United Nations Verification Mission in Guatemala

“ On 25 May, after an intensive process of dialogue and negotiation, over 130 organizations representing a broad spectrum of society, in the presence of the heads of the three branches of government, signed the Fiscal Pact for a Future with Peace and Development, which, in keeping with the peace agreements, sets forth the principles and commitments that should guide fiscal policy in the coming decade. ”

“ The system of development councils does not as yet constitute a mechanism of social participation and consultation. The development councils have made progress as forums for allocating the budget of the Solidarity Fund for Community Development and for approving municipal projects. However, organizations of civil society are still not participating in the councils as fully as they should. Verification shows that, in some municipalities, the decision to bring new social actors into the councils is left to the mayor, in the absence of an institutional policy to that effect. ”

“ That agenda is still a full one; it remains valid and includes such important commitments as the implementation of fiscal reforms, the expansion of judicial reforms, the reform of the electoral system and the armed forces, and critical aspects related to public security. At the same time, the labour situation, the housing situation, the sustainable reintegration of the uprooted and demobilized population and the problems of compensation and national reconciliation remain outstanding and the failure to tackle them is affecting both the peace process and governance. ”

“ The depth and extent of poverty and social exclusion in rural areas require a concerted effort to promote an institutional framework for the design and implementation of a comprehensive rural development strategy that will create and strengthen the socioeconomic foundations of democracy. The immediate formulation of a comprehensive rural development policy is one of the priorities established by the Follow-up Commission, particularly in the light of the significant delays in the implementation of a number of commitments relating thereto. ”

“ The great challenge is to ensure the sustainability of the progress achieved, to make adequate provision for the multicultural and multi-ethnic characteristics of Guatemalan society in all areas of national life and to extend the benefits of peace to the areas of the country where the social debt remains greatest. Measures as important as the Fiscal Pact and the governance pact, to which the President of the Republic has referred on a number of occasions, require the understanding, participation and support of broad sectors of society which still remain marginalized. ”

“ In Guatemala, whose recent history has been marked by confrontational and exclusionary attitudes that led to the use of violence as a political tool, it is important to continue to make progress in building a new culture based on dialogue and social consultation among the various sectors and cultures. The Fiscal Pact experience is a major step forward in the national reconciliation process and should guide the work of reaching consensus on other issues of special significance to the peace process. ”

“ However, Guatemalans still do not see the peace process as having brought about any major, tangible improvements in their lives. If they are to commit themselves firmly to that process, they must be able to feel that their living conditions have improved as a result of the peace agreements. The Follow-up Commission has said that it will pay special attention to the fulfilment of the health, education, housing, employment and social security commitments made in the agreements, both as regards administrative policies and decisions and as regards the budget allocation for the next fiscal year. ”

“ In the preamble to that Agreement, the parties recognized that the discrimination and exploitation to which indigenous peoples have been subjected have profoundly affected their rights and denied them the full exercise of political participation. ”

“ In October 1999, the Commission to Follow up the Implementation of the Peace Agreements drew up the outstanding peace agenda, which it shared with the political parties competing in that year’s general elections. The agenda identified seven areas for priority action: human rights and national reconciliation; civilian-military relations and military reform; reform of the system for the administration of justice; indigenous peoples and intercultural relations; rural policy and development; social policies; and fiscal policy. ”

“ An ongoing dialogue among the State, the affected communities and organizations of civil society, particularly victims’ organizations, must be instituted and maintained so that they can jointly assume the pressing task of national reconciliation. The national programme must be launched as a matter of urgency and its technical and financial sustainability ensured as part of an ongoing, long-term effort to fulfil the State’s inescapable legal and moral obligation to the victims. ”

“ Using similar methodologies will make it possible to take new steps such as those provided for in the governance pact, which is aimed at establishing a national anti-poverty strategy based on full compliance with the peace agreements, especially the Agreement on Social and Economic Aspects. This should contribute to overcoming the structural causes that gave rise to the armed conflict and to eradicating socioeconomic exclusion processes, ensure rapid, equitable and fair economic growth and achieve a higher level of human development for Guatemalan society. ”

“ Given the worrying shortage of new police recruits, it is essential that the Government pursue a resolute policy of recruiting throughout the country and particularly in indigenous areas, in order for graduates of the Academy to have a positive impact throughout the new police force. It is also important to move ahead with the process, already begun by the new authorities, of adapting curricula to the country’s requirements and to the need to develop police practices aimed at ensuring respect for human rights and the strengthening of administrative and operation capacities. ”

“ The Joint Commission on Rights relating to Indigenous Peoples’ Land continued its work, although it faced considerable difficulties owing to the turnover in its membership, particularly in the Government’s representatives, and the absence of technical, logistical and economic support. The Mission notes that the commitments concerning land and natural resources are a key issue that transcends the economic use of land, is highly sensitive and offers considerable potential for social conflict. ”

“ The Congress and political parties, especially the ruling party which has a parliamentary majority, have an inescapable responsibility to bring the process of discussing and approving the electoral reform to a close, within the framework of the agreement reached in the Electoral Reform Commission established pursuant to the agreements. ”

“ Such an essential aspect of the peace process requires the firm backing of the Government and the support of indigenous organizations representing the cultural, ethnic and linguistic diversity of the country. The process of building national unity requires the integration of an intercultural perspective and of the important economic, social and cultural contributions of the indigenous peoples of Guatemala. ”

“ The Fiscal Pact and the Political Agreement for Funding Peace, Development and Democracy, which were arrived at through a methodology of broad participation and consultation in the political, social and economic spheres, are a major achievement from the standpoint of the political philosophy underlying the peace agreements. ”

“ To this end, the commitments relating to redeployment and to the elaboration of a new doctrine with the participation of social and academic sectors must be complied with fully and the necessary changes must be made in the educational system of the armed forces. In particular, the Presidential Military Staff must be disbanded and military intelligence must be transformed, so as to limit it to the role of the armed forces in a democratic society. ”

“ The delay in fulfilling those commitments is seriously undermining legal certainty as to land tenure and the economic self-sufficiency of the intended beneficiaries, who played an important role in the drafting of the agreements, and will only increase their frustration, a situation that would not benefit the peace process. ”

“ As indicated in my previous report, access to land and legal security of tenure continue to be priority issues for the uprooted population. The purchase of agricultural estates for Communities in Resistance has been completed, but resources have yet to be earmarked for ensuring that the process of socioeconomic reintegration is sustainable. For the internally displaced population, only two more estates were acquired in addition to the two previously purchased. ”

“ The number of indigenous people who apply and are selected, trained and deployed remains low. There are currently 1,082 police who speak an indigenous language, but some are assigned to places where the language they know is not spoken. Lastly, the Mission notes that, in general, the PNC regime of confinement to barracks is affecting the police morale and preventing the provision of a better public service and, hence, the development of a relationship with the community. ”

“ It is therefore urgent that the commitments relating to land contained in the peace agreements should be addressed comprehensively, especially those relating to the recognition and regulation of indigenous communities’ land tenure, the use and management of their natural resources, the legal protection of communal land and the creation of an agrarian and environmental jurisdiction. ”

“ It has no guidelines on how to take account of multiculturalism or how to guarantee the right of indigenous peoples to be involved in decision-making on their own development. Policies for the participation of women and rural youth must also be translated into adequately funded programmes and projects which include affirmative action for giving those sectors equitable access to resources and services and which also consider the multicultural dimension.
44. Positive steps have been taken to formulate an environmental policy that is consistent with the content of the peace agreements. ”

“ The massive reincorporation of the armed forces in public security tasks will affect their modernization, with respect to both their continued redeployment and the rational use of resources for national defence functions. Moreover, earlier MINUGUA verifications show that failure to provide members of the armed forces with specialized training in public security tasks poses a potential risk to the full enjoyment of human rights. ”

“ The Mission also believes that combating poverty is essential to the fulfilment of the agreements, especially their socio-economic and agrarian elements. The Mission is therefore willing to cooperate in any initiative aimed at implementing, on a participatory, consensual basis, a strategy for reducing levels of social exclusion and creating conditions for the sustainability of the peace processes. ”

“ It is therefore strategically important that these women’s organizational structures should broaden their bases and take on the role of monitoring compliance with the policy proposals which they themselves generated through their participation in local consultations. The nature and composition of the Coordinating Commission must also be reformulated in order to make the Forum’s outcomes binding and give it the coordinating and influential role that will enable it to comply with the provisions of the Timetable Agreement on monitoring the commitments related to women. ”

“ The State institutions responsible for labour issues should be modified to ensure a planned approach throughout the country which includes educational, preventive and promotional elements, and has a budgetary allocation sufficient to make it sustainable. It is also to be hoped that other commitments requiring changes in the legal framework, such as those on vocational training or the amendment of labour laws regarding women, with special attention to women working in private homes, will also be complied with as soon as possible. ”

“ Lack of coordination among the agencies of the central Government responsible for the broad strategic outlines of the peace agenda could hamper their ability to carry out their mandates properly and, in particular, the overall design and implementation of public policies. ”

“ In April, the Mission published a verification report on the situation in Guatemalan prisons. The report highlighted serious deficiencies in infrastructure, trained personnel and prison security, which have led to a large number of escapes, as well as overcrowding and deplorable living conditions for inmates, more than 60 per cent of whom are still awaiting sentencing. Attention is drawn to the basic agenda for prison reform, contained in that report, which includes recommendations to the relevant State institutions. ”

“ The Mission trusts that the positive intention of broadening the opportunities for debate and consensus-building with other social actors will nevertheless respect the nature of this Commission, which has been judged an important mechanism for participation and consensus-building between the Government and indigenous peoples. ”

“ Pursuant to the agreements, education should play the role of affirming and disseminating concepts and behaviours conducive to a democratic pluralism that respects human rights and cultural diversity, civic values and the mechanisms of public participation. ”