands of Salvadorans without access to a dependable and safe water supply. As with illegal logging, the lack of access to water reflects larger issues of anti-democratic tendencies, such as a highly unequal distribution of wealth and resources. CIP has partnered with several Salvadoran civil society groups to build a national movement to advocate for a coherent national policy on water access, treatment, and distribution, and to put the issue on the national agenda as the March 2009 elections approach.