Identifier | Created | Classification | Origin |
---|---|---|---|
06GUATEMALA2473 | 2006-12-19 18:12:00 | UNCLASSIFIED | Embassy Guatemala |
1. Summary: The Government of Guatemala (GOG) signed an agreement with the United Nations December 12 to establish the International Commission Against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG). Pending approval and ratification by the Guatemalan Congress, the independent UN-led body will investigate illegal security groups and clandestine security organizations operating with impunity and threatening human rights in Guatemala. Under an initial two-year mandate, CICIG will assist Guatemalan institutions with investigation and criminal prosecution of crimes committed by members of such groups, a legacy of the internal armed conflict that ended in 1996. The signed agreement is expected to be presented to the Guatemalan Congress in mid-January 2007. Early comments from legislative leaders make it clear that approval will not come quickly. End summary. 2. The GOG and the United Nations signed an agreement December 12 to establish an independent UN-led body to combat impunity and to strengthen the rule of law in Guatemala. Under its initial two-year mandate, the International Commission Against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG) will assist Guatemalan institutions to investigate and prosecute crimes committed by members of illegal security groups and clandestine security organizations, a legacy of Guatemala's 36-year armed conflict that ended in 1996 with the UN-brokered peace accords. The Commission will determine the existence of such groups, their structure, forms of operation, sources of financing and possible relation to State entities or agents and other sectors that threaten civil and political rights in Guatemala. 3. The Commission will be led by a commissioner appointed by the UN Secretary-General and will be empowered to promote criminal prosecutions by filing criminal complaints; to join criminal proceedings as a private prosecutor; and to provide technical advice to State institutions in the investigation and criminal prosecution of crimes committed by members of illegal security groups and clandestine security organizations. It will also have the authority to advise State institutions in the implementation of administrative proceedings against State officials allegedly involved in such organizations, and to report to administrative authorities the names of civil servants who have allegedly committed administrative offenses in the exercise of their official duties. The Public Prosecutor's Office will retain final decision-making authority as to who will be criminally prosecuted. 4. The agreement is expected to go to the Guatemalan Congress for discussion and approval once Congress returns from recess on January 14. The complex internal process could take as long as three months or more and will require a simple majority (80 of 158 votes) in Congress for ratification. 5. Preliminary reaction from various congressional blocs and editorial writers reveals a deep divide over the utility and constitutionality of CICIG. While some have praised the agreement as a positive, significant step in the fight against impunity and violence that have become increasingly prevalent in Guatemala, some human rights groups have expressed reservations and criticized the agreement for its non-retroactive application to past illicit activities. Critics within the human rights community assert that past activities should be investigated because those who now run organized crime groups violated human rights and committed crimes in the past. Some congressmen expressed opposition to CICIG based on their concerns that it would diminish Guatemala's sovereignty, while some op-ed writers asserted that it would undermine Guatemala's own institutions charged with enforcing the laws. 6. Ruben Dario Morales, Secretary-General of the National Advancement Party (PAN) and president-elect of Congress, publicly expressed reservations over the effectiveness of such commission to combat the endemic problem of impunity. In local press, he emphasized the need to create a permanent entity -- a national system of security -- and to establish a State policy against crimes committed by illegal security groups and clandestine security organizations. Private sector leaders, including Humberto Preti, former head of the principal business association CACIF, have argued that the Commission is only a temporary solution to the persistent problem of impunity and expressed concern that it may be little more than a leftist intervention that will address only crimes committed by the right wing. 7. Comment: The CICIG agreement is a promising, if long-delayed, initiative of the Berger Administration to strengthen the rule of law and protect human rights in Guatemala. Based on preliminary reaction, however, Embassy anticipates a vigorous and protracted debate in Congress. While the GOG tells us they consulted with all interested parties on the text of the agreement prior to signing with the UN, it apparently has not done a thorough job of lobbying and convincing congressional blocs to support the agreement. The Embassy has been actively engaged in lobbying for congressional approval of CICIG (formerly known as CICIACS) since the beginning of GOG-UN negotiations more than a year ago, and as the text is presented to Congress early next year we will intensify our lobbying efforts. Derham |