Candidature to the Security Council

Guatemala is the candidate to occupy the vacant seat allocated to the Latin American and Caribbean Group as a non-permanent member of the Security Council in the elections to take place in the General Assembly in October of 2011.

• Guatemala is a multiethnic, plurilingual and multicultural country, with a population of approximately 14 million inhabitants and a per capita income of roughly US$ 2,680 in 2008 (World Bank Atlas methodology).
• Guatemala has continually demonstrated its commitment to the United Nations, amply meeting the requirements established in article 23 of the Charter for a member state to be elected to the Security Council.
• Guatemala has been an active and responsible member in contributing to the work of the Organization. The many positions it has held include the presidency of the General Assembly (1968), the presidency of the Executive Board of UNDP/UNFPA (2001), the presidency of ECOSOC (2003) and the presidency of the Commission on Sustainable Development (2010).
• Guatemala has also participated actively in United Nations peace-keeping operations as a troop-contributing country and as a source of military observers.
• Guatemala has demonstrated its commitment to peace as a product of its own experience, in overcoming a long and costly internal armed conflict through the signing of the Peace Accords of December 1996, and in having undertaken a successful peace-building process.
• Guatemala exercises a pro-active and plural foreign policy, seeking to strengthen cooperation and understanding with all peace-loving countries and reinforcing its support to multilateralism. 
• Guatemala was one of the 51 original signatories of the United Nations Charter, but has never been a member of the Security Council; a reason for invoking the principle of rotation, as well as the right of representation of small countries, as additional justifications for the candidacy.  

Guatemala has continually demonstrated its commitment to the United Nations, amply meeting the requirements established in Article 23 of the Charter for a Member State to be elected to the Security Council.

• Guatemala will bring to the Security Council its unique experience in everything related to peace-building and as a troop-contributing country.
• It will act with independence of judgment, responsibility and professionalism, as it has demonstrably done in all other forums. 
• It will strive to insure that the work of the Council is as transparent and accessible as possible to the full membership of the United Nations.
• It will strive to insure that the Council deepens its links with the General Assembly and with the Economic and Social Council, and that the work of the Peace-Building Commission be taken advantage of to the maximum extent possible.   

Guatemala has been an active and responsible member in contributing to the work of the Organization.

• It held the presidency of the General Assembly during its 23rd session (1968).
• After submitting the initial draft thereof, Guatemala promoted the adoption by the General Assembly of the United Nations Model Rules for the Conciliation of Disputes between States (Resolution 50/50). 
• It facilitated the adoption of the Millennium Declaration (2000).
• It held the presidency of the Fifth Committee of the General Assembly during the 55th session (2000).
• It held the presidency of the Executive Board of UNDP/UNFPA (2001).
• It actively participated in the Preparatory Committee of the International Conference on Financing for Development (2001-2002).
• It held the presidency of the Economic and Social Council (2003).
• It facilitated the application of the United Nations Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy (2008) and the General Assembly resolution on the Responsibility to Protect (2009).
• It held the presidency of the 18 Session of the Commission on Sustainable Development (2009-10).
• It has held vice-presidencies of the General Assembly and all of its main committees.
• It has participated in multiple bodies of the Organization in recent years, including the Economic and Social Council, the Human Rights Council, the Commission on the Status of Women, the Commission on Sustainable Development, the Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice, the Commission on Narcotic Drugs, the Commission for Social Development and the Executive Board of UNICEF.
• In January of 2011 it is expected to join the Peace Building Commission as a member.
• Guatemala pays its assessments to the budget of the United Nations on time, in full and without conditions. 

Guatemala has also participated actively in United Nations peace-keeping operations as a troop-contributing country and as a source of military observers.

• Guatemala has participated actively with officers and troops in several peacekeeping operations, especially in Haiti (MINUSTAH) and the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUC).
• In the latter, eight of its soldiers made the ultimate sacrifice in the course of fulfilling their humanitarian mission.
• In addition, Guatemalan Military Observers have been sent to several countries, including Burundi, Côte d’Ivoire, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Lebanon, Nepal and Sudan.  
• In this connection, the Guatemalan Army established and operates the Regional Center for Training and Peace-Keeping Operations, where troops and officers not only from Guatemala but from other Central American countries are trained to participate in United Nations peace-keeping activities.

Guatemala has demonstrated its commitment to peace as a product of its own experience, in overcoming a long and costly internal armed conflict through the signing of the Peace Accords of December 1996, and having undertaken a successful peace-building process.

• After four decades of an internal armed conflict, the Peace Agreements were signed, with the valuable assistance of the United Nations, first to facilitate the negotiation of the accords, and then to verify their compliance.
• Guatemala has capitalized on an important array of experiences in its peace process, in such specific areas as disarmament, demobilization and reintegration, as well as broader aspects such as addressing the economic and social demands of the population, strict enforcement of human rights,  strengthening of democratic governance, respect for ethnic and cultural diversity as well as  reinforcing  the administration of justice. 
• In this context, and with the assistance of the United Nations, Guatemala created in 2007 the International Commission against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG) as a valuable instrument to consolidate the rule of law.
• In addition, grass-roots organizations have flourished, civil society has become increasingly active, and a democratic culture is taking root in the country.  The present Government of President Alvaro Colom Caballeros took office in January of 2008, as the fourth civilian and democratically elected Administration that applies the Peace Accords, now with a strong bias to promote economic progress and social cohesion.  

Guatemala exercises a proactive and plural foreign policy, seeking to strengthen cooperation and understanding with all peace-loving countries, and reinforcing its faith in multilateralism.

• In its role as a responsible member of the international community, Guatemala pursues a pro-active and constructive foreign policy, which prizes dialogue and amicable settlements, observing faithfully the principle of mutual respect towards all nations.
• Guatemala believes in multilateralism, and belongs to numerous organizations and institutions, beginning with the System of Central American Integration, and including the Organization of American States, the Iberoamerican Community, and, of course, the United Nations. 
• It also belongs to the Non-Aligned Movement and the G-77.
• Within its foreign policy, Guatemala places special value on economic, financial and commercial cooperation, as well as the respect of human rights.

Guatemala was one of the 51 original signatories of the United Nations Charter, but has never been a member of the Security Council. 

• Guatemala invokes the principle of rotation, as one of the very few original signatories of the Charter that has not yet been a member of the Security Council.
• It also claims the right of smaller states to participate in the work of the Council