On August 15, the Honduran Ministry of Governance, Justice and Decentralization released an agreement that establishes a series of provisions that non-governmental organizations (NGOs) must incorporate in their statutes. Among them is a registry book of their members with data such as their fingerprints.

The objective of the agreement is to “reduce internal conflict within NGOs and strengthen the right of association”. To this end, it orders them to incorporate in their bylaws issues related to the election process of their board of directors, such as their term of office or the date of election.

The most controversial point is the article that obliges all NGOs to have a registry book of their members with personal data such as name, national identification document number (DNI in Spanish), address and even signature and fingerprint. This record must be submitted in electronic and physical format for comparison.

In the event that the civil associations do not establish in their bylaws or regulations the provisions contained in the agreement, the Secretariat established the rules that shall govern their replacement. For example, in the absence of a definition of the term of office of the board of directors, this will be set at one year.