What is the CICIG?
The CICIG is the International Commission Against Impunity in Guatemala.
“Acting as an independent international body, CICIG aims to investigate illegal security groups and clandestine security organizations in Guatemala – criminal groups believed to have infiltrated state institutions, fostering impunity and undermining democratic gains in Guatemala since the end of the country’s armed conflict in the 1990s. It represents an innovative initiative by the United Nations, together with a Member State, to strengthen the rule of law in a post-conflict country.” –United Nations
CICIG Location
GUATEMALA CITY, GUATEMALA
Duration of the CICIG
2007- September 2019
What makes the CICIG Special?
As an anti-corruption body, the Commission’s mandate allows it to carry out independent investigations, to act as a prosecutor and also recommend public policies to help fight the criminal groups that are the subject of its investigations.
The termination of the CICIG
In January 2019, vocal critic of the body, and then President Jimmy Morales refused to extend the CICIG’s mandate in 2019.
Reasoning why Morales decided to shut down the CICIG
Many converging reasons went into the closure of the CICIG. During these years the CICIG led investigations into illicit campaign financing that implicated both political and business elites and a resistant Guatemalan Congressman. There was also the withdrawal of strong U.S. support under the Trump administration. Morales himself changed his tune on the CICIG and began waging a campaign against them in 2017, after the commission opened an investigation into the president, his brother and son for illegal campaign finance donations.
Morales argued before the United Nations that the commission was unconstitutional and a risk to national security, among other assertions. Morales decision to end the mandate on the CICIG was deemed unconstitutional by the Constitutional Court, however, the government still has not complied with the court’s ruling.
Impact of the CICIG
During its lifespan, the CICIG proved to be very effective. The commission assisted in filing more than 120 cases in the Guatemalan justice system, implicating more than 1,540 people, with some 660 people currently facing charges or another type of legal process. Among those are an estimated 200 current or former government officials facing charges. –WOLA
In its first 10 years of action, the CICIG was also credited with helping reduce the homicide rate from approximately 44 per 100,000 population to below 28 per 100,000. –CSIS
