The year began with the swearing in of the new president, Álvaro Colom, of the National Unity of Hope party (Unidad Nacional de la Esperanza, or UNE). The new government inherited a difficult situation. “Guatemala is a country facing considerable challenges,” said Hina Jilani, Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General on Human Rights Defenders. “It is one of the countries with the most inequitable distribution of income. Violence and organized crime are urgent problems, there is nearly total impunity and the influence of parallel powers is an obstacle to change. This dramatically decreases the environment in which human rights defenders act”.¹ The criminal acts of these parallel powers seriously threaten human rights. They have the power to maintain a system of impunity, defined as the virtual inexistence of criminal, administrative, disciplinary or civil responsibility for such acts, avoiding prosecution and conviction, all of which leads to a weakening of the rule of law, preventing the State from meeting its obligation to protect citizens from harm and provide them with full access to justice. This results in a loss of trust by citizens in the country’s democratic institutions.²

To combat these parallel powers, the International Commission Against in Guatemala (CICIG), created by an agreement between the United Nations and the Government of Guatemala, officially began operating on 11th March 2008. The Commission’s mandate allows it to conduct independent investigations and act as a co-plaintiff, supporting Guatemalan authorities in prosecuting significant cases in the national courts. The Commission differs from international courts in that it works through the local judicial system and in close collaboration with Guatemala’s Public Prosecutor’s Office and the National Civil Police. In addition to seeking convictions, the Commission’s objective is to strengthen the national criminal justice system and so that it can be effective in these types of cases. CICIG can also recommend public policies to help the fight the criminal organizations it investigates. Its mandate is for two years, but can be extended, and CICIG is expected to focus especially on cases that affect human rights defenders who are being threatened and attacked by these clandestine organizations and illegal security organizations.

In February 2008, the Myrna Mack Foundation (MMF) issued a report stating that law enforcement is virtually non-existent and the resulting impunity represents a massive violation of human rights. Systematic impunity allows the commission of crimes against individuals, property and civil liberties. It eliminates any possibility of healing for victims and their families, and allows crimes to be repeated to the detriment of others.

Regarding Colom’s first six months in power, critics have said that the government has good intentions but has taken few steps to solve the fundamental problems of the country, which are structural in nature. The most serious issues facing the administration are land holding, the distribution of wealth and the vulnerability of the State.³ Some cooperatives and NGOs have criticized Colom for “failing” the people in his first six months in addressing land conflicts and public policies for fighting crime and reducing poverty. “We need to strengthen institutions and do away with cronyism once and for all,” said political analyst Álvaro Pop, who added that the “people are living at a time of great uncertainty and do not believe that the government can solve their economic and security problems." Helen Mack said that without a budget and political support, the government’s good intentions are not enough.⁴.

Situation of Human Rights Defenders

By June, the National Human Rights Defenders Protection Unit of the Human Rights Movement had verified 100 cases of human rights violations in 2008. Sixty of these violations occurred in May alone, and most of those affected union activists, and included four assassinations. Hina Jilani visited the country on 18 February to check progress in the human rights situation and identify problems as a follow-up to a visit six months earlier in June 2002. After the first visit, she issued some preliminary recommendations. She said the Guatemalan government must take visible and specific steps to provide recognition for and political legitimacy to the work of human rights defenders, and firmly condemn the attacks suffered by defenders, and acknowledge the importance of their work. The government must adopt a policy for the protection of human rights defenders in consultation with the latter and other interested parties, and evaluate the current system to introduce measures for rapid response and effective protection. Jilani has advised the international community to continue monitoring the situation of human rights defenders and support their work by applying international and regional human rights mechanisms. She has urged the intervention of the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) in Guatemala, and implementation of the actions foreseen in European Union directives on human rights defenders.

1. UN. Press Release “Special Representative of the Secretary General on Human Rights Defenders completes her visit to Guatemala.” Guatemala, 20 February 2008.
2. UN. Press Release “Special Representative of the Secretary General on Human Rights Defenders completes her visit to Guatemala.” Guatemala, 20 February 2008.
3. www.i-dem.org - Nueva Época número 1463
4. Cadena Global/EFE. (http://www.cadenaglobal.com/Noticias/default.asp?Not=182648)