[Congressional Bills 103th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Con. Res. 212 Introduced in House (IH)]

103d CONGRESS
  2d Session
H. CON. RES. 212

  Expressing the sense of the Congress regarding the Guatemalan peace 
    process and the need for greater protection of human rights in 
                               Guatemala.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           February 24, 1994

  Mrs. Morella (for herself, Mr. Brown of California, Ms. Furse, Mr. 
  Kennedy, Mr. McDermott, Mr. Moakley, Mr. Ravenel, and Ms. Woolsey) 
 submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was referred to 
                    the Committee on Foreign Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                         CONCURRENT RESOLUTION


 
  Expressing the sense of the Congress regarding the Guatemalan peace 
    process and the need for greater protection of human rights in 
                               Guatemala.

Whereas, following more than a year's hiatus, formal negotiations to bring an 
        end to the 33-year armed conflict in Guatemala and establish conditions 
        for democracy in Guatemala have resumed under United Nations mediation 
        between the Government of Guatemala and the armed opposition, the 
        Guatemalan National Revolutionary Union;
Whereas systematic human rights violations are committed with impunity against 
        Guatemalan civilians, especially members of the indigenous population, 
        by government security forces and by the Civil Self-Defense Patrols 
        acting under their authority;
Whereas the Organization of American States has found that the Civil Self-
        Defense Patrols are a ``source of human rights violations'' and should 
        be ``disbanded or reorganized'';
Whereas the Organization of American States has found that in Guatemala there 
        have been serious ``cases of arbitrary arrest, illegitimate deprivation 
        of liberty, isolation, and torture and execution without trial'' of 
        individuals, including the husband of United States citizen Jennifer 
        Harbury and other members of the Guatemalan National Revolutionary Union 
        who are held by various government security forces;
Whereas the Organization of American States has determined that the Communities 
        of Populations in Resistance, which have been harassed by government 
        armed forces and the Civil Self-Defense Patrols, are civilian 
        communities;
Whereas the Organization of American States has called on the Government of 
        Guatemala to ``take a clear stand on the grave problems that obstruct 
        the full observance of human rights, set well defined goals, and 
        schedule policies for attaining them'';
Whereas the security of repatriated refugees in Guatemala, of internally 
        displaced civilians, and of the Communities of Populations in Resistance 
        remains at risk due to continued military attacks; and
Whereas there has been no substantive progress in bringing to justice all of 
        those responsible for the murder of United States citizen Michael 
        Devine, the abduction and torture of United States citizen Dianna Ortiz, 
        and the murder of anthropologist Myrna Mack Chang: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring) 
That the Congress--
            (1) commends the President of Guatemala, Ramiro de Leon 
        Carpio, and the leaders of the Guatemalan National 
        Revolutionary Union for establishing a framework for formal 
        negotiations, under the mediation of the United Nations, 
        designed to bring an end to more than 30 years of internal 
        armed conflict and set Guatemala on the road to democracy;
            (2) commends the leaders of the various segments of 
        civilian society, under the leadership of Bishop Rodolfo 
        Quezada Toruno, for their role in articulating the concerns of 
        all sectors of Guatemalan society and for bringing critical 
        issues onto the agenda of the peace negotiations;
            (3) calls on President de Leon Carpio and all parties in 
        the negotiation process to proceed in the spirit of the Oslo 
        Accords to achieve peace by political means, to the end that a 
        final, binding, and verifiable agreement will be attained 
        before the end of 1994;
            (4) calls on the Group of Friends of the peace negotiations 
        (Colombia, Mexico, Spain, Venezuela, Norway, and the United 
        States) to continue and intensify their support of the peace 
        negotiations through diplomatic initiatives and dialogue with 
        all parties;
            (5) calls on President de Leon Carpio to immediately 
        develop a measurable and substantive plan to end grave human 
        rights abuses, in compliance with internationally recognized 
        human rights standards, Guatemala's national constitution, and 
        the recommendations of the Inter-American Commission on Human 
        Rights, a part of the Organization of the American States;
            (6) calls on President de Leon Carpio, as a sign of good 
        faith and a contribution to peace, to immediately disband the 
        Civil Self-Defense Patrols, which are one of the major sources 
        of human rights violations in Guatemala;
            (7) calls on President de Leon Carpio to ensure the safety 
        of the returnees, recognizing their rights to reintegrate into 
        Guatemalan society, in full compliance with the Accord of the 
        Permanent Commissions of the Guatemalan Refugees in Mexico and 
        the Government of the Republic of Guatemala, signed in 
        Guatemala on October 8, 1993, that determines the conditions 
        and understandings under which certain Guatamalan refugees may 
        be repatriated;
            (8) calls on President de Leon Carpio to recognize the 
        civilian character of the Communities of Populations in 
        Resistance, ensuring their security and their right to peaceful 
        integration into Guatemalan society with the full exercise of 
        rights and liberties guaranteed under Guatemala's national 
        constitution; and
            (9) calls on the Executive Branch of the United States 
        Government to condition all assistance to Guatemala, with the 
        exception of humanitarian and development assistance, on--
                    (A) full compliance with the recommended 
                precautionary measures of the Inter-American Commission 
                on Human Rights, a part of the Organization of American 
                States, including resolution of concerns involving 
                clandestine prisons;
                    (B) the continuation of the peace process;
                    (C) substantive improvement in the protection of 
                human rights;
                    (D) the dissolution of the Civil Self-Defense 
                Patrols;
                    (E) the guaranteed safety of refugees, returnees, 
                and the internally displaced;
                    (F) verifiable resolution of the Devine, Ortiz, and 
                Mack cases; and
                    (G) the strengthening of the various segments of 
                civilian society, which are essential to the 
                establishment of genuine democracy in Guatemala.

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