Guatemala's own internal conflict was resolved over 15 years ago, but there s...

Guatemala's own internal conflict was resolved over 15 years ago, but there still are hundreds of victims of sexual violence committed by various armed perpetrators. Happily, and as I have already indicated, preventing violence against women is a priority of the Guatemalan State today. We recently enacted a law against murder and other forms of violence against women, and one prohibiting sexual violence, exploitation and human trafficking, which has enabled us to reform the codification of various crimes in the Guatemalan penal code. Furthermore, in a measure designed to improve the access of female victims of violence to justice, various programmes have been established in the executive and judicial branches to help eliminate impunity as it affects women. In that regard, our Ministry of the Interior, the Office of the Prosecutor and the courts, with technical and financial support from various United Nations agencies, have strengthened their capacity for prosecuting crimes related to violence against women.