ON THE SITUATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS
In light of the background information and considerations set forth in
the present report, the overall conclusion of the Inter-American Commission on
Human Rights is that an alarming climate of violence has prevailed in recent
years in Guatemala, which violence has either been instigated or tolerated by a
Government, unwilling or unable to contain it. The violence has resulted in an
excessive loss of life and in a widespread deterioration of the human rights set
forth in the American Convention on Human Rights.
While the victims of this violence are found in all sectors of
society—including even the Armed Forces and those who possess political and
economic power--, there is no doubt at all that the sectors most affected have
been political leaders of opposition parties, trade unionists, priests, lawyers,
journalists, professors and teachers, as well as the thousands of peasants and
Indians who have been assassinated.
In the large majority of cases, the deaths resulting from this violence
were due to illegal executions and to the “disappearances” engineered by the
security forces or paramilitary civilian groups acting in close collaboration
with the governmental authorities, which authorities took no steps to conduct
proper or effective investigation as to the identities of the perpetrators of
These illegal executions and disappearances not only violate the right to
life, they have created an endemic climate of total alarm, and even terror,
which has subverted the rule of law, and in practice, has inhibited the
observance of most of the rights set forth in the American Convention on Human
The generalized violence in Guatemala has meant, as shown in the various
chapters of this Report, that the rights to personal freedom and safety, a fair
trial and due process, freedom of conscience and religion, freedom of thought
and expression, and freedom of assembly and association, as well as political
rights, are seriously affected and restricted in fact, despite their formal
recognition in the Guatemalan Constitution and Laws.
The great socio-economic disparities among the various sectors of the
Guatemalan population have also contributed to the generalized violence in the
country. These disparities are evident in, among other things, the notable lack
of correspondence between Guatemala's rates of growth in recent years and the
quality of life of approximately half the population, whose economic and social
rights—particularly as regards basic needs in the areas of health, nutrition
and education—have not been realized.
In consideration of the conclusions set forth here the IACHR presents the
following recommendations to the Government of Guatemala:
That it take the necessary measures to prevent the occurrence of serious
violations of the right of life; that it end the participation of an tolerance
by, governmental authorities and paramilitary groups in the violence and
terrorism, and that it investigate and rigorously punish those responsible for
That it investigate and punish, with the full force of the law, those
responsible for the illegal executions, disappearances, arbitrary detentions and
That it effectively guarantee freedom of association, the right of
assembly and trade-union freedom as set forth in the Guatemalan Constitution and
in the American Convention on Human Rights.
That it effect a thorough-going and complete reorganization of the
judiciary, so that once it has the human and material resources, the judiciary
can function in true autonomy and with sufficient powers to effectively and
promptly investigate violations of human rights, and to punish those
responsible, regardless of who they may be, without fear of reprisals.
That it open a broad dialogue with all sectors of Guatemalan society in
an effort to end the violence and to find a solution to the social and economic
problems through democratic, peaceful means and processes.