International Commission against Impunity in Guatemala

The International Commission against Impunity in Guatemala (Spanish: Comisión Internacional contra la Impunidad en Guatemala, CICIG) was an international body that worked to investigate serious crimes in Guatemala. It helped fight powerful criminal groups and make sure people followed the law.

In January 2019, the president of Guatemala, Jimmy Morales, ended the agreement that let the CICIG work. He said the group did illegal things, but the United Nations did not agree, and the highest court in Guatemala supported the CICIG. This caused problems in the government's work.

During its time, the CICIG helped stop more than 70 criminal groups. Experts think this work may have prevented many violent deaths between 2008 and 2019, helping to keep Guatemala safer.

History

The International Commission against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG) was created on December 12, 2006, when the United Nations and Guatemala signed an agreement. CICIG was set up to help Guatemala's legal system with difficult cases, especially those involving organized crime. It aimed to make Guatemala's courts and police stronger.

In 2009, Guatemala asked to extend CICIG’s work for two more years, and the United Nations agreed. Later, in 2015, the commission’s work was extended again. However, in 2018, President Jimmy Morales decided not to renew CICIG’s mandate. In early 2019, Guatemala’s constitutional court stopped this decision.

Objectives

The International Commission against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG) had three main goals. First, it wanted to look into illegal groups that harmed people’s rights in Guatemala. Second, CICIG helped Guatemalan authorities, like the Attorney General, to find and charge people in these groups. It also suggested new rules to the government to stop these groups and protect people’s rights. Third, CICIG trained legal groups so they could fight organized crime after CICIG’s work was done.

In 2008, the General Assembly of the United Nations praised the support given to CICIG and asked for it to continue its important tasks.

Investigations

The International Commission against Impunity in Guatemala was a group that helped find out about serious crimes in the country. It worked with the United Nations and the government of Guatemala. In 2019, the president of Guatemala chose to end the agreement with the commission, saying it had broken some rules. The United Nations did not agree with this, and the highest court in Guatemala also said the president was wrong to end the agreement.

Campaign finance in Guatemala

In July 2015, an international group called the CICIG shared a report about politics in Guatemala. They said the rules about money for elections were not strong enough. The government did not check where the money for campaigns came from. Because of this, many political groups in Guatemala were likely breaking the rules about using money in elections.

Criticism

The commission was criticized by many groups over the years. One critic was the Central American Socialist Party. They said the commission mostly helped the United States and the European Union. Some people also thought the commission did not do enough to punish some wrongdoers in its early cases.