117 HRES 1481 IH: Urging United States policy toward Guatemala to support the rule of law and address challenges of kleptocracy, organized crime, private and public sector corruption, illicit campaign financing, criminalization of and attacks on justice operators, journalists, and human rights defenders, and restrictions resulting in the closure of civic space.
U.S. House of Representatives
2022-11-16
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IV
117th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. RES. 1481
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
November 16, 2022
Mrs. Torres of California (for herself, Mr. Sires, Mr. Castro of Texas, Mr. McGovern, and Mr. García of Illinois) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and in addition to the Committees on Financial Services, and Ways and Means, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned
RESOLUTION
Urging United States policy toward Guatemala to support the rule of law and address challenges of kleptocracy, organized crime, private and public sector corruption, illicit campaign financing, criminalization of and attacks on justice operators, journalists, and human rights defenders, and restrictions resulting in the closure of civic space.
Whereas in the June 2021 United States Strategy on Countering Corruption, President Joe Biden stated that “Corruption threatens United States national security, economic equity, global anti-poverty and development efforts, and democracy itself”;
Whereas, according to the Department of State report for 2021 on Human Rights Conditions in Guatemala, corruption and impunity continue to be serious problems in Guatemala, asserting that “prominent anticorruption prosecutors were fired or removed from significant cases, and corrupt actors threatened independent judges by filing complaints based on spurious charges to strip them of immunity to prosecution”;
Whereas the Department of State included Guatemalan Attorney General Maria Consuelo Porras on the Undemocratic and Corrupt Actors list released September 20, 2021, due to her “involvement in significant corruption” and pattern of obstructing justice, including by reportedly “ordering prosecutors in Guatemala’s Public Ministry to ignore cases based on political considerations and firing prosecutors who investigate cases involving acts of corruption”;
Whereas, on May 16, 2022, after President Alejandro Giammattei reappointed Maria Consuelo Porras as Attorney General, the United States deemed her ineligible for entry into the United States “due to her involvement in significant corruption”;
Whereas, as of June 2022, at least 24 justice operators involved in fighting corruption, including public prosecutors, judges, a magistrate from the Constitutional Court, and two former attorneys general had been forced into exile;
Whereas, as of May 2022, at least 6 anticorruption prosecutors have been detained by Guatemalan authorities based on spurious or frivolous charges;
Whereas, according to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights 2021 Annual Report on Guatemala, the weakening of human rights institutions and setbacks to the fight against corruption and impunity have a disproportionate impact on women, children, indigenous peoples, and other historically marginalized populations;
Whereas the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights reported that “throughout 2021, attacks and judicial persecution against justice operators for their legitimate work continued” in a pattern that “undermines the rule of law and judicial independence”;
Whereas, on June 21, 2021, a law entered into force in Guatemala which imposes onerous administrative requirements for nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), making it difficult or impossible for them to operate and giving the government the ability to close NGOs at will;
Whereas the excessive and unjustified use of states of exception has created a situation in which numerous warrantless arrests are conducted, often targeting indigenous community leaders defending their rights to land;
Whereas Guatemalan human rights group La Unidad de Protección a Defensoras y Defensores de Derechos Humanos—Guatemala (UDEFEGUA) documented over 589 acts of violence and aggression against human rights defenders, justice operators, and journalists from January to June 2022;
Whereas, in 2021, at least 179 attacks were reported against indigenous and campesino leaders who defend land, territory, and the environment; and
Whereas since January 1, 2021, after receiving threats that led them to fear for their lives, 6 journalists have fled into exile, and on July 29, 2022, award-winning journalist José Rubén Zamora, founder and president of the newspaper El Periódico, was arrested at his home and remains detained: Now, therefore, be it
That the House of Representatives—
(1)
commends the bravery, endurance, and resolve of the prodemocracy, anticorruption movement, those who risk life and livelihood to bring a better future to Guatemalans;
(2)
condemns the attacks and abuses perpetrated by those few who act with impunity against the majority of Guatemalan society and against judges, anticorruption prosecutors, human rights defenders, and journalists; indigenous communities protecting land, women escaping sexual violence, LGBTQ individuals seeking safety, and youth unable to access career opportunities;
(3)
reaffirms its support for rule of law and democracy in Guatemala, and recognizes corruption and impunity among the root causes of irregular migration to the United States;
(4)
calls on the Department of State and the Treasury to ensure United States resources are not used to support corrupt actors by undertaking investigations of Guatemalan Government officials, judicial personnel, legislators, security force members, and private sector individuals who have participated in significant acts of corruption or human rights abuses, and to act expeditiously to issue targeted sanctions, including under the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act, and to investigate and, where appropriate, freeze economic assets in the United States;
(5)
reiterates the United States commitment to combating corruption in Guatemala and working to provide support for international financial institutions to ensure loans and assistance are not granted to individuals or entities responsible for corruption, illicit political campaign financing, or human rights violations, and to ensure that all loans or assistance have safeguards and oversight mechanisms to ensure they do not permit or facilitate corruption or human rights abuses;
(6)
calls on the United States Development Finance Corporation to review current and pending loans and grants to ensure such loans and grants do not go to projects that might put human rights defenders at risk and are not channeled through entities whose leaders have engaged in corruption or human rights abuses;
(7)
urges all United States Government initiatives promoting United States investment in Guatemala to ensure that such investment does not violate human rights, including labor rights, disregard indigenous or Afro-descendant community land rights, or benefit corrupt actors;
(8)
urges the Department of State and the Department of Defense to review and defer assistance and training to the Guatemalan Armed Forces and National Civilian Police until such reviews indicate the Guatemalan Government is taking effective steps to investigate and prosecute security forces implicated in significant acts of corruption and human rights abuses, including those committed against indigenous communities and human rights defenders, and is taking effective steps to curtail the role of the military in public security;
(9)
calls on the United States Trade Representative and Department of Labor to review the extent to which Guatemala is in compliance with the Dominican Republic-Central America-United States Free Trade Agreement, including the provisions that require governments to establish procedures to disqualify suppliers that engage in fraudulent or illegal activities and the provisions related to labor rights;
(10)
calls on the Secretary of State to engage with the Government of Guatemala to emphasize the importance of progress in ensuring—
(A)
an independent judiciary with transparent and merit-based selection procedures;
(B)
free and transparent elections, including prevention of illicit campaign financing;
(C)
respect for freedom of expression and association;
(D)
promotion of community-led development policies to encourage private sector actors to comply with environmental and labor standards and the right of communities to free, prior, and informed consent; and
(E)
improving access to justice for victims of gender-based and sexual violence;
(11)
urges the Department of State to engage with like-minded countries to collaborate on sustained, effective, anticorruption policies, with respect to Guatemalan Government officials and private sector individuals who have engaged in or facilitated corruption or human rights violations; and
(12)
encourages the Department of State and the United States Agency for International Development efforts to provide long-term support, including financial, psychological, and legal support, for justice operators, human rights defenders, trade union leaders, and journalists precluded from carrying out their activities due to persecution or forced into exile from Central America.