Human Rights

SUPPORTING HUMAN RIGHTS AND DEMOCRACY: THE U.S. RECORD 2003-2004

GUATEMALA

May 17, 2004

Guatemala held open and transparent elections in November and December of 2003. While there have been major advances in human rights since the end of the civil conflict and signing of the Peace Accords in 1996, state institutions charged with enforcing the rule of law remain weak and serious human rights problems persist. There were credible reports of killings by individuals linked to security forces and of politically motivated killings by non-state actors. Security forces kidnapped, tortured, abused and mistreated suspects and detainees. Arbitrary arrest and lengthy pretrial detentions were problems. Judges and other law enforcement officials were subjected to intimidation and corruption. Impunity was pervasive, although efforts to reform the judiciary continued. Members of the media were targets of attacks, threats and intimidation. Attacks on non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and human rights workers by unidentified persons decreased during the year.

The U.S. human rights and democracy strategy aims to encourage and support the new Government's efforts to strengthen state institutions, civil society groups promoting human rights and an innovative UN proposal to investigate clandestine groups believed to be involved in attacks on human rights workers.

U.S. officials, including Under Secretary of State for Global Affairs Paula Dobriansky and Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs Roger Noriega, highlighted human rights concerns during meetings with President Alfonso Portillo, members of Congress and other high-level officials. Florida Governor Jeb Bush also raised human rights with President Oscar Berger during the inaugural visit. The Embassy expressed interest in key cases to authorities investigating human rights abuses during the year. Authorities were generally cooperative and in several cases shifted resources to investigate cases of particular concern. The Ambassador also attended important human rights trials and publicly promoted human rights and its defenders on several occasions. From its genesis as a proposal from civil society, the Ambassador has championed the proposed UN Commission to Investigate Clandestine Groups (CICIACS). The United States provided support to NGOs that formed a "Coalition in Favor of CICIACS," and an agreement was signed between the United Nations and the Government to create the CICIACS on January 7, 2004. The Commission will use international experts to investigate and prosecute cases involving human rights abuses, organized crime, official corruption and narcotics trafficking in Guatemalan courts. It awaits Congressional approval and Constitutional Court review.

Following the release of a March 2003 MINUGUA report documenting the use of torture by state agents against three narco-traffickers in Rio Hondo, the Ambassador urged the Minister of Government and the Minister of Defense to investigate the allegations and punish any Government officers found to be responsible. The ministers agreed to take measures to prevent any recurrence of torture, but no known action was taken to sanction individuals responsible for this incident.

The United States provided a total of $2.8 million and fielded approximately 40 official observers under the Organization of American States’ Electoral Observation Mission for the November and December 2003 rounds of the general election. The United States is now considering providing technical support to the new Congress and assistance for the negotiation of electoral reforms to increase voter participation.

The United States continued to support ($4.2 million over three years) grassroots human rights promotion, including training local human rights promoters, media campaigns, targeted support for the Office of the Human Rights Ombudsman (limited training and equipment) and support for the Human Rights Movement, a coalition of human rights NGOs. A key Movement leader, Frank LaRue, was appointed by President Berger to lead the Presidential Human Rights Commission in January 2004. It is encouraging that since 1996 civil society has blossomed in Guatemala and is now a major contributor to the new Government's human rights policies. Under this program, the United States also supported with $250,000 a media and NGO campaign to raise public awareness of the recommendations of the Historical Clarification Commission, five years after it issued its report. Since 1999, the United States has provided $4.3 million to fund exhumations of clandestine cemeteries dating to the civil conflict and mental health assistance for victims. The United States also funded negotiations between civil society and the Government to create a National Reparations Plan, which was established to compensate victims of the civil conflict.

To improve the country's judicial system, the United States funded the expansion of a network of Justice Centers to improve access to justice and modernize the justice sector by implementing oral debate in pre-trial hearings and administrative reforms to promote efficiency and transparency in judicial operations. The United States provided material support to the Guatemalan Public Ministry’s Office of the Special Prosecutor for Crimes Against Human Rights Workers. The Embassy sent journalists, government officials and civil society leaders on International Visitor programs in 2003 to study human rights, democracy and investigative journalism.

In 2003, the U.S. Labor Department announced a four-year, $6.7 million regional project to promote labor rights education and strengthen labor inspectorates in Central America. The United States negotiated the U.S.-Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) with Central American nations which incorporated labor rights protections. If ratified, the CAFTA will supersede existing labor condition regulations under the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP). An inter-agency U.S. delegation conducted bilateral labor consultations in May; the U.S. Trade Representative held hearings on open GSP labor petitions in October. In all these exchanges, U.S. officials expressed concern about the need for the Government of Guatemala to fully investigate past violence against trade union leaders, reform its labor justice system and reinstate workers illegally fired for unionizing activities. In November, the Embassy expressed concern to the Government over the potential for anti-union violence at a maquila where a new union, the third in the sector, had been organized. The Government responded quickly and violence was avoided. The Government successfully encouraged the negotiation of collective bargaining agreements at the Choi Shin/Cimatextiles plants, which became the first two such agreements to take effect in this sector.

The United States supported the creation of a Presidential Commission against Racism and Discrimination Against Indigenous Groups in 2002. The United States also supported a National Indigenous Congress held in August 2003, which promoted indigenous political participation through the creation of a National Indigenous Assembly, currently in formation. The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) participates in a donor dialogue on indigenous issues to prevent duplication of efforts.

To foster more professional security forces and reduce human rights abuses, the Embassy and SOUTHCOM encouraged the Defense Ministry to incorporate human rights training into the Army's Civil Affairs curriculum. Partly as a result, the Minister of Defense opened a human rights office in June 2003 and provided it with permanent staff. Members of SOUTHCOM's Human Rights Division visited Guatemala in February 2004 and met with high-ranking Guatemalan officials, including the Minister of Defense, to discuss the Guatemalan military’s formal commitment to implement a regional human rights initiative. In 2004, USAID will provide $600,000 to the UN Development Program to strengthen civilian-military relations.

Guatemala was rated a Tier II country in the State Department’s 2003 Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report to Congress. U.S. officials briefed the Government on the implications of the report in July 2003, and urged the Government to step up its efforts to prevent, prosecute and punish this crime. In response, the Government formed an inter-institutional group, composed of ministries, Congress, the Attorney and Solicitor General's Offices and the judiciary, to better coordinate these efforts. At the Embassy's urging, the Attorney General authorized the creation in 2004 of a new anti-TIP prosecution unit in the Office of the Special Prosecutor for Women. The United States worked closely with Guatemalan immigration officials to track down victims of trafficking in brothels in and near the capital. Several underage victims were found, and arrests were made of traffickers that remain to be prosecuted. The Embassy has urged the Government to stiffen sanctions against traffickers. The United States has supported an NGO providing job training to victims of trafficking and is considering supporting a regional victim support network of NGOs.

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