Fifty-sixth session
Item 55 of the provisional agenda*
The situation in Central America: procedures for the establishment of
a firm and lasting peace and progress in fashioning a region of peace, freedom, democracy and development
United Nations Verification Mission in Guatemala
Note by the Secretary-General**
1. The attached document contains the report on human rights of the United Nations Verification Mission in Guatemala (MINUGUA) on the verification of compliance with the Comprehensive Agreement on Human Rights (A/48/928-S/1994/448, annex I). In accordance with the practice established since the Mission’s inception, I shall transmit a copy of the report to the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, with the request that it be brought to the attention of the members of the Commission on Human Rights.
2. The report, transmitted by the Head of Mission, is the twelfth on the subject and covers the period from 1 July 2000 to 30 June 2001, during which the Mission continued to carry out its work and to verify compliance with the commitments contained in all the peace agreements. The results of such verification were reported to the General Assembly on 1 June 2001 (see A/55/973).
3. In my report to the General Assembly (A/55/389), I conveyed the request of the signatories to the peace agreements that the Mission’s mandate should continue. The mandate was renewed until 31 December 2001 by resolution 55/177 of 19 December 2000, in which the General Assembly reiterated to me its request to keep it fully informed.
4. I should like to thank the Government of Guatemala and the Unidad Revolucionaria Nacional Guatemalteca (URNG) for their cooperation with MINUGUA, without which the Mission would have been unable to function. Lastly, I wish to express my gratitude for the ongoing cooperation and support provided for the Mission and the Guatemalan peace process by the Member States and the United Nations system in Guatemala.
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Annex
Twelfth report on human rights of the United Nations Verification Mission in Guatemala
I. Introduction
1. During the period from 1 July 2000 to 30 June 2001, the United Nations Verification Mission in Guatemala (MINUGUA) continued to verify compliance with the peace agreements signed between the Government of Guatemala and the Unidad Revolucionaria Nacional Guatemalteca (URNG), including the Comprehensive Agreement on Human Rights (A/48/928-S/1994/448, annex I) and the human rights aspects of the Agreement on Identity and Rights of Indigenous Peoples (A/49/882-S/1995/256, annex).
2. By its resolution 55/177 of 19 December 2000, the General Assembly authorized the renewal of the Mission’s mandate until 31 December 2001 and, in view of the persistent shortcomings in the overall human rights situation, encouraged the Government to implement the recommendations contained in the Mission’s previous reports on human rights. The Mission emphasizes the importance of the enjoyment of human rights as a key aspect of the frame of reference for evaluating progress in the peace process as a whole. Evaluation of the human rights situation in Guatemala covers not just quantitative but also, and more importantly, qualitative aspects.
II. Analysis of the commitments made in the Comprehensive Agreement on Human Rights
Commitment I: General commitment to human rights
3. During the period under review, 352 complaints involving 3,986 alleged violations of rights accorded priority under the Comprehensive Agreement were admitted, and the existence of 4,821 violations reported during that period or previous periods was confirmed (see appendix).
4. Although in 1998 the United Nations Commission on Human Rights concluded that institutionally there no longer existed an established State policy that violated human rights in Guatemala, Guatemalans feel that the enjoyment of their rights remains precarious because the State has failed in its duty to safeguard them.