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THE UN’S DEPARTMENT OF POLITICAL AFFAIRS AND THE UN VERIFICATION MISSION IN GUATEMALA OPEN THE PHOTO EXHIBIT "GUATEMALA: IMAGES OF PEACE" "Guatemala: Images of peace", a photo exhibit showing some of the deep transformations that Guatemala has experienced since the signing of the 1996 Peace agreements, will open to the public on Tuesday, 14 September 2004 at 5:15 p.m. in the Visitors' Lobby of the United NationsGeneral Assembly Building. It will run until 1 October 2004. The Secretary-General of the United Nations, Kofi Annan, is expected to open the exhibit (Secretary-General's Remarks) together with the Permanent Representative of Guatemala to the United Nations, Ambassador Gert Rosenthal, and the Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs, Kieran Prendergast. With the signing of the Peace agreements in 1996, Guatemala began a significant process of democratic transformation through which civil society sought to participate in a dialogue about matters of national interest. Today, with the armed conflict consigned to the past, Guatemala is a different country. After monitoring the peace process in Guatemala for almost a decade, the United Nations Verification Mission in Guatemala (MINUGUA) will be completing its mandate on 31 December 2004.The Mission has started to close down its Regional Offices,while working to ensure that the UN’s verification methods and capacities are transferred to national entities. MINUGUA's departure at the end of 2004 marks the beginning of a new stage in Guatemala’s peace process, but it will not mean the end of the UN’s involvement in Guatemala, as the programmes and funds of the UN System will continue their work in the country.
>> Remarks by Secretary-General Kofi Annan at the opening of the exhibit “Guatemala: Images of Peace” at Headquarters on 14 September
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