GUATEMALA'S INPUT FOR PRESIDENT'S 2007 UNGA HUMAN

UNCLAS GUATEMALA 001916 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPT FOR G, DRL/SEA, NSC/DEMOC E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PHUM PREL ELAB KCRM KJUS KDEM EAID SOCI PGOV GT SUBJECT: GUATEMALA'S INPUT FOR PRESIDENT'S 2007 UNGA HUMAN RIGHTS ROUNDTABLE REF: STATE 125456 ¶1. Per reftel, post submits the following information to help inform the discussion at the President's 2007 UNGA Democracy and Human Rights Roundtable. ¶2. Post strategy for promoting human rights and democracy in Guatemala focuses on helping the government strengthen its democratic institutions while promoting transparency, accountability, and respect for human rights and the rule of law. USG efforts in Guatemala aim to strengthen the capacity of civil society to partner in efforts to consolidate democratic principles and values. ¶3. In support of civil society, Embassy successfully pushed the Guatemalan government and Congress to establish the International Commission Against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG). The UN-led commission will operate under the Public Ministry's prosecutorial authority to help dismantle criminal organizations that have penetrated state institutions. ¶4. Embassy provided training to law enforcement in crime scene protection and other law enforcement procedures to help professionalize the police force. It funded a consultant at the National Police Academy to continue developing its curriculum, which includes a human rights component. To increase the capacity of the National Civil Police to investigate police officers implicated in corruption or other crimes, Embassy continued to assist the new Inspectorate General in structural and operational guidelines to oversee the Office of Professional Responsibility. ¶5. Guatemala has a strong civil society that played an important role as watchdog and advocate for democratic principles. The Ambassador and other Embassy representatives met frequently with journalists, human rights defenders, labor leaders, and other activists and publicly expressed support for their work. In numerous specific cases, Embassy continued to urge the government to investigate attacks, threats, and other acts of intimidation and to provide additional protection when appropriate. ¶6. Embassy provided substantial material and technical assistance to continue to build the capacity of justice sector institutions and to consolidate reforms initiated under the Peace Accords. In an effort to improve prosecutions of serious crimes, Embassy provided technical assistance in implementing improved pre-trial procedures and case management. The most notable example was the design and implementation of three 24-hour criminal courts, which significantly improved the quality of arrests and indictments by preventing arbitrary detention, and enabled prosecutors and defense lawyers to take immediate action on cases. Embassy provided not only technical assistance but also refurbished offices and facilitated dialogue among the Supreme Court, the Attorney General, the Public Defense Director, and the Ministry of Interior with the aim of providing more effective and comprehensive service within the court system. The program also helped redesign the structure of the Office of the Prosecutor Against Homicide, implementing methodologies for case organization, monitoring, and supervision, with the objective of improving the quality and quantity of prosecution of homicide cases, particularly killings of women. This program has resulted in a 25 percent increase in the rate of prosecution for homicides, of which 10-12 percent annually are killings of women. ¶7. Embassy continued to provide material support and training to the Special Prosecutor for Human Rights and the Special Prosecutor for Crimes Against Women, Children, and Victims of Trafficking in Persons. It also continued to provide assistance in monitoring adherence to due process through the Public Defense Institute. ¶8. Embassy funded expansion of a network of Justice Centers intended to modernize and streamline judicial processes and to make them more accessible. The success of the Justice Centers has had a multiplier effect, promoting local initiatives such as a shelter for domestic violence victims, a legal aid office at the University of San Carlos for non-criminal cases, and improvements in administrative services provided by other justice sector institutions. The 15 Justice Centers are now part of a national program to promote access to justice and coordination of justice sector institutions. ¶9. Unresolved issues from Guatemala's 1960-1996 internal conflict continued to undermine respect for human rights and the rule of law. Many victims of political crimes and human rights violations remained missing while the alleged perpetrators enjoyed impunity. Embassy funded a project that develops legal cases related to human rights violations committed during the conflict. The project aims to overcome institutional obstacles to prosecution that allow for continued impunity. The project helped lay the groundwork for future prosecutions in other human rights cases. Exhumations were conducted at 147 sites last year, primarily in the western highlands where the conflict was most intense. Embassy personnel, including the Ambassador, visited the Forensic Anthropological Foundation to demonstrate support for forensics workers and victims' families. The National Reparations Program, created as a result of a three-year human rights project sponsored by the U.S., continued to make reparation payments to civilian victims of the internal conflict. ¶10. Embassy provided technical assistance to the Ministry of Defense in support of its human rights curriculum. All military personnel are required to receive human rights training, which is part of the curriculum of every Guatemalan military school. ¶11. Embassy is working with the Guatemalan government to build the capacity of state institutions to more effectively combat child labor and trafficking in persons (TIP). Embassy is monitoring a USG grant to a local NGO that is working on a project that focuses attention on trafficked victims. The project is aimed at rescuing minors who are being sexually exploited, especially in the border region, and discouraging minors from engaging in prostitution by expanding immediate and long-term care for trafficking victims, including providing shelter and food, health care, immediate legal assistance, and post-traumatic stress disorder therapy. The project also aims to build the institutional capacity of law enforcement to identify trafficking cases, build stronger cases for prosecution, and create stronger linkages with civil society. Embassy is also monitoring a grant to an NGO that is working on a regional anti-TIP project focusing on the institutional capacity of civil society, religious, and governmental organizations to promote and defend the human rights of women and minors who are victims of or vulnerable to trafficking for sexual exploitation in Central America. ¶12. Embassy funded projects to improve labor law compliance and to reduce the incidence of child labor. Through these projects, Embassy supported the efforts of the Ministry of Labor and NGOs to train labor inspectors, educate employers and workers about their rights and responsibilities, and provide educational opportunities to children who would otherwise be forced to work. Embassy is monitoring a USG grant to Catholic Relief Services to implement a USD 4.5 million project to promote workers' rights in support of CAFTA-DR. The project aims to establish six model Worker Rights Centers, reaching approximately 200,000 workers, to provide legal services to workers to assist in documenting and filing labor complaints and to conduct outreach activities to educate workers on labor issues. ¶13. The Public Affairs Section has coordinated a wide range of outreach initiatives at universities, high schools, and the Binational Center to publicize U.S. human rights advocacy and concerns. These initiatives have included presentations by the Embassy's Public Affairs Officer and the Human Rights Officer at several universities. ¶14. The Ambassador has delivered speeches focused on human rights and support for human rights defenders, as well as support for the elections. The Ambassador and senior Embassy officers have met with human rights advocates, including the government's Human Rights Ombudsman, Presidential Human Rights Commissioner, prominent Guatemalan human rights NGOs, and local human rights defenders in Guatemala City as well as in Solola, Quiche, San Marcos, and other outlying departments. ¶15. The Public Affairs Section has provided grants to the Office of the Human Rights Ombudsman to support its project to protect and catalog the police archives and to the NGO Center of Investigations in the Meso-America Region (CIRMA) to raise awareness of historic human rights abuses and indigenous rights. It has also worked closely on indigenous rights education efforts with the government's Commission on Discrimination and Racism. ¶16. Public Affairs has focused on increasing outreach and grant support to indigenous Mayan and Garifuna (Afro-Caribbean) Guatemalans, including support for Del Valle University's community outreach in the Lake Atitlan region, NGO Enlace Quiche in Santa Cruz del Quiche, and the Guatemalan-American Institute (IGA) in Quetzaltenango and Guatemala City. ¶17. The Guatemalan government's democracy and human rights priorities include ensuring free and fair elections, and giving voters easier access to polling stations by substantially increasing the number of polling stations in rural areas. Combating the ongoing problem of insecurity and violence is a top priority for the GOG, as is reforming the police and judiciary. The GOG is a strong advocate for the human rights of illegal Guatemalan aliens in the U.S. and returned deportees. The non-partisan Human Rights Ombudsman serves as an official human rights watchdog, and the independent press and large NGO sector are also effective human rights monitors. The GOG is a consistent advocate for human rights in international fora such as the OAS and UN. Derham