Weekly Report - 21 October 2010 (WR-10-42)

Three years on since it began operations, the need for the UN-backed International Commission against Impunity in Guatemala (Cicig), remains acute. While the recent high-profile arrest in Spain of Carlos Vielmann, a former interior minister accused by Cicig of links to organised crime, served as a timely reminder of its success, the acquittal of another prominent official signals persistent deficiencies in state institutions. It raises questions over the long-term impact of the UN-backed commission whose mandate is due to run out in September 2011.