Introduction

The CEH’s Report has been structured in accordance with the objectives and terms of the mandate entrusted to it by the Parties to the Guatemalan peace process as expressed in the Accord of Oslo, signed in Norway, on 23 June 1994.

The Report begins with a description of the mandate and the methodology it followed in carrying out its work, and subsequently enters into an examination of the causes and origins of the internal armed confrontation, the strategies and mechanisms of the violence and its consequences and effects. The conclusions are then presented and are followed by recommendations, the third component of the CEH’s mandate. Finally, there are annexes that include the findings on specific illustrative cases of the events of the past; a listing with a brief description of each and every case presented to the Commission; and various other elements utilised in the fulfilment of the mandate.

This volume, whose purpose is to anticipate the public dissemination of the final document, contains two of the Report’s essential elements: the conclusions and the recommendations.

The conclusions summarise the results of almost a year of investigation and are based on testimonies received directly by the CEH, together with a wealth of information from the Parties to the confrontation, other governments and a variety of secondary sources. These were complemented by historical analysis and statistical information from the CEH’s database.

The conclusions are structured in three complementary sections: general conclusions, conclusions regarding acts that constitute violations of human rights and acts of violence and conclusions related to the process of peace and reconciliation. To aid understanding, there are also annexes relating to the conclusions which include: a chronology of the governments of Guatemala and of the armed confrontation, basic maps and statistical information.

As established by the CEH’s mandate, the objective of the recommendations is to promote peace and national harmony in Guatemala. These recommendations have been structured as: measures to preserve the memory of the victims, measures to foster a culture of mutual respect and observance of human rights, measures for the strengthening of the democratic process and measures for the promotion of peace and national harmony. Recommendations for reparations are included among those measures to preserve the memory of the victims.