SUPPORTING HUMAN RIGHTS

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 GUATEMALA 000152

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PHUM ELAB MASS EAID KPAO KJUS KDEM SNAR HURI GTREFTEL
SUBJECT: SUPPORTING HUMAN RIGHTS



1. Guatemala held open and transparent elections in
November and December of 2003. There have been major
advances in human rights since the end of the civil conflict
and signing of the Peace Accords in 1996, and the Government
generally respects the rights of its citizens. Impunity for
offenses of criminal violence was pervasive; there was a
progress investigating official corruption; efforts to
reform the judiciary continued. State institutions charged
with enforcing the rule of law remain weak. Police
brutality and prison conditions are concerns. Arbitrary
arrest and lengthy pretrial detentions were problems.
Intimidation and corruption of judges and other law
enforcement officials were widespread. Threats against non-
governmental organizations (NGOs) and human rights workers
by unidentified persons remained approximately the same as
the previous year.


2. The U.S. human rights and democracy strategy aims to
encourage and support the Government's efforts to strengthen
state institutions, improve rule of law and transparency in
government, and support key human rights initiatives.


3. U.S. officials raised human rights concerns during
meetings with President Oscar Berger, Vice President Eduardo
Stein, members of Congress and other high-level officials.
The Embassy expressed interest in key cases to authorities
investigating human rights abuses during the year.
Authorities were generally cooperative and in several cases
shifted resources to investigate cases of particular
concern. The Ambassador frequently met with human rights
leaders and publicly expressed U.S. support for their work
by hosting a reception in honor of the Guatemalan human
rights community. The Ambassador has advocated for numerous
human rights initiatives with the Guatemalan Government,
including the establishment of a local UN Office of the High
Commissioner for Human Rights; the UN Commission to
Investigate Clandestine Groups (CICIACS) proposed by civil
society; stronger legislation for prosecution of traffickers
in persons; and improved labor legislation. The Embassy has
urged the Government to investigate threats against human
rights defenders, journalists, and justice workers, and to
provide protection to the victims when warranted and
feasible. Through the International Visitor Program, the
Embassy has sponsored trips focused on human rights and free
press for civil society leaders, giving them the opportunity
to interact with parallel organizations in the U.S. and
interchange experiences.


4. After three and a half years, the USAID Human Rights
program ($4.2 million over three years) was completed in
September 2004. Through this project, the United States has
supported grassroots human rights promotion, including
training local human rights promoters, media campaigns;
targeted support for the Office of the Human Rights
Ombudsman (limited training and equipment); and supported
the Human Rights Movement, a coalition of human rights NGOs.
The program has improved awareness and demand for training
and knowledge about human rights law and treaties,
especially regarding the indigenous, women, and children.
Grantees disseminated information about the civil conflict
to over 44,000 persons. The program and its counterparts
influenced the creation of a National Reparations Program
and Commission. Rosalina Tuyuc, one program counterpart,
was chosen by the President to lead the Commission and
several others are members.


5. A key Movement leader, Frank LaRue, was appointed by
President Berger to direct the Presidential Human Rights
Commission in January 2004. It is encouraging that since
1996 civil society has blossomed in Guatemala and is now a
major contributor to the new Government's human rights
policies.


6. Since 1999, the United States has provided $5.3 million
to fund the exhumation of mass graves from the internal
conflict, providing closure for families and religious
burials for thousands of victims. The project offers mental
health services in connection with the exhumations.


7. The United States also funded negotiations between civil
society and the Government to create a National Reparations
Plan, which was established to compensate victims of the
civil conflict. In January 2005, the United States
announced that it would provide $300,000 to support
systematic advocacy and pressure for legal follow-on to
human rights abuse cases from the civil conflict. The
project will also develop restorative justice processes and
alternative dispute resolution at the local level.


8. In September 2004, US AID began a new program focused on
strengthening rule of law ($8 million over 5 years),which
builds on past justice reform efforts by improving the
transparency and efficiency of criminal judicial processes;
implementing crime prevention programs; increasing the use
of alternative dispute resolutions; and developing stronger
leadership and support for justice reform in Guatemala.


9. To address profound problems in the country's judicial
system, the United States funded the expansion of a network
of Justice Centers to improve access to justice and
modernize the justice sector by implementing administrative
reforms to improve judicial operations. In coordination with
the Villa Nueva Justice Center, located in a suburb of the
capital, the United States has funded intensive training of
the police, especially focused on the problem of combating
the frightening gang violence that plagues much of Central
America. The United States provided material support to the
Guatemalan Public Ministry's Office of the Special
Prosecutor for Crimes Against Human Rights Workers. To
support investigation of police officers implicated in crime
or corruption, the United States provided training and
material support to the National Civil Police's (PNC) Office
of Professional Responsibility (ORP),their equivalent of an
Inspector General. The United States supported a crime
prevention coalition (APREDEH) to open a self-help and
training center for disadvantaged youth on the grounds of a
former presidential retreat.


10. USAID also provided approximately $500,000 to the UN
Development Program to support civilian-military relations
by strengthening the capacity of civil institutions to
understand and engage in dialogue on security and
intelligence issues. The work of a preparatory commission
funded by the U.S. led to the installation of a civilian
Security Advisory Council (CAS) to the President in June

2004.


11. The U.S. Labor Department continued to sponsor a four-
year, $6.7 million regional project to promote labor rights
education and strengthen labor inspectorates in Central
America. Among other activities this year, the project
supported the creation of a website to disseminate accurate
information about labor law. The United States negotiated
the U.S.-Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) with
Central American nations which incorporated labor rights
protections. If ratified, the CAFTA will supersede existing
labor condition regulations under the Generalized System of
Preferences (GSP). An inter-agency U.S. delegation conducted
bilateral labor consultations in May; the U.S. Trade
Representative held hearings on open GSP labor petitions in
February 2004. In all these exchanges, U.S. officials
expressed concern about the need for the Government of
Guatemala to fully investigate past violence against trade
union leaders, reform its labor justice system and reinstate
workers illegally fired for unionizing activities. The
Embassy continues to express concern to the Government over
the potential for anti-union violence in the maquila sector,
where union formation is almost non-existent. In January
2005, the United States committed to finance a labor rights
enforcement program ($200,000 for Guatemala and El
Salvador).


12. To aid in the resolution of land conflicts which have,
at times, led to government evictions of squatters occupying
plantations and, on one occasion, violence, the United
States began an initiative to resolve land conflicts through
mediation.


13. The United States supported the Presidential Commission
against Racism and Discrimination Against Indigenous Groups
and the appointment of a National Indigenous Assembly. The
U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID)
participates in a donor dialogue on indigenous issues to
prevent duplication of efforts. The United States also
sponsored a Digital Video Conference between indigenous
leaders in Panama, Guatemala, and the U.S. to discuss
obstacles currently facing these populations.


14. To foster more professional security forces and reduce
human rights abuses, the Embassy and U.S. SOUTHCOM worked
with the Defense Ministry to develop a Human Rights
Initiative Consensus Agreement with the Army. In December,
civil society leaders and the Human Rights Ombudsman's
Office (PDH) worked alongside military officers to design a
plan to systematize the military's observation of human
rights in civil-military relations, training and education,
the human rights doctrine, and internal controls to prevent
abuses. SOUTHCOM Brigadier General Wendell Griffin attended
the event to express support for the Guatemalan Defense
Department's efforts on these reforms. The United States
assisted the Defense Department to print and disseminate
copies of the "White Book," the new military code of
conduct, which was praised by the United Nations
Verification Mission in Guatemala (MINUGUA). USAID also
provided $600,000 to the UN Development Program to
strengthen civilian-military relations.


15. Guatemala was rated a Tier II country Watch List in the
State Department's 2004 Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report
to Congress. U.S. officials briefed the Government on the
implications of the report and urged the Government to step
up its efforts to prevent, prosecute and punish this crime.
In response, the Government formed an inter-agency working
group, composed of ministries, Congress, the Attorney and
Solicitor General's Offices and the judiciary, to better
coordinate these efforts. The Embassy has urged the
Government and members of Congress to stiffen sanctions
against traffickers. To support these increased Government
efforts, the United States announced several integrated
programs to combat trafficking in persons (TIP),including
material support to the Special Prosecutor for Crimes
Against Women; material support to the Secretary for Social
Welfare; and a USAID regional project ($1.2 million over 3
years) to provide funds and technical support for the
development of regional, national, and local networks to
prevent trafficking in persons (TIP) and the protection and
reintegration of trafficking victims. This project also
includes support for the development and implementation of
improved TIP legislation and a media campaign to increase
awareness of the perils of trafficking among vulnerable
populations.


16. The Department of Justice also planned to carry out
training workshops for justice workers and the courts on
dealing with trafficking victims.


17. List of Projects in Guatemala:

OPR/Internal Inspection Process for the PNC (NAS)-$150,000

Villa Nueva Model Precinct (NAS)- $300,000

Police/Prosecutor Coordination (NAS)- $350,000

AID Trafficking in Persons Regional Project - $1,370,000

AID Rule of Law program (5 year budget) - $8,000,000

AID FOSS (civil-military relations) - $520,605

AID Human Rights (4 year budget) - $4,154,500

AID Civil Society (3 year budget) - $3,211,993

AID Local Governance (2.5 year budget) - $3,212,000

AID DIGAP (through UNDP) - $4,076,000

SOUTHCOM Human Rights Consensus Agreement - $70,000

DRL Grant: Creative Solutions (FY2005) - $300,000

DRL Grant: Global Fairness (FY2005, regional with Salvador)
- $200,000

HAMILTON