A/HRC/43/3/Add.1
Ministry of the Interior adopted Government Agreement 171-2019, increasing the bonus
payments of the National Civil Police.
51.
In the context of the state of siege in September and October, OHCHR noted the
deployment of hundreds of military officers to different communities, including in areas
where massive human rights violations were perpetrated during the internal armed conflict,
such as in Sepur Zarco, provoking fear among the population, in particular among women.
52.
On 10 October, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights issued a judgment
concluding that the State was responsible for violations of the rights to life and physical
integrity in the 14 November 2005 killing of a former prisoner in the El Infiernito prison
during the “Gavilán Operation” to capture escaped convicts.38
V. Inclusive and sustainable human development
A.
Lands, territories and natural resources
53.
Guatemala remains characterized by an extremely unequal distribution of agricultural
resources, with a high concentration of arable land in the hands of a few. Those agricultural
producers classified as “commercial” producers represent only 1.9 per cent of all agricultural
producers; however, they occupy 65.44 per cent of the country’s arable land area. In contrast,
those classified as “subsistence” or “under-subsistence” producers comprise 92 per cent of
all agricultural producers, yet they occupy only 21.86 per cent of the arable land area. 39
54.
As at 31 October, a total of 1,532 land conflicts had been registered by the Secretary
of Agricultural Affairs, involving disputes over property rights, territorial limits and
regularization of land. 40 Of these conflicts, 71 per cent were in the departments of Alta
Verapaz, Huehuetenango, Izabal, Petén and Quiché – departments in which indigenous
peoples live and where natural resource exploration and exploitation projects coincide.
55.
A specialized agrarian justice system is still lacking. The State coordinated dialogue
round tables to address land conflicts, but in general, these have not resulted in solutions.
Instead, land conflicts often ended in the issuance of eviction orders by the courts. 41 During
2019, a total of 10 out of 52 pending eviction orders were executed, leaving over 210 families
without land, housing or livelihoods.
56.
Despite recommendations from international human rights mechanisms, a resolution
of the Office of the Ombudsperson42 and technical assistance by OHCHR, State institutions
have not adopted regulatory frameworks to guarantee the human rights of all parties involved
in land conflicts. These would include measures for the recognition of indigenous peoples’
rights to lands, territories and natural resources, and measures to ensure the relocation of and
more durable solutions for persons who have been forcibly evicted or displaced.43
57.
In 2019, two judgments recognizing land-related claims were issued that illustrate
patterns of displacement of communities and the misuse of criminal law against them:
(a)
The Genesis case. On 29 May, High-Risk Court B found 10 members of a criminal
structure liable for money-laundering and aggravated trespassing for forcing 28 peasant
communities in Petén from their lands and then legalizing those lands for others through
38
39
40
41
42
43
10
corteidh.or.cr/docs/casos/articulos/seriec_384_esp.pdf (in Spanish).
segeplan.gob.gt/downloads/clearinghouse/politicas_publicas/Desarrollo%20Agropecuario/
Politica_Agraria_2014.pdf (in Spanish), p. 12.
Information provided to OHCHR by the Secretary of Agricultural Affairs, SAA-DS-654-2019/jr.
JAL GTM 4/2019 of 22 July 2019. Available at spcommreports.ohchr.org/TMResultsBase/
DownLoadPublicCommunicationFile?gId=24655 (in Spanish).
Office of the Ombudsperson, Resolution REF.EXP.EIO.PET.10180-2017P/PET (Laguna Larga case).
Available at pdh.org.gt/biblioteca-digital-documentos-resoluciones (in Spanish).
ohchr.org/Documents/Issues/Housing/Guidelines_sp.pdf (in Spanish).
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