Patty Murray: “today I rise, along with my colleagues, Senators Jeffords and Moseley-Braun, to submit a concurrent resolution in…”

“today I rise, along with my colleagues, Senators Jeffords and Moseley-Braun, to submit a concurrent resolution in support of the Guatemalan peace process and the urgent need for greater protection of human rights in Guatemala. After more than thirty years of civil war and a staggering human toll, Guatemala is finally and firmly on the path to peace. However, although great strides have been made in pursuit of a permanent and verifiable peace in Central America's last remaining civil war, the human rights climate in Guatemala continues to be distressing. The Department of State's assessment of Guatemala in its human rights report for 1993 states that, ``Although there were improvements in the human rights situation in 1993, serious abuses occurred frequently. Statistics prepared by the Archbishop's Human Rights Office showed an increase in extrajudicial killings as of mid-December and a substantial increase in forced disappearances, with no improvement in other categories.'' The State Department goes on to report that, ``The civil patrols, military and police continued to commit a majority of the major violations, including extrajudicial killings, political kidnapings, and death threats.''”