Guterres concerned about the opening of a criminal case in Guatemala against the former CICIG commissioner

The General secretary is aware of the actions that the Public Ministry of Guatemala took this Monday against justice operators and officials of the former International Commission Against Impunity in Guatemala, known as CICIG, including the intention to take legal action against the former commissioner Iván Velásquez, the current defense minister of Colombia.

The Guatemalan government closed CICIG in 2019. Between 2007 and 2019, the independent body supported the national judicial system “in more than 100 high-profile cases of alleged corruption and other criminal offenses” involving government officials, members of Congress and the Courts, and various individuals from the private sector.

At a press conference in New York, the spokesman for António Guterres recalled this Wednesday that, according to the agreement between the United Nations and the Government of Guatemala regarding the establishment of the Commission, its international staff enjoy privileges and immunities, and that their immunity is maintained despite the fact that they no longer hold their positions. 

“Therefore, the Secretary General once again expresses his concern over the numerous reports suggesting that criminal prosecutions are underway against those who tried to shed light on cases of corruption and worked to strengthen the justice system in Guatemala,” said Stephane Dujarric.

Intimidation against officials grows

For his part, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights expressed himself in similar terms and expressed his “deepest concern” over the “repeated and growing intimidation, harassment, and reprisals” against justice officials involved in the fight against impunity.

Volker Türk stated that “it is dramatic, given Guatemala’s history, that those who fight for accountability for serious human rights violations are the ones who are being persecuted and prosecuted.”

“Equally worrying are the attacks against those trying to combat one of the worst viruses that afflict any society: corruption,” he added.

The number of justice officials who are intimidated or face criminal charges for their work in cases of corruption or human rights violations, especially those that occurred in the context of the armed conflict that took place between 1960 and 1996, increased by more than 70% between 2021 and 2022, as documented by the UN Human Rights Office in Guatemala

Türk recalled that, after the dissolution of the Commission, there was “a constant increase in the number of cases of harassment and criminal charges against its former officials and prosecutors.”

“These judicial processes and the lack of guarantees of due process undermine the rule of law throughout the country,” said the UN Human Rights chief.

“I call on the authorities to take appropriate measures to strengthen and guarantee the independence of the justice system and provide the necessary protection to justice officials,” Türk concluded.