HL Deb 21 July 1998 vol 592 cc97-8WA
Lord Avebury

asked Her Majesty's Government:

What action they took, during the United Kingdom's Presidency of the European Union, to assist the Government of Guatemala in the promotion of human rights, the work of the truth commission and the elimination on impunity. [HL2525]

Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean

During our Presidency of the EU we continued to follow closely human rights developments in Guatemala and carried forward our commitment to assist the promotion of human rights. When Mr. Lloyd, Minister of State at the FCO, visited Guatemala in February, he made clear our support for the full implementation of the peace accords, including those relating to human rights. HM Ambassador and his European colleagues also met government representatives, the UN Verification Mission (MINUGUA) and NGOs on a regular basis during the last six months to raise individual human rights cases and to stress the importance of tackling impunity by bringing those responsible for human rights violations to justice.

Following the murder of Bishop Gerardi, a leading human rights defender in April, we issued an EU declaration which, in addition to urging the Guatemalan authorities to ensure a full investigation to bring all those responsible for this crime to justice, appealed to all Guatemalans not to allow this murder to distract them from the full implementation of the peace accords. It also called on the government to support the work of the Truth Commission and take all appropriate measures to ensure the safety of its members. Mr. Lloyd also wrote to the Guatemalan Foreign Minister and subsequently raised our concerns with the Guatemalan Ambassador.

The Guatemalan Government and the European Commission agreed on a number of development projects during our Presidency designed to have a positive impact on human rights, including a 31.7 million ecu programme for the reform of national public security. The UK made a direct grant of £62,000 (100,000 US dollars) to the Truth Commission's budget from the FCO's Human Rights Project Fund.