A/HRC/43/3/Add.1 C. The fight against impunity 37. The technical support provided by CICIG to the Office of the Attorney General for 12 years made it possible to achieve significant progress in the fight against impunity and the dismantling of criminal structures. 25 In the period of August 2007 to July 2019, CICIG assisted in the prosecution of over 120 cases, involving approximately 660 people, including high-profile defendants. CICIG also investigated over 70 highly complex criminal structures resulting in more than 400 convictions. 26 Furthermore, it supported legal reforms to strengthen the justice system.27 38. Throughout the year, OHCHR registered an increase in reprisals against judges, lawyers and prosecutors, especially those in the specialized unit against impunity (FECI) of the Office of the Attorney General owing to their cooperation with CICIG (A/HRC/42/30, paras. 54–55).28 Former CICIG staff were also targeted. 39. On 27 September, the Congress created a commission of inquiry to investigate alleged “illegal and arbitrary” acts by CICIG. 29 On 7 October, the Constitutional Court issued a provisional injunction suspending this commission upon a request filed by the Attorney General and civil society actors. However, Congress renamed this entity a “truth commission” and continued to hold hearings about cases that had already been resolved in courts of law. These actions appeared to be an attempt by Congress to undermine the judiciary and delegitimize progress achieved in combating impunity. D. Transitional justice 40. In 2019, some progress was made towards guaranteeing the rights to truth, justice, reparation and non-repetition for victims of the internal armed conflict (1960–1996). The Office of the Attorney General advanced with the digitalization and file management of cases involving serious human rights violations, which was a positive step. 41. An important development in the fight against impunity was the arrest, on 16 June, of General Luis Mendoza, accused of genocide and crimes against humanity against the Maya Ixil people, when he was director of operations during the administration of de facto Head of State Efraín Ríos Montt in 1982 and 1983. The Office of the Attorney General filed a request to change the judge of High-Risk Court A assigned to the case, owing to concerns regarding her lack of impartiality. The appeals court granted this request on 17 October. 42. In October, hearings commenced in the case of genocide and crimes against humanity allegedly committed by the military command of the Government of Romeo Lucas García (1978–1982). Those on trial are former chief of staff Benedicto Lucas García, the chief of intelligence, Manuel Antonio Callejas y Callejas, and the chief of operations, César Octavio Noguera Argueta. OHCHR monitored the trials and provided technical assistance various stakeholders on international norms and standards related to transitional justice. 43. However, there were some setbacks. On 21 June, High-Risk Court A issued its decision in the case of sexual violence committed against Achí women between 1981 and 1985, dismissing the case with respect to three defendants, and provisionally closing the case with respect to the other three defendants. On 9 September, the judge assigned to the case was recused owing to concerns about her lack of impartiality, and the case was reassigned to High-Risk Court B. On 5 December, the indigenous women plaintiffs filed a complaint against the judge in High-Risk Court A for discrimination based on gender, socioeconomic 25 26 27 28 29 8 A/HRC/16/20/Add.1, para. 27; A/HRC/19/21/Add.1, para. 26; A/HRC/25/19/Add.1, para. 18; A/HRC/28/3/Add.1, para. 23; A/HRC/34/3/Add.1, paras. 3 and 14; A/HRC/37/3/Add.1, para. 13; and A/HRC/40/3/Add.1, para. 6. cicig.org/cicig/informes_cicig/informe-de-labores/informe-final-de-labores (in Spanish). CICIG, “Informe de cierre: el legado de justicia en Guatemala”, pp. 99–104. Available at cicig.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/InformeLegadoJusticia_SI.pdf (in Spanish). This included the judges Francisco de Mata Vela, Bonerge Mejía, Gloria Porras, Erika Aifán, Yassmin Barrios, Miguel Angel Gálvez Aguilar and Juan Pablo Xitumul. Legislative agreement 12-2019, September 2019. Available at congreso.gob.gt/assets/uploads/info_legislativo/acuerdos/bb04a-12-2019.pdf (in Spanish).