USAID/Guatemala Final Performance Evaluation for the Project Against Violence and Impunity (PAVI). Final Report.

摘要

After diminishing in the years after the Peace Accords in 1996, crime and violence have recently returned to become the most important destabilizing factor in social, political, and economic life in Guatemala. This time violence engulfs both rural and urban areas, and is driven not only by persistent inequality and lack of opportunity, but by newer sources, such as narcotraffic, arms trafficking and criminal gangs. Crime and violence is now a central systemic problem in Guatemala, with multiple manifestations affecting several Departments and different demographic groups and income levels. While 2010 and 2011 both saw declines that lowered the murder rate from 46 to 38.6 per 100,000, this change may be attributable only to the population increase, but not necessarily to any deep decline in the number of homicides. Development Objective One of the USAID Strategy for Guatemala 2011-2015 is aimed to help create greater Security and Justice for citizens. The PAVI project started before the USAID/ Guatemala Strategy was concluded, but was focused on some areas later reflected in the Mission strategy, mainly: (a) the strengthening of prosecution and trial of homicides and other serious crimes, (b) improvement of management and coordination systems among justice sector institutions, including support for the design and implementation of merit-based personnel hiring and promotion systems, and, (c) the targeting of Peten as a region in need of special attention where an integrated approach was required.