COMMITTEE AGAINST TORTURE ADOPTS OBSERVATIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS ON REPORT OF GUATEMALA
Press Release
HR/4235
COMMITTEE AGAINST TORTURE ADOPTS OBSERVATIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS ON REPORT OF GUATEMALA
19951122 GENEVA, 21 November (United Nations Information Service) -- The Committee Against Torture this afternoon adopted its final observations and recommendations on the initial report of Guatemala, presented last week by the delegation on its implementation of the Anti-Torture Convention.The Committee said it welcomed the honesty and frankness of the report acknowledging that torture occurs in Guatemala. It considered that the present peace process and the Government of Guatemala's cooperation with the United Nations were signs of progress. It welcomed the legal changes that have been made by the State party, including the definition of torture and penalties associated with that crime which were incorporated into the penal law.
The Committee said it was also pleased to note that the Government of Guatemala has amended the Code of Criminal Procedure to deal with breaches of human rights, and that the posts of military commissioners have been abolished. It also welcomed the creation of various organs to reinforce human rights, including a procurator for human rights, the Presidential Coordinating Committee for Government Human Rights Policy and national human rights committees. It was, further, pleased to note Guatemala's commitment to human rights education. In addition, the Committee said it was pleased to learn that Guatemala had begun the process of making the declaration under article 22 of the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment; its representatives did not see any obstacle to such a declaration. [Under that article, a State party may at any time declare that it recognizes the Committee's competence to receive and consider communications from or on behalf of individuals who claim to be victims of a violation by a State party of the Convention's provisions.]
The Committee said it acknowledged that Guatemala is in a difficult situation since the civil democratic government is obstructed in its action by a deeply entrenched army and police culture. The Committee also took note of the wide disparity in the distribution of the economic wealth in the country, creating conditions that might tend towards confrontation between the law enforcement organs and those parts of the population who are at the lowest end of the socio-economic scale. In that respect the Committee wished to underline that the individual recourse procedure provided for under article 22 of the Convention would constitute a useful preventive measure once it had
been accepted by the Government. The Committee considered that the right of the citizens to carry fire-arms which is enshrined in the Constitution, might be regarded as a potential obstacle to a full implementation of the Convention.
With a deep concern, the Committee noted that torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment appear to be endemic in Guatemala and that children were often the victims. The Committee expressed equal concern at the State's continued failure to promptly and impartially investigate and prosecute those responsible for an act of torture and ill-treatment. The de facto impunity for perpetrators of torture resulting from the above-mentioned facts and the weakness shown by the judicial, administrative and police authorities in enforcing the law was likewise a matter of deep concern to the Committee. The Committee was also troubled at the fact that paramilitary groups and private defence patrols still exist and operate in Guatemala.
It recommended to the Government of Guatemala that it take the following measures: the strengthening, in a more significant manner, of the activities of the Procuracy of Human Rights; the organization of intensive programmes of technical training for the police prosecutors and judges; the provision of the means and material resources necessary for public law enforcement officials to fulfil their mandates; the adoption of laws providing for an effective coordination between the police and the prosecutors; and the protection of witnesses, judges and prosecutors who have been subjected to threats and intimidations.
It further recommended severe sanctions for those public officials who do not comply with their duty of applying the law; the complete abolition of the so-called Voluntary Committees of Civic Defence; the change of legal provisions establishing the areas of military jurisdiction, in order to limit the jurisdiction of military judges exclusively to military crimes; and the reduction of the authorization to carry firearms to the minimum strictly indispensable.
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