UNITED NATIONS, Sept. 3 (Xinhua) -- The mandate of the International Commission against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG) "comes to an end" on Tuesday, a UN spokesman said.
Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, said the CICIG "made a decisive contribution to strengthen the rule of law as well as investigation and prosecution capacities in Guatemala over its last 12 years of existence and operation."
Guterres "trusts that efforts to fight impunity will continue and expresses the UN's readiness to continue cooperating with Guatemala in strengthening the rule of law," Dujarric told reporters in a press briefing.
"The Secretary-General expects that the rights of those involved in the fight against impunity in Guatemala will be protected," the spokesman added.
CICIG, set up in December 2006 under a treaty-level agreement between the United Nations and Guatemala, is an international body that helps Guatemalan authorities investigate sensitive and difficult cases. Its ultimate goal is to strengthen Guatemala's national judicial institutions, allowing them to continue to confront illegal groups and organized crime in the future.
In August 2018, Guatemala refused to renew CICIG's mandate, setting a deadline of Sept. 3, 2019 to wind down its operations and leave the country.
