IV Inter-American System
| Published date | 01 December 1993 |
| Date | 01 December 1993 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1177/016934419301100409 |
| Subject Matter | Part B: Human Rights News |
NQHR
4/1993
anumber
of
articles
of
the EC Treaty (notably 164, 219) and the monopoly the EC Court
of Justice is supposed to have in interpreting Community law, the representation of the
Community on the Strasbourg organ(s), the lodging
of
state complaints against the Community
before the Luxembourg or Strasbourg Court, the danger
of
protracted procedures and the
suspensive effect
of
appeals before the Strasbourg organ(s), or the modalities for the
implementation
of
accession by a protocol to the
ECHR.
While the EC
Court
ofJustice is apparently divided over the validity oflegal-technica1
arguments against accession, the legal services
of
boththe EC Commission and the Council
of Ministers have issued apositive message: accession
of
the EC as such is legally not
impossible.
The
EC Justice Ministers discussed the matter at their informal meeting in late
September, and will do so again at their next formal meeting at the end
of
November, while
the General Affairs
Council
is expected to take a position at its meeting in December, on
the condition that the working group of high officials will have been able to finalize its
deliberations beforehand.
Like in the draft parliamentary report (expected to be adopted in plenary session in
December-draughtsmanBontempi, see
NQHR
11 (3), pp. 329-330), the documents prepared
by the Belgian Presidency contain all the arguments in favour
of
accession and also deal
with the numerous criticisms aired in the past.
If
the working group cannot come up with
aconvincing and positive recommendation to the Council meeting
of
December, the issue
will probably be effectively killed off.
IV
INTER-AMERICAN
SYSTEM'"
Inter-American
Commission
on
Human
Rights
A.
Guatemala
On 1 June
1993,ilieComrnission
published its Fourth
Report
on Guatemala. The Report
includes chapters on:
The
socio-economic context, the attendantrights and the planned governmentmeasures;
legal and institutional guarantees;
right to life and to humane treatment;
right to freedom
and
prohibition of involuntary servitude;
the voluntary self-defense committees;
the situation
ofrefugees
and displaced persons in Guatemala and their
human
rights;
communities
of
peoples in resistance;
freedom ofthought, expression, assemblyand association (labor unions, the universities);
the human rights
of
Guatemalan children;
ana
irregular armed groups and human rights.
The
Commission starts its
Report
by observing that 'Guatemala is one
of
the four countries
of
the region that the United Nations classifies as having the lowest
human
development'.
Amongst the figures given by the Commission, some shocking ones
are
the following: in
1989, 77 %
of
the families in rural areas were below the poverty line; infant mortality is
57 %; for every 100 children between the ages
of
6and 11, only 58 %attend school; 45 %
>I<
Cecilia Medina
490
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