United Nations Verification Mission in Guatemala

“ Indigenous peoples continue to suffer significant discrimination. The indigenous population makes up around half of Guatemala’s total population and lives in departments with the highest poverty levels, often without access to public services. Most of the 556,000 children who do not attend school are indigenous and the highest illiteracy levels are found in rural areas of departments where the majority of the population is indigenous.
19. Mechanisms for consultation with indigenous peoples continue to be weak. ”

“ The growing involvement of military personnel in public security in the past year is cause for concern. The Mission verified that the armed forces had assumed public security functions with no regard for the restrictions laid down in the Peace Agreements, which stipulate that they should act only for limited periods, under civilian authority and in exceptional circumstances. ”

“ Broad sectors of the population continue to live in conditions of poverty and extreme poverty. For many Guatemalans, especially indigenous peoples, women and rural workers, the benefits of the Peace Agreements have not extended much beyond the end of the internal armed conflict. Implementation of the Peace Agreements is not proceeding quickly enough. ”

“ Sustainable resettlement of the uprooted population in conditions of dignity, as well as the definitive integration of the URNG, and the productive integration of both population groups, continue to be hampered by the absence of a comprehensive policy on rural development. The organizations representing both populations continue to play an important role. However, there is concern over the delays in meeting the commitments on productive integration in the context of regional policies on sustainable development. ”

“ The Office for the Defence of Indigenous Women’s Rights, supported by international cooperation, has been working to defend and promote the human rights of indigenous women. The authorities must provide the necessary resources in order to strengthen it. The new programme concerning offices for the defence of indigenous peoples of the Public Institute for Criminal Defence, is also important, and MINUGUA will verify its implementation. ”

“ I call on the Government and on all citizens to set aside conflict, fulfil their respective responsibilities in upholding democratic values and revive the constructive spirit that prevailed at the Consultative Group meeting. ”

“ The commitment made by departmental governors, who signed a declaration, in July 2001, stipulating that the goals of the policy concerning women will be included in development plans is an important step towards the institutionalization of the National Policy for the Promotion and Advancement of Guatemalan Women, promoted by the Presidential Secretariat for Women. ”

“ A new programme has been introduced for the prevention of the five most common and serious childhood diseases. Vaccination coverage against polio and measles among children under one year old increased to 85 per cent and 88 per cent respectively, and the country received its certification for polio eradication. It is to be hoped that coverage of the programme of access to medicines will be extended to the country’s rural areas. The Ministry of Health also submitted its proposal to include popular traditional medicine in official health-system networks. ”

“ However, since they lack secure title to the land indigenous communities and small-scale farmers do not have access to the benefits given by the Government in return for reafforestation activities. The National Council for Protected Areas was ranked first in the world in terms of the number of community forestry management concessions granted in Petén, although there continue to be problems regarding the establishment of protected areas in which the indigenous communities have no involvement or rights, as happened in the Visís Cabá biosphere reserve. ”

“ The international community has an important role to play in ensuring the success of the Guatemalan peace process, which it has been supporting from the start. I wish to offer special thanks to the countries friends of the Guatemalan peace process and the other cooperating countries and agencies for their renewed commitment to the Peace Agreements expressed at the Consultative Group meeting. ”

“ Budget cuts imposed in various areas of the health sector during 2001 made it hard to provide quality services, especially in the most remote areas. The Integrated Health Care System was extended to a further 2.9 million people, which is only half the total of those without access to services. There continues to be a shortage of medicines, adequate facilities and human resources. ”

“ The situation of the displaced, especially women, is all the more serious because the process of providing access to land is proceeding slowly, despite the priority accorded to this population group in the Agreements. ”

“ It should be noted that units whose purpose is to promote the advancement of women have been set up in a number of ministries and social funds.
D. Sustainable productive development Rural development 35. Since October 2000, various civil-society representatives have been putting forward proposals for rural development policy. The Government’s own proposals centre on a poverty-reduction strategy put forward by the Secretariat for Planning and Programming in the Office of the President, and an agricultural development programme put forward by the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Food. ”

“ Housing and production projects aimed at achieving the definitive integration of demobilized URNG combatants are currently benefiting from more resources. However, no significant progress has been made regarding the purchase of land through the Land Trust Fund, and programme beneficiaries are finding it very hard to repay their loans. ”

“ Not only has no progress been made on programme preparation, but the lack of resources for the Peace Secretariat is threatening the continuity of the pilot compensation projects that have been running for many years. ”

“ The constant changes in its senior ranks and management are continuing to undermine the institutional stability and career structure of the police force. PNC needs to professionalize its personnel and acquire new equipment so that it can become a more effective public service and discharge its security functions. ”

“ However, with the aim of establishing targeted sectoral partnerships on urgent topics, the Commission to Follow-up the Implementation of the Peace Agreements, which is composed of representatives of civil society and one member of Congress, submitted priority agendas for the three branches of government. ”

“ MINUGUA has also verified that military intelligence bodies have assumed investigative functions that rightfully belong to PNC. All of this reflects an unwillingness to allow the police to bear sole responsibility for public security. Moreover, the former Minister of Defence, after having retired, was appointed Minister of the Interior, a fact that does not augur well for the strengthening of either civilian power or the police. ”