Guatemala: High Commissioner expresses concern over corruption, structural inequality and racism

For a State to function, The three powers must work in harmony and that is not happening. in Guatemala, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights said on Friday at the end of an official visit to the country.

Volker Turk He warned of the “enormous” polarization between institutional levels and the fragmentation of public opinion.

“The levels of corruption remain very high“The distrust between different groups is only growing,” he added.

“Institutions must stop protecting themselves and start protecting people. All laws that are passed must respect international human rights standards,” he stressed.

Inequalities and violence against women

Among the country’s major problems, he cited the high levels of inequality that drive many young people to emigrate instead of staying to work on building a better future for all.

He also highlighted the gender inequality and violence against women and girlsstating that Guatemalan women suffer from a huge gender gap in all aspects, but especially in institutional representation.

Discrimination

When referring to the indigenous peoples and the Afro-descendant populationwho make up the majority of the country, denounced structural discrimination and a lack of recognition of their collective rights, as well as access to justice and basic services.

He added that discrimination also affects people LGBTIQ+, People with disabilities and other vulnerable groups.

For these groups, Türik called for more public policies that effectively address all forms of discrimination and guarantee the exercise and full enjoyment of rights under equal conditions.

Persecution of human rights defenders and others

The High Commissioner expressed great concern about the “alarming” persecution of people human rights defenders, justice operators, journalists, students and indigenous authorities.

He recalled that dozens of these people have been criminalized and face legal proceedings based on spurious arguments. More than fifty have been forced to leave the country fearing for their safety and living in exile. “They are victims of persecution, so their case has become a matter of international concern and a matter of accountability for human rights violations,” he added.

In this regard, he urged the Attorney General to take the necessary measures to immediately end this persecution and allow them to return in dignified and safe conditions.

“It is especially regrettable that they are persecuting those who They try to fight corruption or those who expose it, and those who fight to ensure that serious human rights violations that occurred in the context of the internal armed conflict (1960 – 1996) do not go unpunished,” he stressed.

Search for justice

Following that line, he emphasized the Lack of progress in the search for justiceparticularly in the trials regarding what happened during the internal armed conflict, considering that the stipulations of the Peace Agreements have not been fully complied with, especially with regard to guarantees of non-repetition.

He cited the case of the 2012 Alaska Summit Massacre, which left seven dead and dozens seriously injured when the military opened fire on peaceful protesters, and which took nearly 12 years to begin a trial.

Türk mentioned as another urgent matter the independence of the judiciaryreferring to the election of judges of the Supreme Court of Justice and the Court of Appeals scheduled for October as an opportunity to address this shortcoming with a transparent process in accordance with international standards.

Determination to preserve democracy

On the other hand, and although he clarified that democracy is still at risk, he praised the commitment and determination of broad layers of society to preserve democracy and the rule of law when seeking to reverse the result of the 2023 elections.

The High Commissioner referred in particular to the mobilization of 106 days of indigenous peoples and other groups.

He also acknowledged that government commitment of President Bernardo Arévalo with the rule of law, democracy, and human rights.

Finally, Volker Türk expressed his confidence that the civil society, government and the private sector work together in order to promote and protect human rights in Guatemala, with international support.