CICIACS: PENDING CONGRESSIONAL APPROVAL

C O N F I D E N T I A L GUATEMALA 000029

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/09/2014
TAGS: PHUM PREL KJUS GT UN
SUBJECT: CICIACS: PENDING CONGRESSIONAL APPROVAL

REF: A. 02 GUATEMALA 3134


B. 03 GUATEMALA 20

C. FISK-HAMILTON TELCON 1/6/04

Classified By: Human Rights Officer Katharine Read, for reasons 1.5 (B)
and (D).


1. (SBU) Summary: On January 7, the Government of Guatemala
and the UN signed an agreement to establish a Commission on
the Investigation of Illegal Bodies and Clandestine
Apparatuses (CICIACS) at the UN Headquarters in New York.
Foreign Minister Gutierrez represented the GOG at the signing
ceremony, and pledged to present the agreement to the
Guatemalan Congress for ratification on January 8. Divisions
in the lame duck Congress make the ratification unlikely
until the new Congress in sworn in on January 14. CICIACS
comes with a hefty price tag but promises to be worth it.
End Summary.


2. (U) On January 7, the Government of Guatemala and the UN
signed an agreement to create the CICIACS, after an extended
negotiation. The Commission will offer an unprecedented new
model to fight organized crime, human rights abuses, and
corruption. (Reftel A) The UN-GOG agreement still requires
Congressional ratification before the Commission can be
established; Foreign Minister Gutierrez vowed to present the
document to the Guatemalan Congress for immediate
ratification upon his return from New York on January 8.


3. (U) Public reaction to the UN-GOG agreement has been
mixed. Most human rights groups, political leaders, and
civil society leaders have praised the agreement, noting that
CICIACS will work within the Guatemalan system and
strengthen, not undermine, domestic institutions. However,
some legal experts and private lawyers charge that the
agreement is unconstitutional; they believe an international
commission operating with domestic investigative powers will
violate Guatemalan sovereignty.


4. (C) On January 6, and following Ref C telcon, the
Ambassador urged President Portillo to work on Attorney
General Carlos de Leon to be more genuinely supportive of
CICIACS. (Reftel B) Portillo said he would, over a
previously scheduled breakfast the next day. On January 7,
De Leon was quoted saying "the creation of this Commission
(CICIACS) is very important for the strengthening it will
bring to the investigatorial and prosecutorial systems." De
Leon also noted, however, that it was crucial that the
CICIACS exist within the legal framework established by the
Constitution, a comment which may point to continued
reservations and behind-the-scenes opposition.


5. (C) Comment: A special session of the lame-duck Congress
before the January 14 inauguration now seems unlikely due to
strong resistance to FRG-supported initiatives in the days
before the new Congress takes office. An FRG attempt to pass
an adoption law fizzled on January 7 for similar reasons.


6. (C) Prospects for passage of CICIACS in the new Congress
are better. The Berger-Stein team has indicated that they
intend to support CICIACS passage. We will remain vigilant
against efforts by opponents of the measure to thwart an
early vote on CICIACS.


7. (C) Finally, and to reiterate a point which we have made
previously and which the Ambassador briefed to Department
officials in December, CICIACS has become an innovative,
robust proposal for getting to the heart of organized crime
in Guatemala. It is an initiative that could obviate a "Plan
Guatemala" 3.5 years from now. Its price tag has gone up
considerably (estimated at $10-12 million annually over its
two to three year life.) That will be spread, however, over
fiscal years '04-'07. We will be seeking resources in our
'06 MPP submission but urge Department officials to identify
financial support from '04 and '05 budgets.
HAMILTON