United Nations Verification Mission in Guatemala

“ The sustainability of these initiatives will depend on the proactive participation of civil society groups in the councils so that their role evolves from merely approving projects to one of defining development policies by consensus from the municipal to the national level. At the same time, such effective civil society participation would encourage greater transparency in management by authorities. To this end, it is essential that Congress should approve the Joint Commission for Reform and Participation’s consensus proposals for the reform the Development Councils and Municipal Code Act. ”

“ Despite the commitments made in the Peace Agreements, and the impact that improvements in labour relations would have on peace-building, there is a glaring disproportion between the magnitude and complexity of the country’s labour problems and the human and material resources allocated by the State to overcoming them and the low priority assigned to labour issues in political decision-making. ”

“ The Mission expresses, once again, its concern at the fact that the population barely perceives the effects of peace, which compromises the sustainability and the strength of the peace process. The Mission also considers that the sustainability of the process is compromised by the fact that broad sectors of the population still live in conditions of poverty and extreme poverty, particularly the indigenous peoples, who continue to be victims of high levels of discrimination and exclusion. ”

“ The Education Plan 2000-2004 and the Social Policy Matrix show the Government's concern for education. A welcome development has been the process of consultation with civil society undertaken by the Ministry of Education and the Advisory Commission on Educational Reform. Those efforts need to be translated into the rapid implementation of the reform, curriculum changes and the development of teaching materials that also include appropriate contents for democratic civic education and education for participation. ”

“ The development of most of the commitments in the Agreement on the Identity and Rights of Indigenous Peoples was entrusted to commissions that include representatives of the indigenous peoples, in accordance with the principle expressed in the preamble that “all matters of direct interest to the indigenous peoples need to be dealt with by and with them and that the present agreement seeks to create, expand and strengthen the structures, conditions, opportunities and guarantees regarding participation of the indigenous peoples”. ”

“ For the peace process to be sustainable, it is fundamental that there should be many State and civil society institutions that are capable of promoting and supporting implementation of the peace agenda. ”

“ The Peace Agreements recognize that there is specific discrimination against women and undertake to overcome it. As the 2000 Human Development Report of the United Nations System in Guatemala states, 59 per cent of the female population lives in rural areas and 48 per cent is indigenous. At the same time, women head 20 per cent of households. As regards education, the average illiteracy rate for indigenous women is 51.5 per cent. According to the Ministry of Education, the school dropout rate for girls is 81.5 per cent in rural areas and 50 per cent in urban areas. ”

“ The Special Integration Commission concluded its mandate the same month, submitting a plan of operations establishing the main goals and activities to be pursued in the definitive integration phase, in which the Government is required to make the biggest contribution. This final phase has major problems, as does the sustainable resettlement of the uprooted population in conditions of dignity. The sustainable and equitable development of the resettlement areas and the productive integration of these population groups continue to suffer from the lack of a comprehensive rural development policy. ”

“ Important opportunities for participation have arisen in connection with the definition of some public policies, such as fiscal policy and policies for the advancement and development of women, educational reform, culture and housing. However, the commitments to create institutional mechanisms for social participation that will help develop public oversight and promote transparency in government decision-making have not been fulfilled. ”

“ The adoption of a modern Code of Criminal Procedure, which should include principles of swiftness, immediacy and oral dimension in non-penal trials, the comprehensive reform of the Penal Code based on the principles of democratic penal law, which would inter alia criminalize ethnic discrimination and sexual harassment, the adoption of a new legislation on minors in keeping with the Convention on the Rights of the Child and a new Judiciary Act are also outstanding aspects. ”

“ Measures for immediate adoption should include the incorporation of more members of the indigenous population into the public service and Government. This would not only benefit the government but would give other institutions and sectors of society an example of the State’s political will to adapt to the nation’s multi-ethnic, multicultural and multilingual characteristics. ”

“ The role of the Commission for Monitoring and Supporting the Strengthening of the Justice System, a national forum that brings together leading qualified figures from civil society and representatives of justice sector institutions, is crucial in the modernization of the justice sector. It is very important that the Commission be allocated the necessary financial, technical and human resources for the fulfilment of its important and sensitive functions. ”

“ The Consultative Group meeting offers an opportunity for the international community, in dialogue with the State institutions and civil society, to reorganize the plans of action and overall direction of its cooperation in order to consolidate the peace process and give concerted support for national efforts to combat poverty and exclusion, modernize the democratic system and achieve full enjoyment of human rights and the Rule of Law. ”

“ A greater indigenous presence within the National Civil Police, judiciary and other branches of the public administration would stimulate the transformation of relations between the State and the indigenous peoples, and between indigenous and non-indigenous as well. ”

“ In this as in other matters, the main challenge is to move from emergency to sustainable development and from piecemeal projects to a long-term, regional and national vision. This is crucial if the peace process is to become sustainable and irreversible. ”

“ The Mission has reiterated the need for the State to provide itself with a policy against crime, which would strengthen the interinstitutional coordination, specially between the National Civil Police and the Public Prosecutor’s Office. Another key aspect is to improve and give continuity to the processes aimed at facilitating access to justice, such as the justice centres, community courts of the peace, popular lawyer’s offices and penal and non-penal public defence. ”

“ Several groups of academics, NGOs, indigenous organizations, and cooperative organizations have initiated a process of reflexion and formulation of proposals with a view to advancing in the construction of peace, development and democracy. This is the moment to strengthen these institutions and support coordination and cooperation between all these initiatives.
96. In this regard, the international community has a fundamental role to play by confirming its support and coordinating efforts in support of the Guatemalan peace process, which it has accompanied since its gestation. ”

“ Only 17 of every 100 girls complete primary school, and 66 per cent drop out before completing third grade in rural areas.
51. As regards access to land, 27 per cent of women work their own land while for men the proportion rises to 41 per cent. The 1995 National Survey of Maternal and Infant Health indicates that the maternal mortality rate is 190 per 100,000 births. The Gender Empowerment Measure in the above-mentioned Human Development Report is 0.46, which would put Guatemala at 49th place in the international ranking of 70 countries. ”

“ The adoption of the Career Judicial Service Act, and the functioning of the bodies foreseen by it, the establishment of the Career Judicial Service Council and the Judicial Disciplinary Board, as well as the entry into force of the Civil Service Act and the Code of Judicial Ethics, all represent important advances in the strengthening of judicial independence. ”

“ Unfortunately, the reform of the Elections and Political Parties Act envisaged in the Peace Agreements had not materialized and these elections were therefore not held in a legal framework that would have been more favourable for voter participation. There is a continuing need for major legal reforms and institutional reinforcement programmes that would make the system of political representation more inclusive and facilitate registering and voting. ”

“ In 1999, the peace process faced one of its biggest challenges in the form of the referendum held in May of that year. In compliance with the Agreement on Constitutional Reforms and the Electoral Regime and after extensive negotiations, the Congress of the Republic had adopted a package of 50 amendments to the Constitution by a two-thirds majority in October 1998. The proposed reform went far beyond the content of the Agreements. In accordance with constitutional procedures, this reform package was submitted to the people for ratification in a referendum held on 16 May 1999. ”

“ The commitment to draw up land management plans has still not been complied with and the forestry incentives exclude the indigenous communities and small farmers because of their lack of secure land title. At the same time, environmental policy needs the participation of the population in order to ensure sustainability. ”

“ Sustainable productive development 55. To achieve sustainable productive development, the Peace Agreements stressed the need for legal, institutional and financial reforms in order to consolidate a democratic, inclusive, decentralized and participatory State. An analysis of the current situation shows that both the formulation of a policy aimed at sustainable productive development and the creation of institutions capable of promoting it are still incipient, and so far there has been only limited, isolated progress. ”

“ The international community in general and the United Nations in particular have provided extensive cooperation for developing the outlines and political content of a rural development policy and technical assistance is currently being provided to help reach a consensus. ”

“ Although the biggest voter registration gains occurred in those departments with the highest indigenous population and among women, the level of registration remains low within these sectors. While the gap between registered men and women continues to narrow gradually compared with the registers used in the 1995 elections and the May 1999 referendum, gender differences in registration continue to be very marked, especially in those departments with the highest proportion of indigenous inhabitants and illiteracy, where fewer women register than elsewhere. ”

“ Progress is still needed on amendments with regard to restrictions on the right to strike and other aspects omitted from these reforms but envisioned in the Peace Agreements including those to do with working women, child labour, social security and the court processing of labour issues. As the reforms take effect, the Mission will also verify how effectively the Ministry of Labour uses its newly-granted faculties to monitor compliance with the new labour legislation. ”

“ Although some progress has been made in land and housing projects, including the purchase of three farms through the Land Trust Fund (FONTIERRAS) , projects related to integration into production, health care for the disabled and exhumation of the bodies of URNG members killed in combat all started very late. Integration into the workforce continues to encounter serious difficulties, as does the capacity of beneficiaries for the repayment of loans received from the Land Trust Fund. ”

“ As regards the workplace, government bodies and civil society organizations concerned with women’s issues have prepared a package of proposed reforms to the labour code concerning maternal leave, prevention of sexual harassment, pay equality, agricultural work and the conditions of women working in private homes. ”

“ At the same time, it is necessary to initiate the reform of the prison system, as well as the implementation of modern systems in order to prevent the imprisonment of persons for minor offenses or minor crimes, and to prevent the unnecessary prolongation of preventive detention. ”

“ These reforms, together with the Follow-up Commission’s rescheduling which includes several unimplemented labour commitments (such as the proposed Labour Procedural Code supported by the Ministry of Labour, and the proposals coming from various civil society sectors) have drawn attention back to labour issues and the need for the State, workers, employers and other civil society actors to increase the levels of dialogue leading to accords.
Rural development 60. The commitment to design and carry out a rural development policy has not been complied with. ”