E/CN.4/1990/17 page 64 208. The Special Rapporteur feels, however, that his approach would be one-dimensional if he only referred to these instrumental deficiencies. The present human rights situation in Guatemala can only be explained as resulting from the tragic past, and the introduction of a democratic system is obviously insufficient to do away with the effects of this tragic past. It seems to be typical for Guatemala that the most serious human rights violations occur in a kind of clair-obscur where lawlessness and violence are rampant, and it seems virtually impossible to penetrate this clair-obscur unless there is a strong political will on the part of all political forces to do so. As long as judges who have to carry out investigations, as long as witnesses who have to give evidence, as long as citizens who expose human rights violations constantly receive death threats, no institutional measures will bring about a real improvement. The pattern of disappearances, torture and killings, together with the widespread use of death threats, has created a climate of terror which was compared by one of the Special Rapporteur's sources with a system of psychological torture. According to another governmental source, those responsible for this systematic lawlessness hoped to create in the society a desire for another "iron fist" regime. On several occasions it was pointed out to the Special Rapporteur that, although most of the serious violations of human rights could not be ascribed to the Government, the Government nevertheless seemed reluctant to gain control. As the Expert on Guatemala stated in his report (E/CN.4/1989/39, para. 58): "no Government can feel satisfied if it merely refrains from violating human rights; it is also necessary, indeed indispensable, to have a positive policy to prevent human rights violations from occurring - that policy should guarantee the full enjoyment of all rights for all citizens". Unless the Government is able to develop such a policy there is some justification for the thesis that although the Government is not directly responsible for the human rights violations, it is responsible by omission, viz. for its failure to guarantee the right to life and to physical and mental integrity of the citizens. Although it is beyond the Special Rapporteur's mandate to make recommendations in this field, he feels strongly that his recommendations should be seen in the light of the previous remarks. 209. It is clear that the best way to penetrate the clair-obscur is to ruthlessly investigate all alleged human rights violations. In order to create conditions under which such investigations can be satisfactorily conducted, it is important to guarantee the security of all persons involved, whether they are members of the judiciary, witnesses or lawyers. 210. Concern was expressed by various sources about the passive attitude of the judiciary in habeas corpus proceedings. For this reason the circular of the President of the Supreme Court mentioned in paragraph 14 above, in which the legal obligation to continue the investigation if the person concerned cannot be located was emphasized, must be welcomed. In order to enhance the effectiveness of this circular, however, it is of vital importance to strengthen the existing investigative capacities. First of all, the budget of the Office of the Attorney-General should be considerably increased; all competent authorities agree that that Office is the pivot on which everything in the system hinges and that as long as it is not able to function properly, the system as a whole will not work. 211. As important as the strengthening of the Office of the Attorney-General is the training of the police. In this regard it is noteworthy that a number of officials spoke out in favour of the reintroduction of the judicial police,