CICIG - The International Commission against Impunity in Guatemala
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GENERAL PROPERTY REGISTER, MP AND CICIG SIGN COOPERATION AGREEMENT
Anabella De León: "It is a crime to dispossess people of property they have obtained through their own hard work."

Guatemala, August 21, 2013. The General Property Register (RGP), the Public Prosecutor’s Office (MP) and the International Commission against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG) signed an international cooperation agreement, with the aim of coordinating and facilitating communication and cooperation among the three institutions.

At a ceremony held at the Public Prosecutor's Office, the document was signed by the General Property Registrar Anabella De León, Attorney General Claudia Paz y Paz and Commissioner Francisco Dall'Anese Ruiz.

In his address, the Commissioner described the signing of the document to be "imperative". The document will bring criminal investigation results in the medium term. "When the State takes action, the spaces for criminality reduce and public freedom is restored for honest citizens, thereby controlling crime," he stated.

He added that only through coordinating all the State institutions and sharing important investigation information will it be possible for authorities to be successful in the fight against crime in the country.

De León said the agreement will serve Guatemalan interests with the aim of protecting the country from the criminal networks that steal immoveable property by forging stamps, signatures of notary publics and property owners as well as official legal paper.

"In Guatemala, there is a proliferation of crime networks that steal property. Therefore, the Register is implementing protection mechanisms to prevent such crimes from being committed," she said.

De León said it is a crime to dispossess people of property they have obtained through their own hard work. "Of every 10 properties that are stolen, 3 belong to Guatemalan migrants that have left the country to work abroad, and it is through such efforts that they have been able to buy a house."

Attorney General Paz y Paz said the support of CICIG has helped obtain direct access to the registers of the General Directorate of Migration, the arrests section, the criminal background section, and RENAP. "The signing of this agreement will give access to the information held by the General Property Register, buying valuable time in the solving of cases of property dispossession in Guatemala," she stated.

The Attorney General expressed her satisfaction with this kind of initiative, because the justice institutions have been stripped of bureaucracy and, as a result, the MP has seen the judiciary convict in a number of its cases of this nature.

Details of the agreement
This agreement will be subject to the laws of the Republic of Guatemala and the following provisions:

The agreement seeks to establish international cooperation parameters for the General Property Register, the MP and CICIG, thereby creating the possibility of simply and swiftly reviewing the registration activity recorded in the Register, in accordance with their assigned functions and powers and pursuant to the law. Furthermore, the three organizations will have access to the information of agreements made between parties, with the aim of streamlining their investigations.

The agreement should be interpreted in the broadest sense so that the information to which the parties have access is not restricted, so long as all applicable legal provisions are complied with. The commitments made in the agreement should never be used in such a manner that the objectives, functions, powers or activities of the signatory institutions are negatively affected.

The Register pledges to introduce an electronic mechanism for online consultations related to registration operations, creating necessary usernames and passcodes in accordance with the designations that are legally made for each body and sent to the Register.

The Public Prosecutor's Office also pledges to provide any necessary support to the Directorate of Registration. This will entail: a) Instructing on-duty prosecutors to participate in initial hearings and providing technical support to the lawyers of the Register when arrests are made for flagrante delicto offences linked to the Register; b) Instructing public officials and employees of the Public Prosecutor's Office so that they comply with observations made by authorities and also do the same for public officials and employees of the Register so that they fulfill the provisions of the agreement; c) Providing timely, specific technical support on criminal investigation and prosecution in cases of crimes that are publicly actionable that harm the Register.

CICIG pledges to ensure certification requests and online consultations are strictly reserved for issues linked to its duties and its powers, as well as complying with the requirements established by the Register to request certification and online consultations.

Any information or documentation provided or received by the parties is solely and exclusively to be used for investigative purposes, in the understanding that it is confidential.

General coordination between the Register, the Public Prosecutor's Office and CICIG will be conducted directly between the heads of each institution, convening meetings when necessary. The parties will name liaison officials to implement the agreement and fulfil any other duties agreed upon by representatives at work meetings.

The agreement is bound by the constitutional and legal framework of each of the parties, and its interpretation and implementation will be subject to the agreements reached by the parties as well as the principles of good faith, harmony and publicity.

The document was signed by: Gladys Anabella De León Ruiz, M.A., General Property Registrar; Dr. Claudia Paz y Paz Bailey, Attorney General and Head of the Public Prosecutor's Office; and Dr. Francisco Javier Dall´Anese Ruiz, CICIG Commissioner.

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        About Guatemala
  The Republic of Guatemala, a mountainous country that lies in the Central American isthmus, has an estimated population of 13 million people.
  Guatemala won its independence in 1821, following almost three centuries of Spanish colonial rule.
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