Outcome GTM_D_4.1

By 2025, the strengthened State institutions will increase citizen security, access to justice, and the transformation of conflicts, seeking greater coordination at the national and local levels. (UNSDCF Pillar 4. Peace, security and justice. Outcome 4.1.)

UN Women Guatemala made considerable progress in the area of Women, Peace, Security and Humanitarian Action during 2023, and maintains its efforts to ensure that State institutions increase citizen security, access to justice and conflict transformation, as well as guarantee the leadership of women in the processes of building and maintaining peace, defense of human rights and humanitarian action. Among the notable achievements of 2023 are the following results: The final observations of the CEDAW Committee to the country's Tenth Periodic Report incorporate critical aspects on gender equality and women's empowerment, including as a result of the specialized support that UN Women and the Gender Specialized Group of the United Nations Country Team have provided throughout 2023 to key State actors, particularly the Presidential Secretariat for Women, SEPREM, civil society women's organizations and the Intersectoral Monitoring Mechanism to CEDAW, as well as the coordinated work with the Interagency Group on Reports to CEDAW and the CEDAW Committee and its technical secretariat. The recommendations highlight the fulfillment of the Women, Peace and Security Agenda through the implementation of the National Action Plan of Resolution 1325 (PAN 1325) and the strengthening of the Interinstitutional Roundtable on Women, Peace and Security (MIMPAZ); the equal participation of women in the public and political spheres; compliance with the Transformative Reparation Policy - including compliance with the Sepur Zarco Judgment; the protection of women human rights defenders; and women's access to land ownership and management, among others. This result has potential for impact and scalability, given that it represents a route of action for all sectors of the country. (Aligned with SDG 16 - Target 16.3 and with the UNSDCF Pillar 4. Peace, security and justice. Outcome 4.1.) For the first time in history, Ixil women from Cotzal reach 50 percent representation as indigenous municipal authorities . With the technical support of UN Women, the women of the Ixil territory generated capacities for consultation and advocacy for their equal participation in the decision-making structures, within the framework of the Interagency project (UN Women – UNESCO – UNDP) of Peace Infrastructures, funded by the PBF. The evidence-based decision-making capabilities of the Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE) have been strengthened , thanks to the support provided by UN Women, for the creation of the first national institutional registry on political violence against women in electoral contexts, marking a significant milestone for the transformation of public and political power in accordance with the Global Agenda for Women, Peace and Security. With the specialized support of UN Women within the framework of the Interagency project (UN Women-UNDP-UNFPA) to address electoral conflict financed by the PBF, this process has contributed to strengthening the evidence-based decision-making capacity of the Supreme Electoral Tribunal , TSE, which will serve as a basis for the definition of normative-orientative guidelines for the prevention, attention and punishment of political violence against women in different decision-making spaces for the consolidation of peace, including the representation of organizations of women peacebuilders in the Mechanism for Electoral Update and Modernization, CAME 2024. Institutionalized the Interinstitutional Roundtable on Women, Peace and Security (MIMPAZ), through Institutional Agreement 25-2023 of the SEPREM . This Agreement guarantees the continuity of MIMPAZ as an inter-institutional coordination mechanism for the promotion and follow-up of related resolutions of the United Nations Security Council on women, peace and security. Completed the installation of the Specialized Courts for Femicide and Other Forms of Violence against Women of the Judiciary in all departments of the country. UN Women supported the efforts of the Supreme Court to complete the gradual installation of Specialized Courts for Femicide and Other Forms of Violence Against Women in the 22 departments of Guatemala, culminating in May, when the last departmental court of Totonicapán was inaugurated, thus expanding access to comprehensive specialized judicial services for women, girls and adolescents who are victims/survivors of femicide and other forms of violence against women. The facilities in Totonicapán house other relevant institutions in the justice chain, such as the Public Ministry, the National Institute of Forensic Sciences of Guatemala, the Institute for Attention to Victims and the Attorney General's Office of the Republic, among others. Two departmental chapters of the Gender Working Group of the Humanitarian Country Team – GTGEHP – established with the support of UN Women within the framework of the Accountability program to incorporate Gender in Humanitarian Action financed by the Government of Germany, a historic turn in Humanitarian Action in the country with a gender focus. The first chapter was established in Alta Verapaz, within the Structure of the Humanitarian Team in the department, and the second in Huehuetenango, created under the Women's Commission of the Departmental Coordinator for Disaster Risk Reduction, CODRED. Both GTGEHP chapters in the country have integrated women from governmental and non-governmental organizations who, for the first time, are recognized by the humanitarian community as humanitarian partners. The key lesson of the year was the importance of strengthening alliances and strategic collaborations with women's organizations, integrating their needs and expectations in the planning and execution of projects, which generated a space conducive to self-reflection and dialogue between organizations, fostering a closer collaboration and maximized the positive impact of UN Women's interventions in Guatemala. It is also important to mention that the Theory of Change of this impact area, proposed from a participatory process for the preparation of the 2022-2025 Strategic Note of UN Women Guatemala, continues to be current, with 2023 being the second year of its implementation.

By 2025, the strengthened State institutions will increase citizen security, access to justice, and the transformation of conflicts, seeking greater coordination at the national and local levels. (UNSDCF Pillar 4. Peace, security and justice. Outcome 4.1.)

UN Women Guatemala made considerable progress in this result during 2022 and maintains its efforts to ensure that State institutions increase citizen security, access to justice, and the transformation of conflicts, ensuring the participation and leadership of women in processes of construction and maintenance of peace and defense of human rights. During 2022, the following three results stand out: The Public Ministry -MP- appropriated tools, capacities, and technical resources for: (i) due diligence in the investigation of femicide and crime scene management by training 90 prosecutors and crime scene specialists from the Prosecutor's Office against Crime of Femicide of the MP and (ii) the hiring of suitable personnel to investigate cases of Femicide and other forms of violence, through the competency profile and the design of psychometric evaluations with a gender perspective for 5 job profiles in the Prosecutor’s Office against the Crime of Femicide. The Attorney General’s Office and the Judicial Branch showed a strong political commitment to the Women’s Peace and Security Agenda by developing coordinated actions to increase women’s access to justice through the development of inter-institutional training, with the support of UN Women. The 2022-2027 Action Plan of the National Policy for the “Prevention of Violence and Crime, Citizen Security and Peaceful Coexistence”; 2014-2034 (PONAPRE), was updated by the Ministry of the Interior (MINGOB) thanks to the interagency technical assistance provided by Group of Peace, Security, and Justice Results of the Cooperation Framework led by UN Women and articulated with UNDP, UNFPA, PAHO/WHO, OHCHR, and UNICEF. The Presidential Secretariat for Women -SEPREM- of Guatemala strengthened its capacities to deliver the confidential report of the UNCT for the 85th meeting of the CEDAW Committee and the follow-up plan to the final observations of the Committee and implemented, as well as to coordinate the Inter-Institutional Roundtable on Women, Peace, and Security (MIMPAZ), thanks to the technical support of UN Women. It is noteworthy that the Theory of Change for this outcome was developed through participation in 2021 as part of the creation of the 2022-2025 strategic plan for the Guatemala Country Office, which was approved in 2022. The most significant lesson learned from the year is that through collaborative, coordinated, and connected efforts, we are able to have a wider impact, strengthen our leadership position, and make greater strides toward achieving shared goals.

SN Outcome 4. By 2025, the strengthened State institutions will increase citizen security, access to justice, and the transformation of conflicts, seeking greater coordination at the national and local levels. (UNSDCF Pillar 4. Peace, security and justice. Outcome 4.1.)

In 2024 the Sepur Zarco case was consolidated as an emblematic reference for gender justice, inspiring national and international actions on justice and transformative reparations, including guarantees of non-repetition. The case was positioned before the international community, including the Human Rights Council, and civil society partners, including survivors of conflict-related sexual violence. This achievement was made possible through the support provided by the UN Women Guatemala Office and UN Women Geneva within the framework of the ¨Women Walking for Peace project¨, funded by the Catalan Agency for Development Cooperation. Four dialogues held with the grandmothers of Sepur Zarco stand out as key milestones in this process: First, the official commemoration of the first National Day for Victims of Sexual Violence, Sexual Slavery, and Domestic Slavery , held on February 26, 2024, marking the eighth anniversary of the reparation ruling in the Sepur Zarco case. This event was coordinated by the Presidential Commission for Peace and Human Rights (COPADEH) and featured the participation of the Vice President of Guatemala, the UN Women Country Representative, the Grandmothers of Sepur Zarco, civil society, and the diplomatic corps. Second, the meeting between the Grandmothers of the Sepur Zarco case and local and national authorities, including COPADEH and the Institute for Victims, held on April 15 and 16, 2024, in the community of Sepur Zarco. During this meeting, progress and challenges in implementing the transformative reparations ordered by the ruling were reviewed. The discussions emphasized the importance of joint efforts to advance reparations, engaging with the new authorities while respecting the leadership of the Grandmothers. COPADEH and the Institute for Victims committed to prioritizing access to land, education, and healthcare. Third, in an unprecedented effort to strengthen the leadership of the Grandmothers of the Sepur Zarco case in peacebuilding, justice, and transformative reparations, a high-level mission took place from September 20 to 29, covering Guatemala, Madrid, Geneva and Barcelona. The mission included the participation of the Grandmothers, the Presidential Commission for Peace and Human Rights (COPADEH), Mujeres Transformando el Mundo (MTM), and the Association of Guatemalan Women in Spain (AMG). This initiative was coordinated by UN Women Guatemala, UN Women Geneva, the Guatemalan Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Permanent Mission of Guatemala to the United Nations in Geneva, the Embassy of Spain, the Catalan Agency for Development Cooperation, and MTM. These strategic dialogues on the progress, opportunities, challenges and knowledge generated by the Sepur Zarco case has promoted gender-based justice, with a focus on transformative reparations, and has repositioned the need to implement the Sepur Zarco ruling.