UNITED NATIONS HRI International Distr. Human Rights GENERAL Instruments HRI/CORE/1/Add.47 5 October 1994 ENGLISH Original : SPANISH CORE DOCUMENT FORMING PART OF THE REPORTS OF STATES PARTIES GUATEMALA (25 May 1994) TABLE OF CONTENTS Paragraphs Page INTRODUCTION ........................ 1- 7 3 I. LAND AND PEOPLE ................... 8-187 3 A. Geographical data ............... 8- 26 3 B. Political and administrative structures .... 27- 29 8 C. Data on infrastructure and services ...... 30-100 9 D. Economic data ................. 101-138 17 E. Demographic data ................ 139-187 20 II. GENERAL POLITICAL STRUCTURE ............. 188-474 28 A. History and past political developments .... 188-445 28 B. System of government .............. 446-453 67 C. Structure of the organs of State: the executive, the legislature and the judiciary ....... 454-466 68 D. The Office of the Human Rights Procurator . 467 - 469 69 E. The Public Prosecutor’s Department and the Office of the National Procurator-General ....... 470-472 70 GE.94-19166 (94-95030/EXT) HRI/CORE/1/Add.47 page 2 TABLE OF CONTENTS (continued) Paragraphs Page II. (continued) F. The Presidential Commission for Coordinating Executive Policy in the Field of Human Rights . 473 - 474 70 III. GENERAL FRAMEWORK WITHIN WHICH HUMAN RIGHTS ARE PROTECTED .................... 475-596 71 A. Rights protected by the Constitution or by a declaration of rights and provisions relating to exceptions thereto ............. 475-505 71 B. Implementation of the principles of international instruments ........... 506-508 78 C. Judicial, administrative and other authorities competent in matters relating to human rights . 509 - 549 79 D. Remedies available to individuals alleging violations of any of their rights ....... 550-596 90 IV. INFORMATION AND PUBLICITY .............. 597-607 96 HRI/CORE/1/Add.47 page 3 INTRODUCTION 1. This report is submitted in response to the guidelines issued by the supervisory bodies established under the treaties, covenants and conventions on human rights. It is made up of chapters on the land and people, the general political structure, the general framework within which human rights are protected and information and publicity. Each chapter offers a brief informative overview of the most relevant elements within the State of Guatemala. 2. The data concerning the population must be viewed with appropriate reservations, since the sources consulted are not always up to date; in addition, some information is not available. Consequently for some items estimates have been made on the basis of data which is not always reliable. 3. The Government of Guatemala is aware of the lack of reliable sources of information, since the institutions concerned are processing data relating to 1992. 4. As regards the general political structure, a brief historical survey has been prepared covering the period running from before the arrival of the Spaniards up to the present day in order to provide a perspective permitting an understanding of the country’s social, political and economic problems. 5. The section on the general framework within which human rights are protected compares international law with Guatemala’s domestic legislation and shows that those rights are fully protected under the Constitution and general legislation. 6. On the subject of information and publicity, descriptions are provided of each of the individual measures in this field being taken within Guatemala in order to secure wider dissemination of information concerning knowledge of, respect for and enforcement of human rights. 7. With these considerations in mind the present report is submitted to the Commission on Human Rights. I. LAND AND PEOPLE A. Geographical data 1. Location 8. The Republic of Guatemala is the northernmost of the countries of Central America. Its boundaries touch Mexico on the north and west, the Atlantic Ocean, the Caribbean Sea, Honduras and El Salvador on the east and the Pacific Ocean on the south. It has a total area of 108,889 sq. km and is located between latitude parallels 13° 44 and 18°30 N. and longitude meridians 87° 24 and 92° 14 W. 9. It has a land area of approximately 106,320 sq. km (equivalent to 10,639,000 ha). Lakes and rivers occupy approximately 2,569 sq. km (the equivalent of 250,060 ha). HRI/CORE/1/Add.47 page 4 2. Climate 10. The climate in Guatemala varies from temperate to torrid and from humid to prehumid; but there are microclimatic variations. 11. The average temperature over the year varies between 28° C. in the coastal areas and 10° C. in the highlands. The maximum and minimum temperatures encountered in individual regions range from 42° C. to - 5° C. 12. The average annual rainfall over the country as a whole is 2,218 mm. In the altiplano it averages 1,600 mm annually. There are areas with an annual rainfall of as little as 500 mm and others in which as much as 6,000 mm is reported. The principal contributory factor to the rainfall is the meeting of two tropical systems; but tropical cyclones and cold fronts of Arctic origin also have an influence. 3. Hydrography 13. The Pacific coastal region has an area of approximately 23,380 sq. km. It is a band of territory almost parallel to the Pacific coast and extending from the peak of Niquihuil, on the Mexican frontier, to close to the mountain crest marking the meeting point of the frontiers of Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras. 14. The region facing the Gulf of Mexico has an area of approximately 52,910 sq. km. Its boundary extends from the end of the Pacific coastal region to the altiplano of the department of Totonicapán; follows the crestline forming the boundaries of the catchment area of the Motagua river, which flows into the Atlantic; continues along the crestline forming the beginning of the basin of the Polochic river (which flows into Lake Izabal) and the Cahabón river; skirts the edges of the Sierra de Chamá (or Santa Cruz); and finally cuts across part of the department of El Petén and the territory of Belize. 15. The Caribbean coastal region has an area of approximately 32,610 sq. km. It consists of the basins of the rivers which flow into that sea. 16. There are over 300 lakes and lagoons in the country. The largest is Lake Izabal, with a surface area of approximately 590 sq. km. The largest river is the Usumacinta, with a reported average flow of 1,776 cu.m/sec. Other major rivers are the Motagua, with an average flow of 189 cu.m/sec, and the Cahabón, with an average flow of 166 cu.m/sec. 17. Usable underground water is found mainly in the Pacific coastal region, the volcanic valleys of the altiplano and the valleys of the principal rivers. 4. Forests 18. The inhabited (bioclimatic) areas have been classified, using the Holdridge method, in 14 major categories. These are: - xerophytic subtropical; - dry subtropical; - wet temperate subtropical; HRI/CORE/1/Add.47 page 5 - wet warm subtropical; - very wet warm subtropical; - very wet cold subtropical; - wet hilly subtropical; - rainy hilly; - wet mountainous subtropical; - very wet mountainous subtropical; - dry hilly subtropical; - rainy subtropical; - very wet subtropical. 5. Structural geology of regions 19. Guatemala is located between two of the principal geological plates (or faults) in the Americas : the Caribbean plate and the Cocos plate in the Pacific ocean. This location makes Guatemala an area with a high level of seismic activity. Its surface regions are: (a) The Pacific coastal plain is a uniformly flat region lying between the coastline and the hilly area, rising to a height of 850 metres above sea level, consisting in particular of a series of closely interconnected alluvial valleys. Until some 40 years ago this region was one of thick and abundant forest. Today it is given over to intensive agriculture, stock-rearing and agro-industrial production, and mainly to the cultivation of agricultural produce for export. Typical of this region are the large areas of savanna and high water table levels and the mangrove forests in the coastal areas, where the animal wildlife generally has been decimated to such an extent that certain species have become extinct. (b) The volcanic chain is a strip of territory consisting of mountainous volcanic slopes. It begins at the contour line of 550 metres above sea level and reaches a height of 4,211 metres above sea level at the peak of Tajamulco volcano. It consists of two regions : a lower part, adjacent to the coastal area, and a higher part covered with cloud forest. Each of the volcanoes in the country has a specific flora and fauna which together form communities; some groups have adapted to the altitude to an extent which prevents them from expanding beyond the area of their particular volcanoes. In other words, each volcano is a bio-island the population of which cannot leave it. There are 33 volcanoes in Guatemala, all of them forming part of the chain which runs parallel to the Pacific. The volcanoes of over 3,000 metres in height include Tajamulco (4,220 m), Tacaná (4,092 m), Acatenango (3,935 m), Agua (3,766 m), Fuego (3,763 m), Santa María (3,700 m) and Atitlán (3,536 m). (c) The crystalline and sedimentary uplands form an extensive region made up of a mixture of mountain peaks and volcanic cones, plains and enclosed valleys. It comprises almost half of the country’s land HRI/CORE/1/Add.47 page 6 area and extends from the crestline of the Pacific chain in the south to the foothills of the Los Cuchumatanes, Chamá and Las Minas mountain ranges in the north. The complexity of the relief of this region has had a decisive influence on the geographical distribution of the different forms of life, particularly as different combinations of winds, temperatures, rainfall and humidity exist in particular areas.