Since 1954, Guatemala was ruled primarily by military regimes. Their harsh rule led to increasing criticism by the civilian population. Protests against the government were brutally repressed by the military. In fact, the military's scorched earth policy left over 400 villages destroyed and killed approximately 125,000 civilians. In the 1980s, insurgents formed the Unidad Revolucionaria Nacional Guatemalteca (URNG) to fight the government. The conflict between the Guatemalan government and the URNG was one of the bloodiest civil wars in the 1980s.
On April 11, 1991, the President of Guatemala issued his Initiative for Total Peace in Guatemala. The initiative contained a number of important proposals: termination of the conflict, greater economic and social equality, respect for the rule of law and strengthening of the democratic process. Subsequently, the Guatemalan government and the URNG conducted direct negotiations. On April 26th, they signed an Agreement on the Procedure for the Search for Peace. Both parties agreed to conduct a process of negotiation towards the signing of a final agreement that would establish a firm and lasting peace. A framework agreement was signed by the two sides on July 25th. However, subsequent negotiations were unsuccessful at reaching a definitive solution to the conflict.
In March 1994, negotiations resumed. The parties established a Framework Agreement that they subsequently signed in January 1994. The agreement requested that the United Nations moderate future negotiations and verify all agreements. In March, the parties signed an agreement on human rights. The agreement called for the establishment of a United Nations mission in Guatemala. In June, the parties signed an agreement on the resettlement of people uprooted by the conflict and outlined a strategy for resettling refugees and displaced persons. They also signed an agreement on the establishment of a commission to verify past human rights violations. In March 1995, an agreement on the identity and rights of indigenous people was signed and work began on socioeconomic aspects and the agrarian situation.
In August 1994, Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali recommended the establishment of a United Nations Human Rights Verification Mission in Guatemala (MINUGUA). He stressed that such a mission would help to end human rights abuses and would bolster the peace process. On September 19th, the General Assembly approved the establishment of MINUGUA. It formally opened in Guatemala City in November and was fully deployed throughout the country by February 1995. Meanwhile, United Nations officials continued their efforts to sustain the negotiations and facilitate the conclusion of a peace agreement.
In December 1996, a cease-fire was signed between the rebel and government leaders. A final peace agreement was signed on December 29th in Guatemala City. The agreement ends one of Central America's longest running conflicts-one that left over 140,000 people dead or missing.
