« Back to Provision

Refugees – 1997

Approximately 4,000 refugees, mainly from Mexico, returned to Guatemala. Some 32,500 refugees still remained in Mexico.¹

In order to help displaced persons return to a normal life, the Congress adopted the Temporary Special Act on Personal Documentation of the Population Uprooted by the Internal Armed Conflict, which took effect on 16 October 1997. Some municipalities refused to implement it, however, and the Ministry of the Interior for its part failed to ensure the law was properly observed across the country.²

1. “Sixth Report of the Director of the United Nations Mission for the Verification of Human Rights and of Compliance with the Commitments of the Comprehensive Agreement on Human Rights on Guatemala,” United Nations General Assembly (A/51/790), January 31, 1997.
2. “Eighth Report on Human Rights of the United Nations Verification Mission in Guatemala,” United Nations General Assembly (A/52/946), June 15, 1998.