United Nations Verification Mission in Guatemala

“ The formulation and implementation of a practical, realistic and technically consistent fiscal proposal is an essential precondition if the Follow-up Commission is to take a decision on the Government’s request to reschedule compliance with the taxation target to the year 2002. The flexibility shown by URNG in the face of the political and institutional problems raised by the tax issue is a positive development. This goodwill is another reason for the authorities to spare no effort in mobilizing more financial resources to respond fully to the interests of the population as a whole. ”

“ In addition to the constitutional reforms and the consultations taking place in the joint commissions, the presence of more indigenous people in government service will be crucial for further transforming the relationship between the State and society and for giving credibility to efforts to achieve a multi-ethnic, multicultural and multilingual State. Accordingly, it would be a very positive step for the Government to take action, before the Commission completes its work, to promote greater access by indigenous people to government service, as provided for in the Agreement. ”

“ As was pointed out earlier, several substantive changes to the legislation governing the armed forces and intelligence bodies have had to be postponed pending the amendment of the Constitution. Modernization of the judiciary is also dependent on that reform. Constitutional recognition of the identity and rights of indigenous peoples, which is part of the reform, will help to end centuries of exclusion and to give legitimacy to ongoing efforts to redefine social coexistence in Guatemala. ”

“ In the area of vocational training, progress must be made in the drafting of legislation to provide a national conceptual framework for technical and vocational training. Such legislation will have to make sure that training and retraining activities are directed and coordinated in such a way that proper attention is paid to the various social sectors which require such training in order to enter the labour market. ”

“ In education, the National Programme for Educational Self-Management (PRONADE) managed to increase primary education coverage and attained 60 per cent of the target set for the year 2000 in the Peace Agreements. To do so, it funded educational activities in areas not covered by education services and also created participation forums, such as the parents’ committees provided for in the Peace Agreements. However, the PRONADE programme contains little in the way of bilingual and intercultural education, even though it mainly covers areas with a rural indigenous population. ”

“ The coordinating body for the modernization of the justice sector, set up in 1997, began its activities and appointed its executive secretary. Its technical board, made up of the planning directors of the judiciary, the Public Prosecutor’s Office and the Ministry of the Interior, focused its efforts on integrating the modernization plans of the three institutions and coordinating some lines of joint work for immediate implementation. The prison system is one priority area in which proposals are to be submitted for solving the serious problems identified. ”

“ With regard to fiscal reform, the concerns and conclusions set forth repeatedly in previous reports continue to be valid: achievement of the fiscal goals of the Peace Agreements is vital to establishing the financial base for the country’s social development and to strengthening the institutions of a State governed by the rule of law. ”

“ Under the Peace Agreements, the women’s issue is recognized as one for priority attention in the Government’s anti-poverty policy, since women suffer from the highest rates of poverty, exclusion and discrimination at all levels. ”

“ However, it should be mentioned that the Ministry’s power to design and implement a rural development strategy that will mobilize all institutions in this sector is not clearly defined and that the national resources allocated to production initiatives in rural areas are inadequate. Participation mechanisms are being applied at the regional level, but they tend to adopt a development approach which is based on the funding of specific projects, and RADEAS see themselves more as fund managers than as part of a participatory process of development planning. ”

“ There is a fairly broad national and international consensus that the fiscal measures taken will not ensure the sustainability of the process of domestic resource mobilization in the medium term, nor will they make it possible to correct the expansion-contraction cycle of fiscal revenues historically seen in Guatemala. ”

“ The situation of workers in Guatemala is doubly precarious: not only is there profound economic inequality, but trade unions were one of the sectors most seriously hit by the armed conflict. This makes it particularly necessary to strengthen the State, and the Ministry of Labour in particular, so that they can fulfil their constitutional mandate of protecting labour rights.
64. The purpose of decentralizing the Ministry of Labour is to provide regional offices with more human and material resources. ”

“ It is important that the Fund’s policy should take into account the special status that the Agreements give to the uprooted population because of their particular vulnerability. It is encouraging that the bill concerning the Land Trust Fund, which was drafted by the Joint Commission on Land Rights and reviewed by the Follow-up Commission, stipulates that, during the next 10 years, priority will be given to the uprooted population, with particular emphasis on families headed by a widow or a single mother. ”

“ Although the Mission commends the process of rural policy reformulation, it should be pointed out that, because of the restructuring of the Ministry of Agriculture, there has been a drastic decline in the institutional presence of the Ministry in some regions. This is creating a dangerous institutional vacuum, since the new bodies are still weak and in some places do not even exist, and has caused a disturbing decline in the services provided to farmers. ”

“ If the decentralization process is to continue, its budget will have to be increased substantially and it will have to be implemented efficiently. Oversight functions must be redefined within the framework of plans with predetermined goals which seek to give priority to assisting the most vulnerable groups of workers, such as women, children and agricultural workers. With regard to agricultural workers, special attention must be given to payment of the minimum wage, the exercise of their collective rights and their working conditions in general. ”

“ Meanwhile, there has been a real increase in the participation of the general public and organized civil society in implementing social policies, in particular in the fields of education, health and rural development. With national resources and the help of international cooperation agencies, progress has also been made in strengthening the development councils and the municipal and departmental technical units, thereby improving the response capacity of these bodies. ”

“ The official policy of the Ministry of Labour and Social Security embodies several of the labour principles set forth in the Peace Agreements: creation of fairly paid jobs, reorientation of labour relations towards consultation and collective bargaining, the necessary changes in labour legislation to promote the enforcement of labour law, decentralization and expansion of labour inspection services and special attention to women’s employment. ”

“ This willingness to put one’s faith in negotiation and conciliation on such sensitive issues as inter-ethnic relations and access to land reflects a desire for change which, we hope, will grow stronger and extend to other areas – such as labour relations – that have traditionally been marked by confrontation. ”

“ The Agreements establish the principle that temples and ceremonial centres of archaeological value are part of the national heritage and call for a structuring of State entities responsible for their administration in order to ensure the participation of indigenous organizations, whereas the indigenous representatives on the Commission consider that such places should be administered exclusively by indigenous people and propose that an autonomous agency be set up for that purpose. ”

“ These economic results facilitate compliance with the letter and spirit of the Peace Agreements and the implementation of distributive policies that favour greater social equity. In this context, fiscal policy and, in particular, public investment policy have become especially important, since they constitute one of the main tools for promoting a fairer distribution of the benefits of economic growth and making development and democratization efforts sustainable in the medium and long term. ”

“ Government representatives on CTEAR have, for their part, suggested that productive integration should be carried out by means of micro-regional processes, a long-term plan not envisaged in the Agreement.
14. The commitment to certifying the educational qualifications of the uprooted population and educational outreach workers was rescheduled for the second quarter of 1998. CTEAR conducted studies on the basis of the plan prepared by the subcommission on education with the support of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. ”

“ The setback that occurred in February 1998 with the rejection of the new Act on the Alcoholic and Other Beverages Sales Tax, and the deep-seated resistance that the tax issue continues to arouse among sectors of the population that have traditionally opposed any increase in the tax burden, have underscored the political obstacles that stand in the way of achieving the modest taxation targets set forth in the Agreements. ”

“ Accordingly, the Government is urged to intensify its efforts to modernize the State, increase its presence throughout the national territory, especially in the most isolated and poorest regions, and endeavour to strengthen the State, both institutionally and financially. Moreover, in order to raise the quality of public sector human resources, a new civil service act needs to be adopted and enforced, pursuant to the Peace Agreements. ”

“ The poor quality of the training imparted to staff assigned to criminal investigation tasks is particular cause for concern and, combined with a lack of supplies, is a major constraint on police capacity to meet the requirements of the administration of justice. ”

“ It is in this context that the parties believe that, with the campaign for the 1999 general elections drawing near, it may prove difficult to forge a national consensus on the major issues of the peace agenda, and that they have pledged to make a special effort to achieve the taxation targets and constitutional reform in the next few months. ”

“ This difference poses a question of substance that is at the heart of many of the discussions on the issue of multiculturalism, namely, to what extent does respect for and promotion of the rights of indigenous people entail the creation of purely indigenous organizations, or the inclusion of an equitable number of indigenous representatives in existing organizations so as to make them multicultural? ”

“ It will be recalled that Guatemala has in the past registered positive economic growth rates, without this having brought about either a substantive improvement in social and economic conditions or adequate institution-building. ”

“ As was pointed out in the previous report, this opening towards participation by traditionally marginalized sectors of the population is a promising feature of the peace process in Guatemala. There are many difficulties to be contended with and a special tribute must be paid both to the State authorities, particularly SEPAZ, the Ministry of Agriculture and other offices dealing with land issues, and to the indigenous and peasant organizations which were responsible for the success of several unprecedented experiments with consultation. ”

“ The failure to implement the commitment to establish the Advisory Council on Security – which had already been rescheduled – is cause for concern. This body, which has an important role to play in future security policies, should be an important vehicle for participation on an issue on which achieving broad consensus is a matter of priority. ”

“ However, a planned policy needs to be developed which includes measures to ensure respect for the right to organize and a major, properly funded, educational effort to promote the use of negotiation to settle labour disputes. ”

“ For that reason, it is recommended that projects be initiated right away, without waiting for the outcome of ongoing discussions on the details of the compensation, to assist the villages and areas which were most directly hurt by the armed conflict and for which such assistance would be not only moral compensation for the very great suffering endured but also a much-needed socio-economic contribution. ”

“ Now it will be necessary to verify to what extent those who benefited from the programmes are actually being incorporated into the labour force and into production and what advice they are being given about support programmes or other benefits which will help them to enter the labour market. ”