A/HRC/37/9
10.
Since 2005, at the initiative of the Government, OHCHR in Guatemala had been in
operation and its mandate had been renewed by the President of the Republic in September
2017. Guatemala was pleased that the United Nations High Commissioner for Human
Rights was to visit Guatemala in November 2017.
11.
The delegation highlighted the tripartite agreement that the Government, workers’
representatives and employers’ representatives had signed, which had resolved the
complaint that had been brought under article 26 of the Constitution of the International
Labour Organization (ILO).
12.
In May 2014, the Public Policy for Coexistence and Elimination of Racism and
Racial Discrimination and a policy on the institutionalization of entities with specialized
mandates to address the rights of indigenous peoples had been approved.
13.
Several instruments had been adopted to address the scourge of trafficking in
persons. One example was a protocol for inter-agency coordination on protection and
assistance for victims of human trafficking, which had been adopted in 2015.
14.
Guatemala was immersed in a process of national reconciliation concerning
enforced disappearances. There was a significant degree of approval in Congress for draft
law 3590 on the creation of a national commission for the search for victims of enforced
disappearance and other forms of disappearance, and for the ratification of the International
Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance.
15.
Meanwhile, there were national mechanisms in place, such as the special
investigation procedure of the Human Rights Advocate, and cases were under investigation
by the Office of the Prosecutor for Human Rights.
16.
Regarding the fight against impunity, the Anti-Corruption Division of the Public
Prosecution Service had expanded, and was currently composed of 12 prosecutors’ offices,
one of which was located within the Office of the Comptroller General. There had been an
increase in the number of complaints regarding acts of corruption between 2012 and June
2017, and a total of 247 sanctions had been imposed during that period.
17.
The Government had renewed the mandate of the International Commission against
Impunity in Guatemala for an additional two years in order to enable it to continue
investigating parallel bodies and clandestine security organizations. Guatemala
acknowledged the support that the International Commission had provided to the Public
Prosecution Service and the National Civil Police in the transfer of capacities in the
processes of investigation and criminal prosecution.
18.
In relation to the right to identity, in 2015 the National Registry Office had launched
a pilot project for an early birth notification system. In the light of its positive impact, the
system had been implemented in 2016. Between 2013 and 2016, some 239 registry desks
had been opened with a view to identifying unregistered children. As a result, 443,774
persons had been registered.
19.
The official adoption process had been approved and between 2012 and 2014, the
relevant institutions had reviewed 116 files on pending adoptions, of which 4 remained to
be finalized. Some anomalies had been identified and the persons involved had been
apprehended.
20.
On 3 November 2014, the Chixoy Policy had been approved, and a verification and
follow-up board had been established in 2015. The implementation of individual
compensation had been agreed and between 2015 and 2016, payments had been made to
some 1,929 families.
21.
In response to the precautionary measure issued by the Inter-American Commission
on Human Rights in favour of the patients of the Federico Mora National Mental Health
Hospital, several actions had been taken, including the withdrawal of the National Civil
Police from the facilities and the review and updating of protocols for admission,
management and treatment of patients with mental health problems.
22.
The Office for the Analysis of Attacks against Human Rights Defenders in
Guatemala was coordinated by the Vice-Ministry of Security of the Ministry of the Interior,
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