MOTION FOR A RESOLUTION
13.3.2007
pursuant to Rule 115 of the Rules of Procedure
by Michał Tomasz Kamiński, Adam Bielan, Mirosław Mariusz Piotrowski, Hanna Foltyn-Kubicka, Ryszard Czarnecki, Mieczysław Edmund Janowski, Eugenijus Maldeikis and Wojciech Roszkowski,
on behalf of the UEN Group
on Guatemala
B6‑0106/2007
European Parliament resolution on Guatemala
The European Parliament,
− having regard to its previous resolutions on Guatemala (18 May 2000, 14 June 2001, 11 April 2002, 10 April 2003, 7 July 2005, 25 October 2006),
− having regard to its firm and permanent commitment to ensuring compliance with the peace agreements and with human rights in Guatemala,
− having regard to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights,.
− having regard to Rule 115(5) of its Rules of Procedure,
A. whereas on 19 February three Salvadoran Members of the Central American Parliament (Parlacen) – Eduardo D'Aubuisson, William Pichcinte and Ramon Gonzales Rivas, and their driver, Gerardo Ramirez, on their way to the plenary session of the Parlacen in Guatemala City, were kidnapped and brutally murdered, and their bodies were found charred in their car,
B. whereas four police officers, including Luis Arturo Herrera, head of the Guatemalan National Police organised crime unit, arrested in connection with the killings of the three Salvadoran members of the Parlacen and their driver, were four days later shot to death in the top-security prison of El Boqueron,
C. whereas television journalists who covered the murder of the four police officers have been receiving death threats after broadcasting their report,
C. whereas the Guatemalan President and national police chief have publicly acknowledged that there is corruption in the police force, and human rights organizations and opposition politicians in Guatemala believe that the two sets of killings prove that criminal gangs have corrupted Guatemala’s national police,
D. whereas according to human rights experts several thousands of homicides are committed a year in Guatemala and arrests are made in only 2 percent of the cases,
E. whereas Guatemala is plagued by drug trafficking, violence, corruption, lawlessness, impunity and other serious threats to democracy and the rule of law,
F. whereas the Board of Directors of the Central American Parliament is to discuss with Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega moving its headquarters to Managua due to the February 19 murder and the increasing insecurity in Guatemala,
1. Is appalled by the barbaric murder of the three Salvadoran members of the Central American Parliament and conveys its condolences to the their families;
2. Is seriously alarmed by human rights violations in Guatemala, rampant corruption in the police and judicial sectors, widespread violence and other major threats to democracy and the rule of law;
3. Urges the Guatemalan government to carry out the necessary investigations urgently and bring the perpetrators of the above crimes to justice; expects the Guatemalan government to guarantee full independence and liberty in the work of the Guatemalan judicial authorities responsible for the investigation of these crimes;
4. Emphasises the special importance of ending the atmosphere of impunity for political crimes and gross human rights abuses in Guatemala;
5. Calls on the Guatemalan government to cooperate fully with the United Nations to create the International Commission against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG), a UN-backed independent body that would be allowed to investigate high-level government corruption in the country; calls on the Guatemalan government to work closely with other international institutions and human rights organisations to fight human rights abuses, including freedom of the media and freedom of speech violations;
6. Calls on all Guatemalans, and particularly their authorities, to make determined efforts to continue implementing the peace accords in order to create a freer, more democratic and socially just country;
7. Calls on the other countries in the region, particularly El Salvador, to step up their efforts in combating drug trafficking and other forms of organised cross-border crime;
8. Instructs the President to forward this resolution to the Council, Commission, UN Secretary General, UNCHR, the Central American Parliament and the Governments of Guatemala and El Salvador.