Home | Business News | Browse by Publication | N | NotiCen: Central American & Caribbean Affairs

GOVERNMENT BLAMED FOR MOUNTING MAYHEM AS UN RAPPORTEUR SEES LITTLE HOPE FOR A SECURE GUATEMALA.

Article Excerpt
Guatemala has racked up an impressive 3,500 homicides so far this year, and that is just according to official figures. The average rate of 16 per day surpasses that of the country's darkest days of the internal war, which, between 1960 and 1996, claimed more than a quarter-million lives. The international community responded to Guatemala's skyrocketing murder rates by sending to the country a special rapporteur for extrajudicial, summary, or arbitrary executions. Philip Alston arrived in the country Aug. 21. The comparison to the war years was Alston's.

Alston told the media by phone a day prior to his arrival, "Post-conflict societies do not always present high indices of violence. Nevertheless, it is illustrative to analyze the example of South Africa, which experienced much violence after the abolition of apartheid. A strong and vigorous campaign to reinforce the effectiveness of the police forces helped a lot in reducing those indices. I believe Guatemala has a lot to learn from other states in this regard."

The government is responsible

Five days later, having conducted his investigations and interviews, Alston blamed the government for the insecurity. He had received reports from local human rights organizations, spoken to officials, and heard testimony from victims' families. He said that the probability of the perpetrators being apprehended, never mind convicted, was scant in Guatemala, "and those are the responsibilities of the state...for the generalized impunity."

Alston said he was particularly concerned...

View this article FREE - Now for a Limited Time, try Goliath Business News
Free for 3 Days!