Guatemala's president surprises critics by renewing UN commission on impunity
Guatemala's president surprises critics by renewing UN commission on impunity
The International Commission against Impunity in Guatemala has proved effective in the struggle to fix Guatemalas justice system, but many had feared President Perez would dismiss its work.
By Geoffrey Ramsey, Guest blogger / March 30, 2012
Guatemalan President Otto Perez Molina has begun the process of renewing the mandate of a valuable United Nations-backed anti-impunity organization, easing fears about his commitment to judicial reform in the country.
President Perez made good on his promise to support the two-year renewal of the International Commission against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG) yesterday, meeting with CICIG head Francisco DallAnese in the presidential palace in order to outline the renewal process (link in Spanish). According to Perez, renewing the mandate isnt very complicated, and only consists of exchanging a few letters with UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon.
The CICIGs current mandate expires in September 2013, but the renewal will add two more years to this deadline. Apart from the extension, Perez told local press that the administration will develop a road map of the Commissions objectives for the next several years, which will be presented to the countries funding the project.
As InSight Crime has noted previously, the CICIG has proved to be extremely effective in the struggle to fix Guatemalas broken justice system. Because of its importance to the prospect of judicial reform in the country, Perez raised eyebrows during his presidential campaign last summer after he dodged questions about renewing the Commissions mandate. He further fueled concerns about his dedication to cleaning up the judicial branch when he distanced himself (link in Spanish) from the work of the countrys ambitious Attorney General, Claudia Paz y Paz.
More:
http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Americas/Latin-America-Monitor/2012/0330/Guatemala-s-president-surprises-critics-by-renewing-UN-commission-on-impunity?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+feeds%2Fworld+%28Christian+Science+Monitor+%7C+World%29