SECRETARY-GENERAL CONGRATULATES GUATEMALAN HISTORICAL CLARIFICATION COMMISSION ON CONCLUSION OF ITS WORK

1 March 1999

Press Release
SG/SM/6910
CA/19

SECRETARY-GENERAL CONGRATULATES GUATEMALAN HISTORICAL CLARIFICATION COMMISSION ON CONCLUSION OF ITS WORK

19990301 Kofi Annan Meets with Commission Representatives After Release of Report On Rights Violations and Other Acts of Violence During 36-Year Internal Conflict

Following is the text of a statement issued today by the Office of the Spokesman for Secretary-General Kofi Annan:

The Secretary-General met this morning with Christian Tomuschat and Otilia lux de Cotí, two of the members of the Guatemalan Historical Clarification Commission. This meeting takes place four days after the unveiling of the report of the commission on human rights violations and other acts of violence during the 36-year internal conflict in Guatemala, which produced a series of recommendations, mainly directed at the Government, to prevent the recurrence of conflict. (The Secretary-General's message on that occasion was distributed to the press on Thursday.)

The Secretary-General congratulates the Commission on the conclusion of work. The parties to the Guatemalan the peace agreements recognized that lasting peace and genuine national reconciliation should be built on three pillars: truth about the conflict, justice for the worst crimes and reparation to the victims. The Commission's report will no doubt further these goals. For it to benefit Guatemalan society as a whole, it is now critical that its findings be widely disseminated and its recommendations be accorded the importance that they require.

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