NAME OF MECHANISM 

International Commission against Impunity in Guatemala (Comisión Internacional contra la Impunidad en Guatemala)

PERIOD OF OPERATION

January 2008 – present. The commission was established on 12 December 2006 and began its work in January 2008.

MANDATE AND OPERATIONS

Mandate: The International Commission against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG) was established by a treaty agreement between the United Nations and the government of Guatemala on 12 December 2006. Its aim is to identify and break down criminal and illegal security organisations causing the rising crime rate in Guatemala, obstructing the work of the country’s justice system and preventing the establishment of rule of law. The CICIG defines its target as “groups that commit illegal acts that affect the Guatemalan people’s full enjoyment and exercise of their fundamental human rights, and have direct or indirect links to state agents or the capacity to block judicial actions concerning their illegal activities” [CICIG].

The CICIG is unique as the first international organisation that has the power to investigate and recommend prosecutions at the domestic level. It is also mandated to strengthen existing institutions in preparation for its eventual exit from the country.

Staff: A commissioner appointed by the United Nations secretary-general at the head of a specialised staff and a secretariat.

Budget: The commission is funded by international donors.

RESOURCES

International Commission against Impunity in Guatemala official website
Two Years of Work: A Commitment to Justice [2009]
CICIG: One Year Later [2008]
Treaty Agreement [2006]

RESULTS

The CICIG’s three activity areas are litigation, legislative reform and providing technical assistance to state judicial and security bodies. It has joined eight cases to date as a complementary prosecutor. In 2008 and 2009, it presented packets of reform proposals to Guatemala’s Congress.

According to a United Nations press release, the CICIG has had some success in addressing corruption and impunity. It has targeted the police, dismissing nearly 15 percent of the force. It has also discharged several high-level officials, including an attorney general, judges and prosecutors. Although the process has been slow, the CICIG’s improving relationship with civil society, the business community and civilians appears to be decreasing impunity in Guatemala to some extent [UN | 20 Apr 2010].

According to other sources, the Guatemalan public does support the work of the CICIG in general. However, the commission is operating in the context of increasing violent crime [Guatemala Times | 13 Jul 2010]. The CICIG has introduced modern crime-fighting technology to Guatemala but the country still lacks a computerised intelligence platform [Economist | 14 Apr 2011].

BACKGROUND

Since the end of the civil war in the mid-1990s, there has been a spike in crime in Guatemala. Much of the cocaine drug trade has moved its business to the country, and the murder rate is now higher than it was during the civil war [Guatemala Times | 13 Jul 2010]. These factors, as well as widespread poverty and inequality, have complicated the CICIG’s work.

SOURCES

[Economist | 14 Apr 2011]
[Guatemala Times | 13 Jul 2010]
[United Nations | 20 Apr 2010]