María Eugenia Mijangos

Centro para la Acción Legal en Derechos Humanos (CALDH), Guatemala

    Ms. Mijangos noted that the agreements made at the Copenhagen Summit represent a substantially wide-ranging action plan that includes political, social and economic measures. The broad scope of the commitments adopted stands out in contrast with the steps that have been taken to ensure compliance. In general, authorities in Guatemala, as well as the other countries in the region, do not pay much attention to commitments made at international conferences. It is important to note that some of the commitments regarding the status of women are similar to those agreed upon in the Cairo and Beijing action plans, and in the Peace Accord.

    A recent national survey that polled 20 organizations on the issue of the status of women studied legal, labour, health-care, education issues as well as access to services, all of which have a bearing on compliance with the commitments made during the Social Development Summit. The results showed that the principal obstacles to compliance and development of a democracy, citizens’ participation and human rights for women stem from the way in which Guatemalan society has developed over time.

    Ms. Mijangos noted that the social movement in Guatemala has undergone little development because of the periods of extreme repression. Demands for gender equality were postponed until a few years ago when authorities began to define women as social players. Although there are approximately 20 women’s organizations in the country, no co-ordination mechanisms have been developed or areas of specialisation clearly defined.

    Women still account for a high segment of the illiterate population. They have little access to education and have the highest percentage of death through childbirth in Latin America. They are
predominantly employed in all areas of the service industry where there is a high level of human-rights violations, with little access to all levels of leadership.

    She urged that Guatemala approve and implement the bill on human dignity and integrate promotion of women promptly to ensure the effective application of conventions, action programs and platforms approved at regional and global meetings. She suggested the creation of a national institute for women and that the government should accelerate the approval process for initiatives designed to modify laws that discriminate against women so that reforms can be implemented.

    Ms. Mijangos reminded the participants that Guatemala was in the process of consolidating peace. Thus, government organizations must provide the public with information on the contents of international treaties and agreements on human rights as well as the Peace Accord in the widely spoken Maya languages as well as Spanish. This process will enable civil society to grow stronger, become vigilant and ensure that the government complies with the commitments it has made.



María Eugenia Mijangos is with Centro para la Acción Legal en Derechos Humanos (Centre for Lagal Action in Human Rights) in Guatemala.