[Congressional Bills 105th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Con. Res. 166 Introduced in House (IH)]







105th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. CON. RES. 166

 Expressing the sense of the Congress that every effort should be made 
  to assure the complete implementation of, and compliance with, the 
                December 1996 Guatemalan peace accords.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            October 2, 1997

   Mrs. Morella (for herself and Mr. Lantos) submitted the following 
     concurrent resolution; which was referred to the Committee on 
                        International Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                         CONCURRENT RESOLUTION


 
 Expressing the sense of the Congress that every effort should be made 
  to assure the complete implementation of, and compliance with, the 
                December 1996 Guatemalan peace accords.

Whereas the peace accords signed by the Government of Guatemala and the 
        Guatemalan National Revolutionary Unity (URNG) on December 29, 1996, 
        represent a great achievement for the Guatemalan people and for the 
        signatory parties, and lay the foundation for achieving fundamental 
        political and economic reforms and national reconciliation;
Whereas specific provisions of the peace accords address critical issues that 
        were root causes of the armed conflict or were consequences of the war 
        in Guatemala, including access to land and credit, racial 
        discrimination, grave human rights violations, the lack of effective law 
        enforcement, military impunity, and the absence of democratic 
        government;
Whereas the parties to the peace accords agreed to implement the December 1996 
        accords over a four-year period, with compliance to be monitored and 
        supported by the Guatemalan Commission for Accompaniment and verified 
        internationally by the United Nations Mission in Guatemala (MINUGUA);
Whereas international donors have pledged financial support to implement the 
        accords, especially those commitments made to strengthen democratic 
        institutions and the rule of law, to improve the efficiency and 
        availability of public services, to promote more equitable economic 
        growth, and to raise living standards, focusing on the very poor, 
        indigenous peoples, and women; and
Whereas the Clarification Commission created under the peace accords to 
        establish responsibility for human rights violations committed during 
        the armed conflict has a maximum of one year to find the truth about 
        many thousands of abuses committed over 36 years: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring), 
That the Congress--
            (1) commends the Government of Guatemala and the Guatemalan 
        National Revolutionary Unity (URNG) for their actions in 
        carrying out the first phase of implementation of the peace 
        accords;
            (2) commends the Government of Guatemala and President 
        Alvaro Arzu for the steps they have taken to tackle corruption 
        and to strengthen civilian control over the armed forces, and 
        for putting in place the joint action commissions that will 
        play a critical role in the implementation of the peace 
        accords;
            (3) commends the United Nations for its work in 
        facilitating the peace agreement and for its role in verifying 
        the accords, and the Group of Friends--Colombia, Mexico, 
        Norway, Spain, the United States, and Venezuela--for their 
        support of the peace process in Guatemala;
            (4) notes the need for the greatest possible democratic 
        participation in implementing the accords, and calls on the 
        Government of Guatemala, the URNG, and the United Nations 
        Mission in Guatemala (MINUGUA) to promote dialogue and 
        consensus-building with the political parties, the private 
        sector and civil society groups;
            (5) notes with concern the continued involvement of 
        military intelligence in operational police matters revealed in 
        the ``Mincho'' case and calls upon the Government of Guatemala, 
        with the cooperation of the URNG and MINUGUA, to conduct a full 
        investigation into this case and to ensure strict compliance 
        with the provisions of the peace accords regarding the role of 
        intelligence structures;
            (6) calls on the Government of Guatemala to provide the 
        fullest possible financial, logistical, and other support to 
        the Clarification Commission to carry out its work, and to act 
        upon the findings of the Commission's final report;
            (7) calls on the Government of Guatemala to continue 
        strengthening the climate of respect for human rights and 
        interpreting the Law of National Reconciliation in such a 
        manner that those who committed human rights violations during 
        the armed conflict do not escape justice;
            (8) calls on the Government of Guatemala to continue to 
        facilitate the return as quickly as possible of all Guatemalan 
        refugees currently living in Mexico who desire to return, as 
        established by the October 8, 1992, agreement between the 
        Government of Guatemala and the Guatemalan refugee groups;
            (9) calls on the Government of Guatemala to take prompt 
        measures, as required by the accords and recommended by the 
        International Monetary Fund and other financial institutions, 
        to increase its revenues, in an equitable manner, in order to 
        implement the socioeconomic commitments of the peace accords 
        and to resolve peacefully and expeditiously the many land 
        disputes that have raised tensions in the countryside;
            (10) calls on the Clinton Administration to monitor closely 
        the peace process in Guatemala, to support full implementation 
        of the peace accords, and to provide adequate funds for 
        reconstruction and development, with particular emphasis on 
        strengthening the justice system, building a new civilian 
        police force, alleviating extreme poverty, and ensuring the 
        full integration of indigenous people and women into the 
        political and economic system;
            (11) calls on the Clinton Administration to ensure that any 
        United States assistance to the Guatemalan military be limited 
        exclusively to aid that carries out the objectives of the peace 
        accords of increasing civilian control over the military, 
        limiting the role of the Guatemalan armed forces to defense of 
        sovereignty and national security, and fostering greater 
        respect for human rights; and
            (12) calls on the Clinton Administration to support the 
        work of the Guatemalan Clarification Commission by speedily 
        declassifying documents of United States agencies that may shed 
        light on human rights violations committed during the 
        Guatemalan conflict and making those documents available to the 
        Commission and to the public.
                                 <all>