IV

103D CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. CON. RES. 212

Expressing the sense of the Congress regarding the Guatemalan peace process

and the need for greater protection of human rights in Guatemala.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

FEBRUARY 24, 1994

Mrs. MORELLA (for herself, Mr. BROWN of California, Ms. FURSE, Mr. KENNEDY, Mr. MCDERMOTT, Mr. MOAKLEY, Mr. RAVENEL, and Ms. WOOLSEY) submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was referred to

the Committee on Foreign Affairs

CONCURRENT RESOLUTION

Expressing the sense of the Congress regarding the Guatemalan peace process and the need for greater protection

of human rights in Guatemala.

Whereas, following more than a year’s hiatus, formal negotiations to bring an end to the 33-year armed conflict in

Guatemala and establish conditions for democracy in

Guatemala have resumed under United Nations mediation between the Government of Guatemala and the

armed opposition, the Guatemalan National Revolutionary Union;

Whereas systematic human rights violations are committed

with impunity against Guatemalan civilians, especially

members of the indigenous population, by government se-
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curity forces and by the Civil Self-Defense Patrols acting

under their authority;

Whereas the Organization of American States has found that

the Civil Self-Defense Patrols are a ‘‘source of human

rights violations’’ and should be ‘‘disbanded or reorganized’’;

Whereas the Organization of American States has found that

in Guatemala there have been serious ‘‘cases of arbitrary

arrest, illegitimate deprivation of liberty, isolation, and

torture and execution without trial’’ of individuals, including the husband of United States citizen Jennifer

Harbury and other members of the Guatemalan National

Revolutionary Union who are held by various government

security forces;

Whereas the Organization of American States has determined

that the Communities of Populations in Resistance,

which have been harassed by government armed forces

and the Civil Self-Defense Patrols, are civilian communities;

Whereas the Organization of American States has called on

the Government of Guatemala to ‘‘take a clear stand on

the grave problems that obstruct the full observance of

human rights, set well defined goals, and schedule policies for attaining them’’;

Whereas the security of repatriated refugees in Guatemala, of

internally displaced civilians, and of the Communities of

Populations in Resistance remains at risk due to continued military attacks; and

Whereas there has been no substantive progress in bringing

to justice all of those responsible for the murder of

United States citizen Michael Devine, the abduction and
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torture of United States citizen Dianna Ortiz, and the

murder of anthropologist Myrna Mack Chang: Now,

therefore, be it

1 Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate

2 concurring) That the Congress—

3 (1) commends the President of Guatemala,

4 Ramiro de Leon Carpio, and the leaders of the Gua5 temalan National Revolutionary Union for establish6 ing a framework for formal negotiations, under the

7 mediation of the United Nations, designed to bring

8 an end to more than 30 years of internal armed con9 flict and set Guatemala on the road to democracy;

10 (2) commends the leaders of the various seg11 ments of civilian society, under the leadership of

12 Bishop Rodolfo Quezada Toruno, for their role in

13 articulating the concerns of all sectors of Guate14 malan society and for bringing critical issues onto

15 the agenda of the peace negotiations;

16 (3) calls on President de Leon Carpio and all

17 parties in the negotiation process to proceed in the

18 spirit of the Oslo Accords to achieve peace by politi19 cal means, to the end that a final, binding, and veri20 fiable agreement will be attained before the end of

21 1994;

22 (4) calls on the Group of Friends of the peace

23 negotiations (Colombia, Mexico, Spain, Venezuela,
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1 Norway, and the United States) to continue and in2 tensify their support of the peace negotiations

3 through diplomatic initiatives and dialogue with all

4 parties;

5 (5) calls on President de Leon Carpio to imme6 diately develop a measurable and substantive plan to

7 end grave human rights abuses, in compliance with

8 internationally recognized human rights standards,

9 Guatemala’s national constitution, and the rec10 ommendations of the Inter-American Commission on

11 Human Rights, a part of the Organization of the

12 American States;

13 (6) calls on President de Leon Carpio, as a sign

14 of good faith and a contribution to peace, to imme15 diately disband the Civil Self-Defense Patrols, which

16 are one of the major sources of human rights viola17 tions in Guatemala;

18 (7) calls on President de Leon Carpio to ensure

19 the safety of the returnees, recognizing their rights

20 to reintegrate into Guatemalan society, in full com21 pliance with the Accord of the Permanent Commis22 sions of the Guatemalan Refugees in Mexico and the

23 Government of the Republic of Guatemala, signed in

24 Guatemala on October 8, 1993, that determines the
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1 conditions and understandings under which certain

2 Guatamalan refugees may be repatriated;

3 (8) calls on President de Leon Carpio to recog4 nize the civilian character of the Communities of

5 Populations in Resistance, ensuring their security

6 and their right to peaceful integration into Guate7 malan society with the full exercise of rights and lib8 erties guaranteed under Guatemala’s national con9 stitution; and

10 (9) calls on the Executive Branch of the United

11 States Government to condition all assistance to

12 Guatemala, with the exception of humanitarian and

13 development assistance, on—

14 (A) full compliance with the recommended

15 precautionary measures of the Inter-American

16 Commission on Human Rights, a part of the

17 Organization of American States, including res18 olution of concerns involving clandestine pris19 ons;

20 (B) the continuation of the peace process;

21 (C) substantive improvement in the protec22 tion of human rights;

23 (D) the dissolution of the Civil Self-De24 fense Patrols;
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1 (E) the guaranteed safety of refugees, re2 turnees, and the internally displaced;

3 (F) verifiable resolution of the Devine,

4 Ortiz, and Mack cases; and

5 (G) the strengthening of the various seg6 ments of civilian society, which are essential to

7 the establishment of genuine democracy in Gua8 temala.

Æ