Definitive Report - Report No 151, November 1975

1. 61. The Committee examined this case in May 1972 and February 1974. The reports it submitted to the Governing Body at these sessions appear in paragraphs 104 to 113 of its 131st Report and in paragraphs 80 to 88 of its 142nd Report.
2. 62. Guatemala has ratified the Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948 (No. 87), and the Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention, 1949 (No. 98).

A. A. The complainants' allegations

1. 63. The allegations still outstanding were made by the National Confederation of Workers of Guatemala in a communication dated 8 April. 1970. They concern the arrest, following the proclamation of a state of emergency, of Mr. Miguel Váldez Girón, an active member of the Tailors' Union and former General Secretary of the Autonomous Trade Union Federation of Guatemala (FASGUA). According to the complainants, Mr. Váldez Girón had been arrested at his home in April 1970, although the police denied the fact.
2. 64. The Committee recalls that the Government had made no comments on this matter despite several requests to do so. In November 1971 the Committee, therefore, urgently appealed to the Government for information. No reply was forthcoming and the Committee, at its meeting in February 1972, in accordance with the procedure in force, informed the Government that the Committee intended to report on the substance of the matter at its following meeting, even if the information requested had still not been received. No information having been supplied, the Committee submitted its conclusions on the case in its 131st Report.
3. 65. In adopting this report, the Governing Body drew the Government's attention, inter alia, to the possibility of appointing an independent board of inquiry as a particularly appropriate means of throwing light on what had happened and determining responsibilities. The Governing Body had also asked the Director-General to keep in touch with the Government with a view to securing information about the position of Mr. Váldez Girón.
4. 66. Accordingly, the Director-General, on a number of occasions, approached the Government for information, and the Committee continued to make urgent appeals to the same effect. In a communication dated 6 January 1973 the Government stated that, according to the National Police Headquarters and the Ministry of the Interior, a search had been made for Mr. Váldez Girón in hospitals and prisons throughout the country, but without success. Nevertheless, further attempts were being made to ascertain his whereabouts.
5. 67. In these circumstances, the Committee had recommended the Governing Body in February 1974 to express its concern at the disappearance of this trade union leader, to request the Government to keep it informed of the outcome of its inquiries, and to request the complainants to forward any information which they may have concerning the situation of Mr. Váldez Girón.