The UN reminded this Wednesday to the Guatemalan authorities that foreign officials who were part of the International Commission Against Impunity in Guatemala (Cicig) still enjoy immunity under the agreement establishing that body.
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And their immunity continues, regardless of whether they are no longer in office.
The United Nations thus responded to the measures announced by the Guatemalan Prosecutor’s Office against former members of Cicig, including the one who was its top manager and current Colombian Defense Minister, Iván Velásquez.
Spokesman Farhan Haq stressed that, under the terms of the agreement between the UN and the Government of Guatemala by which Cicig was created, the international staff of the anti-corruption commission have “privileges and immunities.”
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“And their immunity continues, regardless of whether they are no longer in office,” Haq insisted during his daily press conference, where he said the UN is in contact with the Guatemalan authorities to underscore that fact.
The spokesman also assured that the organization’s secretary general, António Guterres, is concerned by reports that suggest that a “criminal prosecution is being carried out against those who tried to shed light on corruption cases and worked to reinforce the justice system in Guatemala.
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Our defense minister is respected and the president is respected
This Monday, the Public Ministry (MP, Prosecutor’s Office) of Guatemala requested the capture of a former Cicig lawyer for alleged irregularities in the investigation case involving the Brazilian construction company Odebrecht and assured that it will take legal action against Velásquez for his performance before the Commission.
This has created a diplomatic clash between Guatemala and Colombia, in which the president, Gustavo Petro, came out in defense of his minister and warned that bilateral relations will be affected if the Guatemalan Prosecutor’s Office continues.
This Wednesday, Petro harshly criticized the movement of the Guatemalan authorities again and demanded respect for him and his minister.
“Our defense minister is respected and the president is respected. We are not going to kneel national sovereignty in the face of a corrupt action,” the Colombian president assured in statements to journalists in Davos (Switzerland).
AFP
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