| United Nations | A/50/499 |
General Assembly
Distr. GENERAL
3 October 1995
ORIGINAL:
ENGLISH
Fiftieth session
Agenda item 45
THE SITUATION IN CENTRAL AMERICA: PROCEDURES FOR THE
ESTABLISHMENT OF A FIRM AND LASTING PEACE AND PROGRESS
IN FASHIONING A REGION OF PEACE, FREEDOM, DEMOCRACY
AND DEVELOPMENT
Report of the Secretary-General
I. INTRODUCTION
1. The present report is submitted pursuant to General Assembly resolution
49/137 of 19 December 1994. It covers developments relating to progress
achieved by Central American countries in the areas of peace, freedom,
democracy and development since my last report (A/49/489 and Corr.1) was
submitted to the General Assembly on 7 October 1994.
2. The General Assembly has followed the efforts of the Central American
countries to achieve a lasting peace and annually discussed the situation
in Central America since 1983. A more direct involvement in the peace
process was precipitated by the signing by the Presidents of Costa Rica, El
Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua, on 7 August 1987, of the
agreement known as Esquipulas II (A/42/521-S/19085, annex). The five
Central American Presidents undertook to initiate processes of
democratization and national dialogue in their countries, to bring about
cease-fires and promote free and fair elections. In February 1989, the
Presidents, gathered at a summit meeting in El Salvador, called upon the
United Nations to become involved in the verification of these agreements.
Since that time the Organization has encouraged the Central American
countries in the steps taken to consolidate their progress towards peace,
freedom, democracy and development.
3. Two important peace-keeping missions have been carried out in Central
America under the authority of the Security Council: the United Nations
Observer Group in Central America (ONUCA) (November 1989-January 1992) and
the United Nations Observer Mission in El Salvador (ONUSAL) (July 1991-
April 1995), one of the most comprehensive efforts ever undertaken by the
United Nations.
95-29674 (E) 161095/...
*9529674*
For its part, the General Assembly authorized the United Nations Observer
Mission to Verify the Electoral Process in Nicaragua (ONUVEN) (August
1989April 1990) and, on 19 September 1994, adopted resolution 48/267,
establishing the United Nations Mission for the Verification of Human
Rights and of Compliance with the Commitments of the Comprehensive
Agreement on Human Rights in Guatemala (MINUGUA). Further to the
completion of the mandate of ONUSAL, a smaller Mission of the United
Nations in El Salvador (MINUSAL) was instituted for an initial six-month
period from 1 May 1995. In addition, most programmes and agencies of the
United Nations system are currently providing technical assistance to
Central America within country programmes or regional frameworks.
4. In addition to reports of the Secretary-General on the missions
currently in the field in El Salvador and Guatemala, at its fiftieth
session the General Assembly will consider a number of reports on the
region. These include those on international assistance for the
rehabilitation and reconstruction of Nicaragua: aftermath of the war and
natural disasters; on assistance for the reconstruction and development of
El Salvador; and on international assistance to and cooperation with the
Alliance for Sustainable Development. A report prepared in response to a
request by Nicaragua during the forty-ninth session of the General Assembly
will also be submitted on support by the United Nations system of the
efforts of Governments to promote and consolidate new or restored
democracies.
5. The current report, like my past reports on the situation in Central
America, concentrates on the five signatories to the Esquipulas process.
However, in accordance with the new Central American agenda and the
composition of Central American summit meetings, reference is also made to
the situation in Panama.
II. THE CENTRAL AMERICAN PROCESS
6. The mid-1990s see the Central American region at a turning-point. With
the important exception of Guatemala, where the negotiation process offers
the hope for a mediated solution to the region's longest-lasting conflict,
the civil wars of the 1980s lie in the past. What remains, as the Central
American Presidents declared during their sixteenth summit meeting, held at
Cerro Verde, El Salvador, from 29 to 31 March 1995, is "the urgent need to
strengthen the peace processes in Central America and thus to guarantee the
stability and security which are essential to consolidation of the
democratic order and the economic and social development of our peoples"
(A/49/901-S/1995/396, annex I).
7. In a visit I made to Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala from 1 to 3
April 1995, I was able to confirm that countries throughout the region are
making efforts to convert the improved prospects for the goals of peace,
democratization, reconciliation, development and justice reiterated by
their Governments into a reality. Democratically elected Governments have
shown themselves to be stable even in the face of internal difficulties.
Particularly notable in this respect is the case of Nicaragua, which
emerged from months of dispute over constitutional reform with an agreement
between its executive and legislative branches that greatly enhances the
prospects for the country's governability in the run-up to the elections of
September and November 1996 and beyond. In El Salvador the Government
committed itself to "Development: the new name of peace" in its signing on
31 May 1995 of the Pact of San Andres. A positive development in the
Guatemalan process emerged in the context of the Central American
Parliament (PARLACEN)'s IV Conference of Political Parties, held in Panama,
where, on 22 August 1995, the Unidad Revolucionaria Nacional Guatemalteca
(URNG) signed the Contadora Declaration with the Government Peace
Commission (COPAZ) and representatives of political parties. The URNG
undertook to accept a unilateral cease-fire during the electoral period (1-
13 November 1995), while the parties agreed that any new Government
emerging from the elections will respect negotiated agreements reached
between the URNG and the present Government. In Costa Rica a damaging
conflict between the Government and the opposition, with its origins in
differences over a programme of reforms, was defused by a pact agreed
between the two parties in June 1995.
8. Democratic institutions have been strengthened as security concerns
engendered by armed conflicts recede into the past and are replaced by
efforts to bring military and public security bodies under the control of
the civilian authorities. National councils for human rights in El
Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras have consolidated their presence within
their respective countries, while non-governmental organizations continue
to press for vigilance and accountability in this area. A major advance
was achieved in El Salvador when on 1 January 1995, following the final
dissolution of the National Police, the peace-mandated National Civil
Police assumed sole responsibility for that country's public security. In
Honduras important steps have been taken in the transfer of the
administration of public security from military to civilian control and in
the replacing of mandatory military service with a system of voluntary
enlistment. However, throughout the region, the economic and social
conditions experienced by a large proportion of the population have
combined with difficulties in the process of reintegration of former
combatants and those displaced by conflict to contribute to a dramatic
increase in common criminality.
9. An increased assertiveness of civil society has generated a new and
more diversified political process throughout Central America. The number
and vigour of issue-oriented organizations and professional associations
have provided new channels for political participation, most clearly
demonstrated by the role played by the Assembly of Civil Society within the
Guatemalan peace process. This active participation was acknowledged by the
Central American Presidents during the International Conference on Peace
and Development in Central America, held at Tegucigalpa on 24 and 25
October 1994. At that meeting the Presidents declared that they would
encourage dialogue between the Governments, civil society, regional
institutions and the international community. They also undertook to make
every effort to facilitate consolidation of the various forms of
organization of civil society (A/49/639-S/1994/1247, annexes I and II).
10. Macroeconomic stabilization within the region has largely been
maintained, although the Economic Commission for Latin America and the
Caribbean (ECLAC) reports mixed performances in individual economies, with
a likely effect of destabilization in the short term. El Salvador, with
its economy still buoyed up by remittances from abroad, experienced the
highest growth rate (6 per cent), while keeping inflation in single
figures. Guatemala too experienced constant growth, although it suffered
from a rising fiscal deficit and exchange rate appreciation. In the run-up
to the profound changes in the Panamanian economy likely to occur with the
implementation of the Panama Canal Treaties at the end of 1999, the
country's growth slowed from 5.4 per cent to 4.7 per cent. Nicaragua,
meanwhile, experienced a positive growth rate (3.2 per cent) for the first
time since 1990, while keeping inflation on a downward path and reducing
trade and current account deficits. Fiscal crises hit Honduras and Costa
Rica, which both experienced fiscal deficits of 8 per cent of GDP and rises
in inflation.
11. The pursuit of policies necessary for macroeconomic stabilization,
liberalization of the economy and modernization of the State has been
accompanied by a decline in social conditions across much of the region
that only increased investment in this area can hope to redress. As the
Central American Presidents themselves recognized in their "Declaration of
San Salvador II" (A/49/901-S/1995/396, annex V), widespread unemployment,
social deterioration and poverty are problems that require their most
urgent attention. That outbursts of social unrest have not been more
frequent can be attributed to the high level of political organization
manifest throughout the region. However, indications of the potential for
social conflict over the issue of structural reform were given by large-
scale strike action taken by workers in El Salvador, Panama and Costa Rica
during the months of July and August 1995. In El Salvador strikes called by
public sector workers protested the Government's tax adjustment policies.
A 10-day strike in Panama in reaction to new labour legislation led to
riots in which 400 protesters were detained and four persons killed. In
Costa Rica a teachers' strike in its fourth week brought as many as 150,000
government workers into the streets in the biggest anti-government protests
in years before it was successfully resolved.
12. The Central American process has come a long way since the five
signatories to the Esquipulas II commitments first established the
"Procedure for a Firm and Lasting Peace in Central America". It has become
clear that for peace to be firm and lasting, it must maintain an
interrelationship with freedom, democracy and development. The challenge
ahead is a great one, precisely because, as the Central American Presidents
expressed during their sixteenth summit meeting: "the necessary conditions
exist in Central America for establishing a relationship of interdependence
between an agenda for peace and an agenda for development, and ... with the
support and efforts of international solidarity, the region can become a
model of conflict resolution, consolidated by peace and democracy through
comprehensive development and the adoption of political solutions"
(A/49/901-S/1995/396, annex I).
Regional cooperation and integration
13. The reporting period has seen the consolidation of a new regional
strategy, that of the Alliance for Sustainable Development, in which the
importance of greater regional cooperation and integration is emphasized.
The new course was set by the Declaration of Guacimo, adopted by the
Central American Presidents on 20 August 1994 (A/49/340-S/1994/994, annex).
Together with the documents signed during the Managua Environment Summit
(12 October 1994) and the International Conference on Peace and Development
at Tegucigalpa (24-25 October 1994), the Guacimo Declaration marked both a
return to the principles laid out in the Tegucigalpa Protocol of 13
December 1991 and the clarification of a major turning-point in the course
taken by the region.
14. The Alliance for Sustainable Development, as established at the
Managua meeting, is an ambitious and comprehensive initiative guided by the
principles of "respect for life in all its forms; continuous improvement of
the quality of life; respect for the vitality and diversity of our earth;
peace; participatory democracy; the observance, promotion and protection of
human rights; respect for the multicultural character and ethnic diversity
of our peoples; economic integration within the region and with the world
outside; and the responsibility of succeeding generations for sustainable
development" (A/49/580-S/1994/1217, annex I). This strategy gave the
participation of the Central American Presidents in the World Summit for
Social Development, held at Copenhagen from 6 to 12 March 1995, a
particular relevance. During a meeting at Copenhagen attended by
government representatives and non-governmental organizations, the
Presidents of Central America explained the principles upon which the
Alliance was founded and outlined their hope that it would serve as a model
for other regions. For their part, the Central American Presidents brought
much of the Copenhagen agenda to their own sixteenth summit meeting, held a
fortnight later. Attention at that summit was focused on collective efforts
to reduce poverty in the isthmus through social integration, sustainable
human development and, in particular, investment in human capital.
15. A distinctive feature of the region's efforts in the area of
integration remains the constant dialogue maintained for the purposes of
political and institutional cooperation. In addition to the major summit
meetings mentioned above, which have proved themselves a flexible and
effective format for highlevel decision-making, the enhanced activities of
the Central American Integration System (SICA) have ensured that regional
meetings within the institutional and legal framework it establishes are a
constant of Central American political life. SICA, which is based at San
Salvador, has been further strengthened by the installation of its
executive committee on 29 March 1995 and Costa Rica's ratification of the
Tegucigalpa Protocol, thereby joining SICA, on 28 June 1995. Considering
that it epitomizes the new regional situation of a more "open, stable and
democratic Central America", SICA is seeking observer status in the General
Assembly (A/50/146). In accordance with this renewed drive towards
integration, other regional organizations, such as the Central American
Parliament (PARLACEN), the Central American Bank for Economic Integration
and the Central American Court of Justice, have also seen increased
activity during the past year.
16. It is perhaps not surprising that economic integration is proving more
difficult to secure than integration in other areas. Although the
Permanent Secretariat of the General Treaty on Central American Economic
Integration (SIECA), in consultation with ECLAC and other organizations, is
working on a proposal for sustainable economic development, the potential
for conflict between regional and individual priorities in this area is
great. Costa Rica's bilateral free trade agreement with Mexico, for
example, came into effect on 1 January 1995, in advance of any regional
agreement. The region's response to the trade liberalization proposed by
El Salvador in January 1995 was also illustrative of this point.
Recommendations for the lowering of the existing common tariff ceiling and
floor (20 per cent and 5 per cent respectively) were moderated in response
to reactions from neighbouring Governments and intense debate within El
Salvador. The discussion of whether the whole region would accept
standardized tariff rates was raised again during the sixteenth summit
meeting. As the summit began the President of Costa Rica announced his
intentions to raise tariffs temporarily by 8 percentage points as part of
his effort to tackle the country's fiscal crisis. However, progress has
been made in the integration of the three countries of the so-called
"northern triangle": El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras. In August 1995
they ratified the Guatemala Protocol to the General Treaty on Central
American Integration with a view to increasing the potential of their
subregional market.
17. The elaboration of an accord on regional security issues has been the
subject of discussion at recent meetings of the Central American Security
Commission, attended by the Deputy Ministers of Foreign Affairs, Defence
and Public Security or Government. A proposed treaty would seek to define
a security model that would make use of democratic institutions to find
integral and peaceable solutions to the region's problems. A May 1995
planning meeting held by the region's Foreign Ministers in Honduras
suggested the subject might be addressed during the seventeenth summit,
scheduled to be held at San Pedro Sula, Honduras, in December 1995. These
political developments reflect important changes within the region's armed
forces. Panama has joined Costa Rica in abolishing its army; Nicaragua and
El Salvador continue to make progress in the subordination of their armies
to civilian rule, while the last year has seen Honduras and Guatemala
address the issue more seriously than ever before. An indication of the
shift within the region's military was given by the signing on 29 June
1995, by the Ministers of Defence and heads of the armed forces of
Honduras, El Salvador and Nicaragua, under the auspices of PARLACEN, of a
"Declaration for peace, democracy, development and integration in Central
America". The three generals recognized the need to define a new model for
regional defence respectful of human rights, the strengthening of the rule
of law and the integral development of the human person and society.
18. Although not related directly to the Esquipulas process, progress in
overcoming territorial disputes forms a vital part of any review of the
status of regional cooperation and integration. While difficulties
remain - in the issue of the land pockets (bolsones) along the border
between Honduras and El Salvador (most of which were awarded to Honduras by
the International Court of Justice on the border dispute in September
1992); in the demarcation of the waters of the Gulf of Fonseca, where
Honduras, El Salvador and Nicaragua share fishing rights; and along
sections of the border between Guatemala and Belize, where tensions rose in
late August and early September 1995 - the countries concerned have
consistently insisted on the need to settle their differences through
dialogue. Discussions within the Binational Commissions of El Salvador and
Honduras -one established to resolve remaining issues of border demarcation
and the other to negotiate issues of dual nationality and property - have
continued. In early September 1995 the two countries agreed to undertake
the verification of property registration, examine issues of nationality
and introduce a new system of monitoring borders designed to reduce
tensions in the area.
Extraregional cooperation
19. The countries of Central America continue to stress the importance of
the role played by the international community in promoting their peace,
freedom, democracy and development. At a time of pressing demands for
international assistance, they have insisted on the need for this support
to be maintained if the progress made in recent years is to be
consolidated.
20. A mechanism through which members of the international community gave
direct encouragement to individual peace processes was first established
for El Salvador. In that instance my predecessor gathered about him a
Group of Friends made up of Colombia, Mexico, Venezuela and Spain, with the
later addition of the United States. A similar mechanism is currently in
place with respect to Guatemala, where the Group of Friends of the
Guatemalan Peace Process is made up of the countries mentioned above, with
the addition of Norway. The General Assembly has expressed its approval
(in resolutions 48/161 and 49/137) of the initiative by the Government of
Nicaragua by which friendly countries (Canada, Mexico, the Netherlands,
Spain and Sweden) have formed a Support Group to follow Nicaragua's
transition and to support internal consensus-building. The United Nations
Development Programme (UNDP) serves as its technical secretariat. During
the last year the Support Group has been particularly active in its
encouragement of a resolution to the dispute over constitutional reform
through dialogue; in its encouragement of the need to find a satisfactory
solution to the complex issue of property; and its support for the
formation of a national development strategy for Nicaragua. I have
followed these activities with interest, and welcome the positive
contribution that the Support Group is continuing to provide in the field
of preventive diplomacy.
21. A major platform for discussion of cooperation amongst and trade
between the countries of the Americas was provided by the Summit of the
Americas, held at Miami, Florida, from 9 to 11 December 1994. This
meeting, the first summit of its kind since the end of the Second World
War, led to the commitment of all participants to work together, under the
coordination of the Trade Unit of the Organization of American States
(OAS), towards the establishment of a free trade area of the Americas by
the year 2005. Discussions on this subject were continued in a follow-up
meeting convened at Denver, Colorado, in early July 1995. Parallel
discussions held at the summit between the Central American countries and
the United States led to the agreement of CONCAUSA, a cooperation accord
between the two parties by which the United States became the first
extraregional associate of Central America's Alliance for Sustainable
Development. It was established that CONCAUSA would receive the economic
support of the United States and the Inter-American Development Bank (IADB)
with an initial fund of $41.5 million. A further Statement of Intent for
Sustainable Development Cooperation was signed with the United States on 9
June 1995 in San Jose, Costa Rica (A/50/366, annex).
22. Political dialogue and economic cooperation with the European Union
was maintained through the eleventh annual meeting in the "San Jose
Process" between the Foreign Ministers of the Central American countries,
the European Union and the Group of Three (Colombia, Mexico and Venezuela)
held at Panama City from 23 to 24 February 1995. The European Ministers
welcomed the progress made during the decade of these meetings and
encouraged the parties in the Guatemalan conflict to reach a lasting peace
accord as soon as was feasible. Concerned about their trade with the
countries of the European Union, their Central American counterparts
requested to have the preferential treatment accorded Central American
agricultural exports under the Generalized System of Preferences extended
for a further 10 years. However, amidst discussions of the need to
reformulate the San Jose process, the European Union extended this
preferential treatment only for a further year. It was noted that during
its 10 years of cooperation with Central America, the European Union had
provided over ECU 1,000 million in multilateral assistance, ECU 170 million
in 1994.
23. The economic contribution of the international community to the peace
processes in Central America was extended by commitments made during a
series of Consultative Group meetings on Nicaragua, Guatemala and El
Salvador organized by IADB and the International Bank for Reconstruction
and Development and held in Paris from 19 to 22 June 1995. Representatives
of the international financial institutions (IADB, the International
Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank) and donor countries committed
$1,500 million to Nicaragua over the three-year period 1995-1997, on the
condition of "the maintenance of stability and national unity". The funds
will be primarily directed towards closing the gap in Nicaragua's balance
of payments. Guatemala, like Nicaragua, received pledges of more funds
than it expected. A delegation led by the country's President was offered
a package totalling $553.2 million, of which $120 million were for projects
already presented to donors and the remaining $433 million for sustaining
the peace process. With regard to El Salvador, donors indicated they would
commit an additional sum of approximately $50 million in support of the
completion of the peace accords, a considerably lower sum than the $118
million sought by the Government. However, the total aid for the period
1995-1996 committed to El Salvador amounted to $1,300 million.
24. The ninth summit meeting of the Rio Group, at which Central America
was represented by Nicaragua, took place at Quito, on 4 and 5 September
1995. In the Quito Declaration signed at its conclusion, the Rio Group of
countries expressed their support of integration processes under way
throughout Latin America and the Caribbean and reaffirmed their commitment
to meet the deadline of 2005 set by the Miami Summit for the introduction
of hemispheric free trade. As part of the Group's determination to combat
the production, traffic and consumption of illicit drugs, a special meeting
of the Group, to be held in Panama, was called for early 1996 in order to
discuss the establishment of a centre in Panama to fight drug trafficking
and related crimes within the region. The Central American Presidents will
also participate in the fifth summit meeting of the heads of State of
Ibero-American countries, which will take place in Bariloche, Argentina, on
16 and 17 October 1995.
25. The OAS has continued to contribute to the Central American process,
even as it has assumed a leading role on trade issues throughout the
Americas. Secretary-General Cesar Gaviria, in particular, has demonstrated
the organization's keen interest in the initiative of the Alliance for
Sustainable Development through his presence at presidential summits. For
their part, the Central American Presidents, during the twenty-fifth
session of the General Assembly of the OAS, held in Haiti in June 1995,
welcomed the "new vision" of the organization presented in response to the
new needs and challenges facing the hemisphere. OAS cooperation with the
region continues to be extended through the Central American Mine-Clearance
Programme, carried out in conjunction with the Inter-American Defence
Board, as well as through the presence of the OAS International Support and
Verification Commission in Nicaragua. The Commission's objectives are to
verify observance of the rights and guarantees of those affected by
Nicaragua's conflict, assist in their reintegration and support the
strengthening of democratic institutions.
III. UNITED NATIONS
26. Since my last report to the General Assembly on the situation in
Central America (A/49/489 and Corr.1), the United Nations has continued to
support the countries of Central America in their efforts to consolidate
peace, democracy and development within the mandates entrusted to the
Secretary-General and the various programmes and agencies of the United
Nations system. Under the authority conferred on me by the Security
Council, I continued to undertake the verification and good offices mandate
assigned to ONUSAL. Upon ONUSAL's departure from El Salvador the small
mission MINUSAL was established to oversee the fulfilment of all the
outstanding provisions of the 1992 peace agreements. Under the mandates of
the General Assembly and the Security Council I have also continued to
exercise my good offices in the search for a negotiated settlement of the
civil conflict in Guatemala and have established a mission, MINUGUA, for
the verification of a human rights agreement achieved through the process
of negotiation. In addition to these specific missions, United Nations
operationalactivitieshavebeencarriedoutwithinnationalandregionalprogrammes.
United Nations in El Salvador
27. During the final months of its mandate I kept the Security Council
regularly informed about the work of ONUSAL (S/1994/1212 of 31 October 1994
and S/1995/220 of 24 March 1995). I also conveyed to the Security Council
the periodic reports of the Director of the Human Rights Division of ONUSAL
to the General Assembly as annexes to my notes of 31 October 1994 and 18
April 1995 concerning his activities (A/49/585-S/1994/1220 and A/49/888-
S/1995/281). Following the dissolution of ONUSAL, and in accordance with my
undertaking in a letter to the President of the Security Council of 6
February 1995 (S/1995/143), I have ensured that the Security Council
receives regular information concerning the operations of MINUSAL and
developments in El Salvador.
28. The process initiated by the Peace Accords between the Government of
El Salvador and the Frente Farabundo Marti para la Liberacion Nacional has
maintained its impetus and contributed to the country's progress from a
violent and closed society towards one in which democratic order, the rule
of law and respect for human rights are being consolidated. In this there
is much for which the Government and people of El Salvador must be
congratulated. However, the implementation of the outstanding elements of
the Peace Accords has not been without problems, despite the parties'
continuing expression of their determination to see the Peace Accords
urgently fulfilled for the benefit of all Salvadorans. Difficulties
developed and delays again occurred in a number of areas, including: the
full deployment of the National Civil Police and the completion of the
demobilization of the National Police; the reform of the judicial and
electoral systems; the transfer of land to former combatants; and the
conclusion of reintegration programmes.
29. On 31 October 1994 I reported to the Security Council that I therefore
deemed it necessary to recommend that the mandate of the United Nations
Observer Mission to El Salvador (ONUSAL) be extended, at much reduced
strength, until 30 April 1995. An acceleration in the outstanding areas of
the agreements in the latter part of 1994 - including the long-delayed
demobilization of the National Police on 31 December 1994 - was then
followed by a period of relative stagnation in the early months of 1995,
with delays in the land programme and the emergence of other worrying
indicators.
30. In the light of these developments, in my letter of 6 February 1995, I
informed the President of the Security Council of my intention to set up a
small team of United Nations officials to provide good offices and verify
implementation of the outstanding provisions of the peace agreements
following the expiry of ONUSAL. On 27 April 1995, the parties to the
Chapultepec peace agreements signed a Programme of Work for the completion
of all outstanding areas of the Peace Accords. On the following day the
Security Council adopted resolution 991 (1995), formally marking the end of
the mandate of ONUSAL. The new Mission of the United Nations in El
Salvador (MINUSAL) began its work as planned on 1 May 1995, led by Mr.
Enrique ter Horst, my Special Representative. With its staff partly funded
by voluntary contributions, MINUSAL represents a much reduced United
Nations presence, but one that confirms the Organization's ongoing support
of peace-building in El Salvador. In May 1995 I established the Trust Fund
for MINUSAL in order to support the Mission's activities. I would like to
take this opportunity to thank those countries that have already made
contributions to this fund and encourage others to come forward to do so.
31. The Programme of Work had divided the remaining accords into six areas
(public security, land transfer, human settlements, reintegration
programmes, Fund for the Protection of the Wounded and Disabled and
legislative reforms) and established dates by which specific provisions in
each area must be completed. Monthly updates on its progress, which I
circulated informally to members of the Security Council, have revealed the
continuing determination of the parties to the peace agreements to bring
them to completion. Progress has been made in all areas, with the
Government's deposit of ratification of international human rights
instruments with the Secretariats of the United Nations and the
Organization of American States and its recognition of the jurisdiction of
the Inter-American Court of Human Rights particularly to be welcomed. With
a view to ensuring the consolidation and sustainability of the peace
process, MINUSAL -as ONUSAL before it - has also cooperated closely with
UNDP in the design of technical assistance programmes that will reinforce
institution-building initiated within the peace agreements themselves.
32. This progress notwithstanding, it has become clear that significant
delays have occurred in the land transfer programme (which reached the 60
per cent target set for 30 April 1995 only in the first week of July), in
the design of a "special regime" for rural human settlements, in the
strengthening of the National Civil Police (PNC) and in the approval of
legislative reforms required to comply with the binding recommendations of
the Commission on the Truth. Although the majority of the points detailed
in the Programme of Work relating to public security have been completed, a
number of disquieting developments have arisen that could signal a reversal
of the necessary process of institutional consolidation and a distortion of
the vision of public security designed in the peace agreements. Of
particular concern is the fact that the Police Career Law, indispensable
for guaranteeing the professional and moral proficiency of the PNC, has, at
the time of writing, yet to be approved.
33. For the above reasons, and with the Government of El Salvador and
other signatories to the peace agreements in concurrence as to the
necessity of a continued presence of MINUSAL, on 6 October 1995, I
therefore informed the General Assembly of my decision to maintain MINUSAL
in El Salvador for a further six months, until 30 April 1996. Given the
progress in completing points identified within the Programme of Work,
together with the imminent start-up of the technical assistance programmes,
it has been possible to introduce a balanced reduction in the staffing of
MINUSAL and a commensurate reduction in its budget.
The peace process in Guatemala
34. In my last report to the General Assembly on the situation in Central
America, I informed Member States of progress made in the peace process
between the Government of Guatemala and the Unidad Revolucionaria Nacional
Guatemalteca (URNG) starting with the signing of the Framework Agreement on
10 January 1994 (A/48/61-S/1994/53). I told them about how negotiations
had moved forward swiftly during the first half of 1994 and produced four
successive agreements, prior to the establishment, in September 1994, of
MINUGUA. Since that time, and as mandated by the General Assembly in its
resolution 49/137 and resolutions 48/267 of 19 September 1994, 49/236 of 31
March 1995 and 49/236 B of 14 September 1995, I have continued to inform
Member States on a regular basis about developments during the reporting
period (A/49/825-S/1994/1453 of 28 December 1994; A/49/856 and Corr.1 of 1
March 1995; A/49/857-S/1995/168 of 1 March 1995; A/49/860 of 8 March 1995;
A/49/879-S/1995/241 of 29 March 1995; A/49/882-S/1995/256 of 10 April 1995;
A/49/929 of 29 June 1995; A/49/955 of 11 August 1995; and A/50/1 of 22
August 1995).
35. With a view to strengthening the ability of the Secretariat to carry
out the numerous tasks entrusted to it within the Guatemalan peace process,
in October 1994 I established the Guatemala Unit within the Department of
Political Affairs. In addition to coordinating support to the negotiations
and the activities of MINUGUA, the Guatemala Unit recently initiated
preparatory work required for the establishment of the Clarification
Commission, as requested by the parties in the Agreement on the
Establishment of a Commission to Clarify Human Rights Violations and Acts
of Violence that Caused the Guatemalan People to Suffer (A/48/954-
S/1994/751, annex II). In order to support institutionbuilding activities
by MINUGUA as well as other activities relating to the peace process, on 1
March 1995 I established the Trust Fund for the Guatemala peace process. I
wish to express my appreciation to those countries that have already made
contributions and invite other Member States to provide similar support to
the process. After my April 1995 visit to Guatemala, and in view of the
heightened responsibilities conferred on the United Nations, I appointed
Mr. Gilberto Schlittler as my Special Envoy for the Guatemala Peace Process
with overall coordinating responsibility.
36. The negotiations on the item "Identity and rights of indigenous
peoples", initiated on 20 October 1994, concluded with the signing of an
agreement in Mexico City on 31 March 1995. As stressed by the General
Assembly in its resolution 49/236 B, the agreement is an important step in
the peace process and a landmark in the International Decade of the World's
Indigenous People. Immediately after the signing of the Agreement on
Identity and Rights of the Indigenous Peoples, representatives of the
Assembly of Civil Society submitted to the delegations of the Government of
Guatemala and the URNG, the consensus document on the next item of the
negotiating agenda, namely "Socio-economic aspects and the agrarian
situation". The negotiations on this item have been proceeding well,
though at a slow pace, owing in particular to the complexity of the issues
involved and the comprehensive approach adopted by the parties. As I
informed the General Assembly (A/49/955), although the revised timetable
agreed to in February 1995 has not been observed, the parties are showing
the political will to move forward. The United Nations should, therefore,
continue to lend them assistance with a view to the earliest conclusion of
an agreement on a firm and lasting peace.
37. In the meantime, MINUGUA, the most tangible result of the negotiations
so far, has consolidated its presence and intensified its activities in
Guatemala. Since its formal inauguration on 21 November 1994, the Mission
has deployed fully and opened eight regional offices and five suboffices.
Reports by the Director of MINUGUA have been transmitted by me to the
General Assembly on 1 March 1995 (A/49/856 and Corr.1) and 29 June 1995
(A/49/929). The reports describe the context in which MINUGUA is
operating, the activities carried out by the Mission, including summaries
of the cases considered, and conclusions and recommendations regarding the
human rights situation in Guatemala. Taking into account these reports and
based on my recommendations, the General Assembly extended the mandate of
MINUGUA for further periods of six months on 31 March 1995 and 14 September
1995 (resolutions 49/236 and 49/236 B respectively). While compliance by
the parties with their undertakings in the Comprehensive Agreement on Human
Rights (A/48/928-S/1994/448, annex I) has shown some improvement, the
overall human rights situation in Guatemala remains a source of much
concern. I therefore stress the need for the parties to respond fully to
the General Assembly's call in resolution 49/236 B for them to implement
the recommendations contained in the first and second reports of the
Director of MINUGUA.
38. I wish to stress that during the reporting period, international
efforts in support of the peace process, encouraged by the General Assembly
in paragraph 13 of resolution 49/137, have continued. In the context of
the negotiations, the involvement of the United Nations system in an
advisory capacity may be expected to facilitate future efforts in the
consolidation of a firm and lasting peace. During the negotiations on
"Identity and rights of indigenous peoples" and "Socio-economic aspects and
the agrarian situation", valuable advice has been lent to the Secretariat
by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the
International Labour Organization (ILO), the United Nations Educational,
Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the World Health
Organization (WHO), Habitat, the United Nations Development Programme
(UNDP), the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean
(ECLAC), the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS), the
International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank and the Inter-American
Development Bank (IADB).
39. Enhanced international cooperation is also taking place on the
ground with respect to agreements already signed. With regard to human
rights, a joint MINUGUA-UNDP unit has been created as a focal point for all
institution-building projects arising from the Comprehensive Agreement on
Human Rights and the Agreement on Identity and Rights of Indigenous
Peoples. With respect to the Agreement on the Resettlement of Uprooted
Population Groups, the United Nations system and donor countries are
represented as observers in the Technical Commission created in August 1994
to implement preparatory aspects. Since June 1995, they are participating
with the Government and representatives of the uprooted population within
five specific committees on demining, documentation, social and economic
development, land and land management.
40. On 12 November 1995 general elections will be held in Guatemala for
the third time since the transition to civilian rule in 1985. In a new
development, in March 1995, the URNG called for full participation of
Guatemalans in the electoral process. The sectors of Guatemalan society
that had not participated in elections for decades have nominated
candidates for the first time. Considered alongside the commitments of the
Contadora Declaration, mentioned in paragraph 7 above, and the appeals from
all sectors of civil society for citizens to vote, the elections now offer
a notable opportunity for Guatemalans to strengthen their democratic
institutions. It is incumbent on all sectors of society to take full
advantage of this opportunity and ensure that these elections will be free
and fair. Within its broad mandate of human rights verification, MINUGUA
will be focusing attention on the observance of political rights.
41. As noted above, positive developments have taken place during the
reporting period. However, much remains to be done, both at the
negotiating table and in the implementation of the agreements already in
force. I have already pointed out the concerns of the Director of MINUGUA
regarding the continuing high incidence of human rights abuses and the
pervasive pattern of impunity. To be successful, the peace process
requires the continued commitment of the Government of Guatemala, the URNG
and broad sectors of Guatemalan society. With such support, I remain
convinced that it can be an effective means to end a long conflict, to
strengthen democratic structures and to promote changes that will prevent a
recurrence of political violence and become the basis for a lasting peace.
United Nations operational activities
42. United Nations support to Central America through operational
activities is comprehensive and diversified. It has sought, in particular,
to facilitate the regional process. During the course of 1994, in
compliance with resolution 45/231 and, as I reported in document A/49/534,
the Special Plan of Economic Cooperation for Central America (PEC) and the
International Conference on Central American Refugees (CIREFCA) both came
to an end. During the forty-ninth session of the General Assembly I
reported on the activities conducted under the Special Plan, together with
requirements in terms of the resources and financial assistance
indispensable to the continued implementation of priority programmes and
projects favouring the peace and development process in the region
(A/49/397). In resolution 49/21 I, the General Assembly emphasized the
necessity of designing a new programme for international cooperation with
Central America, based on the principles established in the Declaration of
Commitments adopted by the Follow-up Committee of CIREFCA, at a meeting
held in Mexico City in June 1994, and the regional strategy contained
within the Alliance for Sustainable Development. The resolution supported
the efforts of the Central American Governments to alleviate extreme
poverty and promote sustainable human development and urged them to
intensify the implementation of programmes and projects to this end. It
called upon the international community, and the United Nations system in
particular, to continue the necessary support for the implementation of the
goals and objectives for the new strategy for integral development in
Central America.
43. At the national level, and at the request of the Governments
concerned, the United Nations operational system has concentrated its
efforts in the following areas: (a) poverty alleviation, with emphasis on
the most vulnerable sectors, particularly with respect to health, housing,
education, income-generating activities and social investment schemes; (b)
economic reform and public sector policies and management; (c) emergency
and development assistance aimed at the repatriation of refugees, and
reintegration of demobilizing combatants, refugees and displaced people in
the countries requiring such assistance; (d) governance and the
strengthening of democratic institutions through support to electoral
processes as well as the courts, parliaments and human rights ombudsmen;
(e) environmental protection and promotion of sustainable development
policies, legislation and practices; (f) population-related programmes; and
(g) natural disaster prevention and rehabilitation. The Bretton Woods
institutions, as I have stated in previous reports (A/48/586; A/49/489)
have added emphasis to social concerns and the modernization of the State
to their earlier concentration on macroeconomic stabilization through the
initiation of programmes of structural adjustment.
44. Cooperation in the economic field, in addition to the ongoing policy
dialogue carried out through ECLAC, has been provided in order to improve
the region's ability to compete within the world economy. Areas of
concentration continue to be agricultural development, industrial
modernization, international trade negotiations, regional economic
integration and regional integration institutions. Although the Protocol
to the Treaty of Economic Integration was signed in October 1993, the need
for increased attention to the economic sectoral policies and institutional
reforms necessary for integration to advance is still evident.
45. In the area of social development, joint activities are being carried
out by UNDP, the World Bank, the IADB, the World Health Organization (WHO)
and the Pan American Health Organization. A continuing emphasis has been
placed on the fight against poverty, the formulation of investment
programmes and the provision of key basic services, notably in the fields
of health, education and culture, nutrition and feeding. Efforts are
centred around the objectives of the Alliance for Sustainable Development
and, in an initiative formulated in response to the "Declaration of
Commitments in favour of populations affected by uprootedness and by
conflicts and extreme poverty in the framework of the consolidation of
peace in Central America" mentioned above, the pursuit of sustainable human
development at the local level.
46. On a national basis support groups, known as GRUCAN ("Grupos de
Concertacion y Apoyo a Nivel Nacional") have been established in Belize,
Costa Rica, El Salvador and Nicaragua, with the participation of a wide
range of actors: the national Government, the beneficiary population,
national and international non-governmental organizations, as well as the
United Nations system. Within the process of fulfilling the commitments
undertaken by the CIREFCA follow-up committee, the experience of the
Programme for Displaced Persons, Refugees and Returnees in Central America
(PRODERE) has played an important role. The most extensive programme
undertaken in Central America in this area, PRODERE's comprehensive human
development strategy consisted of six national and two regional projects,
financed largely by the Government of Italy. The Programme finished its
operations on 31 July 1995.
47. The Culture of Peace Programme is a major initiative of UNESCO that
responds to the call to the agencies for action in the fields of preventive
diplomacy and peace-building. El Salvador has been the site of the pilot
national programme, which aims at the reconstruction and reconciliation of
Salvadorian society. With these goals in mind the Culture of Peace
Programme has adopted an innovative policy of participation, dialogue,
negotiation and concertation between the Government and civil society.
Each programme project fosters confidence and trust between social actors
who are not natural partners. Other national programmes are now under way
in Guatemala and Nicaragua, but so far El Salvador has been the only
country to establish (on 10 March 1995) a National Coordination Council
(NCC), headed by the Minister of Education and made up of representatives
of government organizations and those of civil society, which is
responsible for the definition and follow-up of the major aspects of the
Culture of Peace Programme.
IV. OBSERVATIONS
48. Central America addresses this key moment in its history with a number
of assets: the prospect that, with the successful resolution of the peace
negotiations in Guatemala, it may find itself without armed conflict for
the first time in more than three decades; a new agenda of social, economic
and other reforms contained within the Alliance for Sustainable
Development; a dynamic institutional framework with which to seek to
implement this agenda; and the support of the international community,
honed into an active partnership and including the United Nations system
itself, with which to do so. Together these assets place the countries of
Central America in a favourable position from which to pursue economic
growth, social justice and further democratization. However, the gravity of
the challenges the region faces makes it abundantly clear that they will
only be overcome if they are approached with the dedication and sense of
urgency brought to bear on civil war and regional tensions in the past. As
sincerely as I encourage the parties endeavouring to secure a negotiated
resolution to the conflict in Guatemala to make every effort to provide the
basis for a lasting peace in that country, I also urge the countries of
Central America and the international community to remain fully engaged in
the consolidation of peace throughout the region. As Secretary-General, I
am ready to continue to play the active role in this process entrusted to
me by the General Assembly.
-----