UN CONFIRMS FOURTH TERM FOR CICIG

Guatemala, January 21, 2013. The International Commission against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG) will remain in Guatemala for two further years after the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Ban Ki-moon, informed the Guatemalan president, Otto Pérez Molina, of his decision to approve an extension of the mandate. The confirmation was given through an exchange of letters between the two parties.

In a letter sent to the Secretary General on November 30, 2012, President Pérez Molina asked the United Nations to extend the mandate. On January 15, 2013, the Secretary General sent the following reply: "I would hereby like to confirm that the United Nations deems the content of the above-mentioned letter to be satisfactory. Therefore, the letter and the present reply constitute an agreement between the United Nations and the Government of Guatemala to extend the mandate of the International Commission against Impunity in Guatemala for an additional two-year period", stated Ban Ki-moon.

As a result, the fourth term of CICIG will run from September 4, 2013 until September 3, 2015. The Guatemalan government's backing for the Commission was expressed when a delegation led by Vice-President Roxana Baldetti visited New York in September 2012 and requested support from representatives of donor countries to extend CICIG's mandate until 2015. On that occasion, the Vice-President highlighted the importance of the Commission's work to support the fight against impunity in Guatemala.

President Otto Pérez Molina expressed his satisfaction with the Commission's work and also emphasized the efforts of Vice-President Roxana Baldetti in achieving the extension of CICIG's mandate. Pérez Molina also reiterated that at last year's United Nations General Assembly he had repeated the request to extend the mandate.

The Agreement between the United Nations and the Government of Guatemala was ratified by the Congress of the Republic on August 1, 2007 and entered into force on September 4, 2007 with the aim of supporting Guatemalan authorities in their efforts to dismantle illegal security forces and clandestine security organizations.