“I bring a message of peace and harmony to the peoples of the world on behalf of the four peoples of Guatemala,” said the President of Guatemala, César Bernardo Arévalo de León, speaking in the language of the Q’eqchi’ people in northern Guatemala.  The name of the language spoken in the region, which means ‘true peace’, remains distant today.  Four “katuns” — a period of 20 years, according to the ancestral Mayan calendar — have passed since the founding of the United Nations and the “transformative momentum of 1945” against the shadows of war.  “Military abuses against vulnerable communities are a harsh reminder that we have not done enough to achieve a world where the rights and dignity of all persons are respected without question,” he stressed.

Since an internal war spanning the 1960s to 1996, Governments in Guatemala have adopted peace accords to ensure human rights and the non-recurrence of such horrors. Recognizing the decisive contribution of the United Nations Verification Mission in Colombia in this process, as well as the role of the Organization of American States (OAS), he said Guatemala receives support in combating corruption and impunity. “After a long period of institutional dismantling during which corruption was how the system worked, Guatemala is returning to the path of democratic recovery,” he said, citing Government efforts to promote accountability and transparency despite anti-democratic actors being entrenched in the justice system.

Guatemala has opened its doors to the monitoring mechanisms of the Universal Human Rights Protection System, receiving seven official visits, including those of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, the Special Rapporteur on the Independence of Judges and Lawyers, and the Special Rapporteur on Adequate Housing. “However, the results we have achieved so far are not enough.”  Efforts are challenged by the struggle against corrupt and authoritarian forces that criminalize indigenous leaders who defend democracy, such as Luis Pacheco; journalists who denounce corruption, such as José Rubén Zamora; and judges such as Virginia Laparra; who are exiled or imprisoned.  Elections for new authorities to justice bodies must be conducted transparently in 2026.

He also highlighted national initiatives to address migration, ensuring dignified treatment to the thousands of migrants transiting through Guatemala, and tackling poverty that causes Guatemalans to migrate.  On the “existential threat” of climate change, he highlighted Guatemala’s collaboration with Mexico and Belize to protect the biocultural corridor of the Great Mayan Forest.  “Although Guatemala is responsible for a tiny fraction of global emissions, we are one of the countries most vulnerable to their effects,” he said, highlighting efforts to strengthen the national climate council.  He urged countries to fulfil their climate finance commitments and implement the Paris agreement.