P6_TA(2007)0084

Guatemala

European Parliament resolution of 15 March 2007 on Guatemala

The European Parliament,

- having regard to its previous resolutions on Guatemala, and in particular those of 18 May 2000 [1], 14 June 2001 [2], 11 April 2002 [3], 10 April 2003 [4], 7 July 2005 [5], and 26 October 2006 on the proceedings against Rios Montt [6],

- having regard to the agreement between the Government of Guatemala and the United Nations to establish an International Commission against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG), adopted on 12 December 2006,

- having regard to its firm and permanent commitment to ensuring respect for the peace agreements and for human rights in Guatemala,

- having regard to the Political Dialogue and Cooperation Agreement between the European Community and its Member States, of the one part, and the Republics of Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and Panama, of the other part, signed on 15 December 2003,

- having regard to the position expressed by the Central American Parliament (Parlacen) on the assassinations of three Central American parliamentarians,

- having regard to Rule 115(5) of its Rules of Procedure,

A. whereas on 19 February 2007, three Members of the Central American Parliament, the Salvadoreans Eduardo José D'Aubuisson Munguía, William Rizziery Pichinte Chávez and José Ramón González Rivas, as well as their driver, Gerardo Napoleón Ramírez, were brutally murdered as they were driving towards the Parlacen plenary meeting, and their charred and abandoned corpses were found near Guatemala City,

B. whereas the alleged perpetrators of these crimes (Luis Arturo Herrera López, José Estuardo López, José Adolfo Gutiérrez and Marvin Escobar Méndez), who held positions of responsibility in the Division of Criminal Investigation in the Police Department of Guatemala, were subsequently killed in the highsecurity prison where they were being held, in bizarre circumstances, which have still not been clarified,

C. whereas there are suspicions that these killings constituted an attempt to hamper the investigations into the instigators of the murders of the members of the Parlacen,

D. whereas television journalists who covered the murder of the four police officers have received death threats after broadcasting their report,

E. whereas, according to human rights experts, several thousand homicides are committed every year in Guatemala but arrests are made in only 2% of cases; whereas trade unionists (such as Pedro Zamora in Puerto Quetzal), peasant leaders and their families have also been killed earlier in 2007, and threats, break-ins and burglaries are suffered by witnesses of cases of genocide under investigation, as well as by the legal representatives of genocide victims and by different human rights organisations,

F. whereas Vice-President Eduardo Stein has admitted how difficult it is to fight organised crime when it is deeply entrenched in the public institutions themselves; whereas this case highlights the extent to which organised crime has penetrated the Guatemalan police, the growth of an atmosphere of impunity, and the deterioration of public safety, and this points to the need to assume political responsibility,

1. Expresses its total repudiation of all the murders concerned, and transmits its condolences to the victims' relatives;

2. Expects the Guatemalan government to guarantee full independence, liberty and security to the Guatemalan judicial authorities in their investigation of these crimes; calls for the full cooperation of the political, judicial and police authorities in Guatemala and El Salvador in the investigation of the events;

3. Urges the Guatemalan Parliament to ratify the setting up CICIG agreement;

4. Calls on the European Union and the Guatemalan Government to summon the Consultative Group on Guatemala, involving the major donor countries, in order to support the implementation of the CICIG and promote a national dialogue against impunity;

5. Urges the Guatemalan Parliament to ratify the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, adopted on 17 July 1998 and to modify its domestic legislation in line with the obligations derived from the Rome Statute and other relevant international law;

6. Calls on the Guatemalan Government to adopt measures to protect the judicial agents, the victims of crimes against humanity who are seeking justice, the human rights activists, and the witnesses who can help the trials progress;

7. Welcomes the restructuring and purging of the security forces introduced by the government;

8. Expresses its support for the Guatemalan people and authorities, in continuing to uphold the rule of law and foster economic, social and political development, which will contribute to peace and national reconciliation;

9. Urges the Commission to strengthen, in its strategy of cooperation with Guatemala for the period 2007 to 2013, the promotion of the rule of law, the fight against impunity, full respect for human rights, and support for the Guatemalan Government in the capacity building of its security forces on the basis of respect for human rights;

10. Stresses that it is absolutely necessary that the authorities in the country where the Parlacen has its seat should act to ensure the safety and guarantee the physical integrity of the Members of the Parlacen and its meetings;

11. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the governments of Guatemala, El Salvador and the other countries of Central America, and the Central American Parliament.

[1] OJ C 59, 23.2.2001, p. 286.

[2] OJ C 53 E, 28.2.2002, p. 403.

[3] OJ C 127 E, 29.5.2003, p. 688.

[4] OJ C 64 E, 12.3.2004, p. 609.

[5] OJ C 157 E, 6.7.2006, p. 494.

[6] Texts Adopted, P6_TA(2006)0466.

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