United Nations General Assembly Resolution 56/223

Fifty-sixth session Agenda item 44

The General Assembly,

Recalling its resolution 55/177 of 19 December 2000, in which it decided to authorize the renewal of the mandate of the United Nations Verification Mission in Guatemala from 1 January to 31 December 2001,

Taking into account the fact that the Government of Guatemala has expressed its commitment to the full implementation of the peace agreements,

Underlining the fact that substantive aspects of the peace agreements have yet to be implemented and that the Commission to Follow up the Implementation of the Peace Agreements has approved a new schedule for their implementation from 2000 until the end of 2004,

Taking into account that the parties have requested the United Nations to support the consolidation of the peace-building process until 2003,

Taking into account also the twelfth report of the Mission on human rights,

Taking into account further the sixth report of the Secretary-General on the verification of compliance with the peace agreements,

Taking into account the report of the Commission for Historical Clarification, Stressing the positive role played by the Mission in support of the Guatemala peace process, and emphasizing the need for the Mission to continue to enjoy the full support of all parties concerned,

Having considered the report of the Secretary-General on the work of the Mission,

1. Welcomes the twelfth report of the United Nations Verification Mission in Guatemala on human rights;

2. Also welcomes the sixth report of the Secretary-General on the verification of compliance with the peace agreements;

3. Recalls the report of the Commission for Historical Clarification and the recommendations contained therein;

4. Welcomes the commitment made by the Government of Guatemala to the full implementation of the peace agreements through the adoption of social policies anchored to the agreements;

5. Recalls that the Commission to Follow up the Implementation of the Peace Agreements has rescheduled the pending commitments and included others not initially scheduled;

6. Takes note of the recommendations contained in the report of the Secretary-General5 aimed at ensuring that the Mission can respond adequately to the demands of the peace process until 31 December 2002, as well as of his proposals relating to the changes in the structure and staffing of the Mission for the period 2001–2003;

7. Also takes note of the agreement reached by the parties regarding the importance of the continuing presence of the Mission in Guatemala until 2003;

8. Notes with satisfaction the progress made in the implementation of the peace agreements, in particular the partial fulfilment of the Fiscal Pact for a Future with Peace and Development which establishes the basis for increased public spending on the peace agenda and paves the way for the modernization of the economic system, and stresses the need to complete its implementation, in particular as regards measures to enhance public confidence in Government spending;

9. Also notes with satisfaction the significant reforms introduced in labour laws and the reinforcement of the operational capacities, training and full deployment of the National Civil Police;

10. Underlines with concern the fact that key commitments remain outstanding in the areas of fiscal, judicial, military, electoral and land reform, as well as decentralization and rural development, and therefore urges that those commitments be implemented without further delay;

11. Notes that the consolidation of the peace-building process remains a significant challenge that requires a concerted national effort to guarantee the irreversibility of the peace process;

12. Also notes that the present Government has taken a significant step forward by signing and ratifying various important international human rights instruments;

13. Encourages the Government to implement the recommendations contained in the reports of the Mission on human rights, in particular those related to the systematic impunity for crimes and human rights violations and the alarming increase in incidents directed at individuals working on human rights and judicial issues;

14. Underlines the importance of implementing fully the Agreement on identity and rights of indigenous peoples as a key to fighting discrimination and consolidating peace and equality in Guatemala, and highlights the need to implement fully the Agreement on Social and Economic Aspects and Agrarian Situation as a means of addressing the root causes of the armed conflict;

15. Calls upon the Government to implement the recommendations of the Commission for Historical Clarification with a view to promoting national reconciliation, upholding the right to truth and providing redress for the victims of human rights abuses and violence committed during the thirty-six-year conflict, and calls upon Congress to establish, as recommended, the Commission for Peace and Harmony;

16. Invites the international community and, in particular, the agencies, programmes and funds of the United Nations, to continue to support the consolidation of the peace-building process, with the peace agreements as the framework for their technical and financial assistance programmes and projects, and stresses the continued importance of close cooperation among them in the context of the United Nations Development Assistance Framework for Guatemala;

17. Urges the international community to support financially, through existing mechanisms of international cooperation, the strengthening of national capacities to ensure the consolidation of the peace process in Guatemala;

18. Also urges the international community to support financially the strengthening of the capacities of the United Nations agencies and programmes as the Mission will transfer some of its activities and projects to these agencies to support the national efforts to comply with the commitments of the peace agreements;

19. Stresses that the Mission has a key role to play in promoting the consolidation of peace and the observance of human rights and in verifying compliance with the revised timetable for the implementation of pending commitments under the peace agreements;

20. Decides to authorize the renewal of the mandate of the Mission from 1 January to 31 December 2002;

21. Requests the Secretary-General to submit, as early as possible, an updated report to the General Assembly at its fifty-seventh session, together with his recommendations regarding the continuation of the peace-building phase after 31 December 2002;

22. Also requests the Secretary-General to keep the General Assembly fully informed of the implementation of the present resolution.

92nd plenary meeting

24 December 2001