E/CN.A/1990/17 page 63 203. Finally, mention should be made of the National Dialogue for Reconciliation, which has been launched pursuant to the agreement concluded in 1987 between the Presidents of the Central American countries with a view to establishing a firm and lasting peace in Central America (Esquipulas II). A wide range of political and social groups and organisations have participated in the Dialogue, including the Unified Representation of the Guatemalan Opposition (RUOG) and the Human Rights Commission of Guatemala, both of which are based outside the country. Neither the Government nor the army are among the participants. When asked by the Special Rapporteur why the army, which 1B a highly important political force within the country, has chosen not to take part in the Dialogue, the Vice-Minister of Defence replied that under the Constitution the army was an apolitical institution which could not play a role of its own. The decision not to participate was taken by the President in his capacity as Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces. Other sources informed the Special Rapporteur that the absence of the army made the Dialogue, to a certain extent, futile. It was said that the National Dialogue was not a legal institution but a forum for finding a way of living together. In view of the dominant position of the army, its refusal to participate might be explained as a refusal to accept commitments for a democratically structured society. It was also said, however, that the Minister of Defence had indicated that the army was reconsidering its position on participation in the National Dialogue. 204. In May 1989 the representatives of the Unified Representation of the Guatemalan Opposition decided to suspend their participation in the Dialogue after having received a number of death threatB and after a car bomb had been found in front of their temporary office. One other participant in the Dialogue was killed, and another disappeared in August 1989. 3. Evaluation and recommendations 205. Basic human rights violations such as enforced or involuntary disappearances, torture and arbitrary executions Beem to be inextricably linked in Guatemala. There is a noticeable pattern: a person is kidnapped, kept incommunicado, during which period he or she is tortured, and later executed and left in the streets. It hardly ever occurs that a person reappears alive, or that a body is found without markB of torture. In cases where people do not reappear, either dead or alive, it is assumed that their bodies have been secretly buried. 206. Although the common crime rate (including acts of violence) is extremely high in Guatemala and although a number of disappearances may be ascribed to emigration or to the fact that the person concerned has joined the guerrillas or to some other factor and his disappearance cannot therefore be labelled as "enforced or involuntary", the fact that many of the victims were associated with organizations which actively participate in the political or social life, such as trade unions, farmers' organizations and student associations, is a clear indication that many of the human rights violations are politically motivated. The improvements in the field of human rights that could be noted during the first years of the civilian Government have to a large extent been nullified by the developments of the last two years. 207. The institutional mechanisms for preventing and suppressing serious human rights violations show considerable deficiencies. A number of the Special Rapporteur's recommendations will pertain to measures to overcome these deficiencies.