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STORY: OHCHR / GUATEMALA TÜRK PRESSER
TRT: 05:25
SOURCE: OHCHR
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / SPANISH / NATS
DATELINE: 16 - 19 JULY 2024, GUATEMALA CITY / TOTONICAPÁN, GUATEMALA
19 JULY 2024, GUATEMALA CITY, GUATEMALA
1. Wide shot, High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk walks up to press conference dais
2. SOUNDBITE (Spanish) Volker Türk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights:
“What happened during the 2023 election period worried me greatly. I feared that the regressive forces that had co-opted State structures would also succeed in reversing the popular will expressed at the polls. The commitment and determination of broad layers of society, especially the mobilization of indigenous peoples and social movements for 106 days, succeeded in preserving democracy and the rule of law.”
4. Med shot, journalists
5. SOUNDBITE (Spanish) Volker Türk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights:
“For a State to work, the three powers must work together. And for now, that is not happening. The polarization between the institutional sectors is enormous. Public opinion is very fragmented. Corruption levels remain very high. Mistrust between different groups is only growing.”
6. Med shot, journalists
7. SOUNDBITE (Spanish) Volker Türk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights:
“Maintaining the status quo is unsustainable and benefits no one. This is how I transmitted it to all the interlocutors with whom I met.”
8. Med shot, journalists
9. SOUNDBITE (Spanish) Volker Türk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights:
“We must try to solve some of the country's big problems, including high levels of inequality, so that young people decide to stay and commit to building their country, instead of choosing to take the path of emigration.”
10. Med shot, journalist asking question
11. SOUNDBITE (English) Volker Türk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights:
“I was supposed to meet the Attorney General last night. Unfortunately, she cancelled the meeting in the last minute. I have written to her a letter which explains very clearly my preoccupation with the situation of the criminalization of human rights defenders, of people from the judiciary, but also of journalists and others, and I hope that these practices will cease because it has become a matter of international concern.”
12. Med shot, journalist asking question
13. SOUNDBITE (English) Volker Türk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights:
“All eyes are on the current process, when it comes to the selection of the judges for the Court of Appeals and the Supreme Court, and the standards are clear. The judiciary has to be independent; it has to be competent; it has to be knowledgeable. So, it's absolutely important that it is merit based, that those who are elected as judges are fully qualified and can assure that the fundamental standards of the independence of judiciary are guaranteed in the country.”
16 JULY 2024, GUATEMALA CITY, GUATEMALA
14. Travelling shot, driving towards National Palace of Culture
15. Various shots, arrival at National Palace of Culture
16. Various shots, High Commissioner Volker Türk meeting with President Bernardo Arévalo
17. Various shots, Türk and President Bernardo Arévalo meeting groups of school children
17 JULY 2024, TOTONICAPÁN, GUATEMALA
18. Travelling shot, on the road to Totonicapán
19. Wide shot city view
20. Various shots, Türk meeting Indigenous leaders of the 48 Cantons
21. Various shots, Türk with Indigenous leaders
22. Various shots, Türk meeting with Indigenous leaders’ communal house
18 JULY 2024, GUATEMALA CITY
23. Various shots, Türk being greeted at Congress
24. Wide shot, exterior, Constitutional court
25. Various shots, Türk meeting with the Constitutional Court President, Nestor Mauricio Vásquez Pimentel
Talking to reporters at a press conference in Guatemala City today (19 Jul), UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk said, “the commitment and determination of broad layers of society,” had “succeeded in preserving democracy and the rule of law,” after disputed elections in 2023.
As he finished his 4-day official visit to Guatemala, Türk said, “what happened during the 2023 election period worried me greatly. I feared that the regressive forces that had co-opted State structures would also succeed in reversing the popular will expressed at the polls.”
In particular, he highlighted “the mobilization of indigenous peoples and social movements for 106 days, succeeded in preserving democracy and the rule of law.”
He commended the Government’s commitment to human rights, democracy and the rule of law.
The High Commissioner said, “for a State to work, the three powers must work together. And for now, that is not happening,” and stressed that the “polarization between the institutional sectors is enormous. Public opinion is very fragmented. Corruption levels remain very high. Mistrust between different groups is only growing.”
He said, “maintaining the status quo is unsustainable and benefits no one. This is how I transmitted it to all the interlocutors with whom I met.”
Türk said, “we must try to solve some of the country's big problems, including high levels of inequality, so that young people decide to stay and commit to building their country, instead of choosing to take the path of emigration.”
He also detailed the human rights challenges faced by people in the country, especially Indigenous Peoples and people of African descent, and expressed his deep concern over the threats faced by human rights defenders.
Responding to questions, the High Commissioner said, “I was supposed to meet the Attorney General last night. Unfortunately, she cancelled the meeting in the last minute. I have written to her a letter which explains very clearly my preoccupation with the situation of the criminalization of human rights defenders, of people from the judiciary, but also of journalists and others, and I hope that these practices will cease because it has become a matter of international concern.”
On threats to the judiciary, he said, “all eyes are on the current process, when it comes to the selection of the judges for the Court of Appeals and the Supreme Court, and the standards are clear. The judiciary has to be independent; it has to be competent; it has to be knowledgeable. So, it's absolutely important that it is merit based, that those who are elected as judges are fully qualified and can assure that the fundamental standards of the independence of judiciary are guaranteed in the country.”
During his visit, the Human Rights Chief met with President Bernardo Arévalo and other senior Government officials, members of the judiciary and Congress, and the Ombudsperson, as well as with representatives of the private sector.
The High Commissioner also met with civil society organisations and Indigenous Peoples including in Totonicapán, where he met those who led the defence of democracy and the rule of law in the aftermath of the 2023 elections.
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