United Nations General Assembly Resolution 51/198 B

Fifty-first session Agenda item 40

The General Assembly,

Recalling its resolutions 45/15 of 20 November 1990, 46/109 A of 17 December 1991, 47/118 of 18 December 1992, 48/161 of 20 December 1993 and 48/267 of 19 September 1994, in which it decided to establish the Mission for the Verification of Human Rights and of Compliance with the Commitments of the Comprehensive Agreement on Human Rights in Guatemala, and its resolutions 49/137 of 19 December 1994, 49/236 A of 31 March 1995, 49/236 B of 14 September 1995, 50/220 of 3 April 1996 and, in particular, 51/198 of 17 December 1996, in which it decided to authorize the renewal of the mandate of the Mission for a further period of three months, that is, until 31 March 1997, and requested the Secretary-General to submit recommendations on how the structure and staffing of the Mission should be redesigned to enable it to fulfil its new responsibilities after the signing at Guatemala City on 29 December 1996 by the Government of Guatemala and the Unidad Revolucionaria Nacional Guatemalteca of the Agreement on a Firm and Lasting Peace,

Recalling also the Framework Agreement for the Resumption of the Negotiating Process between the Government of Guatemala and the Unidad Revolucionaria Nacional Guatemalteca of 10 January 1994 and all subsequent agreements, in which the parties agreed to request the United Nations to carry out international verification of the peace accords,

Welcoming the agreements between the Government of Guatemala and the Unidad Revolucionaria Nacional Guatemalteca signed at Guatemala City on 29 December 1996, which, together with the overall package of peace accords signed previously at Madrid, Mexico City, Oslo and Stockholm, put a definitive end to the internal Guatemalan conflict and will foster national reconciliation and economic development,

Encouraged by progress made in the verification of the ceasefire, the separation of forces and the disarmament and demobilization of combatants of the Unidad Revolucionaria Nacional Guatemalteca by the group of military observers whose attachment to the Mission was authorized by the Security Council in its resolution 1094 (1997) of 20 January 1997,

Encouraged also by the establishment of the Follow-up Commission, which will oversee implementation of the agreements, and by the preparatory work carried out with a view to the establishment of the historical clarification commission,

Taking into account the note by the Secretary-General transmitting the sixth report of the Director of the Mission,

Acknowledging the support given to the Mission by the Government of Guatemala and the Unidad Revolucionaria National Guatemalteca,

Acknowledging also the efforts of the Secretary-General, the Group of Friends of the Guatemala peace process, the United Nations system and other international agencies throughout the process that culminated in the signing of the peace agreements,

Recalling the request of the parties that the United Nations verify all the agreements signed by them as reflected in the Framework Agreement and stressed in the Agreement on the Implementation, Compliance and Verification Timetable for the Peace Agreements,

Recalling also the letter of the Secretary-General to the President of the General Assembly and the President of the Security Council proposing that a new mission, to be called the United Nations Verification Mission in Guatemala, subsume the functions currently performed by the United Nations Mission for the Verification of Human Rights and of Compliance with the Commitments of the Comprehensive Agreement on Human Rights in Guatemala,

Having considered the recommendations of the Secretary-General regarding the restructuring of the Mission to enable it to fulfil its new responsibilities and the renewal of its mandate, as contained in his report on the Mission,

1. Welcomes the report of the Secretary-General on the United Nations Mission for the Verification of Human Rights and of Compliance with the Commitments of the Comprehensive Agreement on Human Rights in Guatemala;10

2. Takes note with satisfaction of the sixth report of the Director of the Mission;

3. Commends the Government of Guatemala and the Unidad Revolucionaria Nacional Guatemalteca for their sustained efforts in search of peace, which culminated with the signing of the historic agreement of 29 December 1996;

4. Calls upon both parties to continue to implement fully the commitments they entered into in the Comprehensive Agreement on Human Rights and those in the other agreements that have come into effect with the signing of the Agreement on a Firm and Lasting Peace;

5. Decides to authorize the renewal of the mandate of the United Nations Mission for the Verification of Human Rights and of Compliance with the Commitments of the Comprehensive Agreement on Human Rights in Guatemala, to be known henceforth as the United Nations Verification Mission in Guatemala, for a further period of one year, that is, until 31 March 1998, to carry out international verification of the peace accords in accordance with the recommendations of the Secretary-General;

6. Requests the Secretary-General to continue to develop appropriate means to identify resources for the Mission within the limits of the approved budget for the current biennium;

7. Also requests the Secretary-General to submit a report to the General Assembly with his recommendations on the structure and staffing of the Mission after 31 March 1998;

8. Invites the international community to intensify its support for peace-related activities in Guatemala, through voluntary contributions to the Trust Fund for the Guatemala peace process established by the Secretary-General and through other mechanisms provided for by the international donor community;

9. Requests the Secretary-General to keep the General Assembly fully informed on the implementation of the present resolution.

94th plenary meeting

27 March 1997