Open letter by European parlamentarians raising concerns regarding the NGO Law in Guatemala

CC: Mr. Pedro Brolo, Minister of ForeignAffairs of the Republic of Guatemala

CC: Mr. José Alberto Briz Gutiérrez, Ambassador ofGuatemala in Brussels

CC: Mr. Stefano Gatto, Head of the Delegation ofthe European Union in Guatemala

Brussels, 21st February 2020

Dear Mr. AlejandroGiammattei,

Presidentof the Republic of Guatemala

We, the members of the European Parliament who havesigned this letter, are concerned about the situation regarding the approval ofLaw 5257 by the Guatemalan Congress in its third reading during the legislativesession of 11/02/2020, altering the agenda to approve the Law without asubstantive debate.

This bill was first presented to Congress on 21 March2017 under the pretext of "increasing the transparency of NGOs",despite the fact that Non-Governmental Organisations, as well as associations,foundations and duly registered entities, are already controlled by various statecontrolled mechanisms.

Both the European Parliament in its resolution of 14March 2019 on the situation of human rights in Guatemala (2019/2618(RSP)) andthe High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, in her statement of09/05/2019, expressed their concern at the imminent adoption of the proposedlaw. We also take up the concern expressed by 30 MEPs on 23 October 2019 in aletter addressed to your predecessor, former President Jimmy Morales, as wellas another to the President of the Congress of Guatemala and the President ofits Human Rights Commission.

The new law leaves it to the executive branch'sdiscretion to cancel the registration of NGOs and other civil societyorganizations. According to international standards, involuntary suspension anddissolution are the most serious sanctions that authorities can impose on anorganization and should therefore only be used when other less restrictivemeasures are insufficient, and should be governed by the principles ofproportionality and necessity, which is not guaranteed in the current articles.Furthermore, the law facilitates the restriction of constitutional rights andguarantees such as freedom of association, freedom of expression, as well asthe right to petition, among others. It will also limit the capacity of Guatemalancivil society to monitor government activities and to question corruptionwithin the state. It is of great concern that the space for civil society isreduced by these restrictive laws, since NGOs are an essential pillar forstrengthening democracies.

In view of the serious damage that these regulationscreate to social organizations and national and international NGOs inGuatemala, we urge you Mr President of the Republic to review and use the mechanisms establishedin the Political Constitution of the Republic of Guatemala so that Law 5257 isin accordance with the highest international standards in the field of humanrights.

1. Tilly Metz(Greens/EFA, Luxemburg)

2. Diana Riba (Greens/EFA, Spain)

3. MartinHäusling (Greens/EFA, Germany)

4. GraceO'Sullivan (Greens/EFA, Ireland)

5. Clare Daly (GUE/NGL, Ireland)

6. SaskiaBricmont (Greens/EFA, Belgium)

7. Maria Arena (S&D, Belgium)

8. Alviina Alametsä (Greens/EFA, Finland)

9. BillyKelleher (Renew Europe, Ireland)

10. Philippe Lamberts (Greens/EFA, Belgium)

11. Anna Cavazzini (Greens/EFA, Germany)

12. Barry Andrews (Renew Europe, Ireland)

13. Nikolaj Villumsen (GUE/NGL, Denmark)

14. Kathleen Van Brempt (S&D, Belgium)

15. Miguel Urbán (GUE/NGL, España)

16. Margrete Auken (Greens/EFA, Denmark)

17. Kira Peter-Hansen (Greens/EFA, Denmark)

18. Isabel Wiseler-Lima (EPP, Luxemburg)

19. Benoît Biteau (Greens/EFA, France)

20. Marketa Gregorová (Greens/EFA, CzechRepublic)

21. Caroline Roose (Greens/EFA, France)

22. Alexandra Geese (Greens/EFA,Germany)