Guatemala

The Presidential Commission for Peace and Human Rights (COPADEH) is a mechanism that advises the Executive Branch on human rights matters. The COPADEH plenary is composed of the President of the Republic, six ministers of state, two secretaries, and the Attorney General's Office. The institution is headed by an executive director and is supported by a digital system where focal points jointly report and follow-up on Guatemala's international human rights obligations.

COPADEH was created by Government Agreement 100-2020, which has been amended by Government Agreements 306-2022 and 27-2024.

In order to monitor international human rights obligations, COPADEH has established the Recommendation Monitoring System for the State of Guatemala (SIMOREG), which consists of one principal delegate and one alternate delegate appointed by each state institution participating in this platform. Currently, there are representatives from more than 61 institutions, who are appointed by means of an official letter signed by the highest authority of their institution.

Secretariat COPADEH has a Directorate for Human Rights Monitoring and Promotion, which is composed of two departments: the Department of Human Rights Commitments, which monitors obligations arising from the Inter-American Human Rights System; and the Department of Human Rights and Public Policy Dissemination and Promotion, which monitors obligations arising from the Universal Human Rights System.

MANDATE The mandate of the mechanism includes:

• Submission of reports to UN human rights mechanisms (treaty bodies, Universal Periodic Review)
• Response to communications (letters of allegation, urgent appeals, questionnaires) from UN Special Procedures and organization of Special Procedures visits
• Submission of reports to regional human rights mechanisms
• Follow-up on recommendations from human rights mechanisms (Special Procedures, treaty bodies, Universal Periodic Review)
• Implementation of recommendations from human rights mechanisms (including contributions to legislative changes)
• Human rights education and training
• Advocacy and promotion

The national mechanism engages with both the UN and regional human rights mechanisms.

Process for the preparation of state reports The Directorate for the Monitoring and Promotion of Human Rights, through the Department for the Dissemination and Promotion of Human Rights, has a multidisciplinary team responsible for preparing state reports. To this end, it uses the SIMOREG platform, which compiles the information needed to prepare the reports, organized according to: treaty body; year; recommendation; institution.

In this process, COPADEH plays an essential role, as it must review the information uploaded by each institution and verify that it is relevant and responds to the recommendation being followed up on.

Currently, SIMOREG is used to follow up on the Universal Periodic Review and the treaty bodies to which Guatemala is a party.

The COPADEH plenary holds at least two ordinary sessions. In addition, two sessions are held with the Inter-institutional Forum with representatives participating in the SIMOREG platform.

Channel of communication with the National Statistics Office The National Institute of Statistics is one of the institutions that interact on the SIMOREG platform, so the information it provides is used as the basis for the preparation of state reports.

Channel of communication with the Parliament The Congress of the Republic is invited to participate in the Inter-institutional Forum and provides information through SIMOREG. In addition, the Congress focal point actively participates in meetings convened by COPADEH.

Channel of communication with the Judiciary The Supreme Court of Justice is invited to participate in the Inter-institutional Forum and provides information through SIMOREG. In addition, some representatives of the Court actively participate in meetings convened by COPADEH.

CONSULTATION

COPADEH has promoted opportunities for interaction between the government and civil society to consult on public policies and to disseminate the recommendations of certain United Nations mechanisms.

The SIMOREG platform is used to monitor each of the recommendations of the Universal Periodic Review and the United Nations Treaty Bodies. COPADEH also requires written information for the preparation of reports for the Inter-American Human Rights System, as well as to respond to questionnaires from United Nations special procedures.

Work is currently underway to create an Action Plan to follow up on the observations of the Human Rights Committee, derived from the cases of Fátima and 10 Communities of the Maya Kiche, Ixil and Kakchiquel Peoples.

Comisión Presidencial por la Paz y los Derechos Humanos. Ana Lucía Campos Meléndez correo: ana.campos@copadeh.gob.gt

https://copadeh.gob.gt/