- MINUGUA, the United Nations Verification Mission in Guatemala, will conclude its operations in December. One of the UN’s most successful peace-building missions has now come to an end after 10 years, says Minister of Foreign Affairs Jan Petersen. - At the same time, the closure of MINUGUA is an important milestone, indicating that the 36-year-long civil war is at last a closed chapter in Guatemalan history.

Norway has participated actively in the peace process in Guatemala, in part as a member of the Group of Friends. Since the final ceasefire agreement was signed in Oslo in 1996, Norway has supported the implementation of the peace accords. The UN and MINUGUA have played a leading role in the international community’s efforts to promote peace and development in Guatemala.

As MINUGUA now closes its offices in Guatemala, it is confident that the country possesses the political will and capability to consolidate the peace process through the implementation of the peace accords. The peace accords have been declared government policy, and President Berger, who has only been in office a little less than a year, has already taken important measures to reactivate the peace accords. They must continue to serve as a road map for the way forward in Guatemala. The international community will have an important role to play in this process in the future as well. With MINUGUA’s withdrawal in December it will be important to put in place other mechanisms that can facilitate the implementation of the peace accords, especially in central areas such as human rights and the judicial system.