Ban voices support for UN-backed body tackling impunity in Guatemala

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today voiced his strong support for the work being done by the United Nations-backed commission charged with dismantling illegal armed groups and tackling impunity in Guatemala.

Mr. Ban discussed the work of the International Commission Against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG) with the body’s Commissioner, Francisco Dall’Anese, during a meeting at UN Headquarters in New York.

The Secretary-General said that through its investigations and activities, conducted hand-in-hand with Guatemalan prosecutors, CICIG was helping convey the message that all Guatemalans are equal before the law, according to his spokesperson.

The UN and the Guatemalan Government set up CICIG as an independent body to support the public prosecutors’ office, the national civilian police and other institutions to investigate a limited number of sensitive and difficult cases regarding illegal security groups and clandestine security organizations and also dismantle them.

Based in Guatemala City, the capital, the Commission seeks to bolster the rule of law and is permitted by its mandate to conduct independent investigations and help authorities bring representative cases to trial in national courts.

Mr. Dall’Anese, a renowned Costa Rican advocate against organized crime, was appointed to head the Commission in June.