A/RES/57/161 2. Also welcomes the seventh report of the Secretary-General on the verification of compliance with the peace agreements;3 3. Recalls the report of the Commission for Historical Clarification4 and the recommendations contained therein; 4. Calls upon the Government of Guatemala to fulfil its commitment to the full implementation of the peace agreements; 5. Recalls that the Commission to Follow up the Implementation of the Peace Agreements has rescheduled the pending commitments and included others not initially scheduled; 6. Takes note of the recommendations contained in the report of the Secretary-General 5 aimed at ensuring that the Mission can respond adequately to the demands of the peace process until 31 December 2003, as well as of his proposal for a further scaling down of the Mission in 2003; 7. Takes note also of the agreement reached by the parties regarding the importance of the continuing presence of the Mission in Guatemala until 2003; 8. Takes note further of the meeting of the Consultative Group for Guatemala, held in Washington, D.C., in February 2002, which provided new impetus for compliance with the peace agreements, and looks forward to the next Consultative Group meeting planned for the middle of 2003; 9. Notes with satisfaction the progress made in the implementation of the peace agreements in some areas, in particular significant legislative advances through the approval of a package of laws on decentralization and of a law criminalizing discrimination on the basis of gender, ethnicity and other criteria; 10. Also notes with satisfaction the election of a new Human Rights Ombudsman and a new Public Prosecutor, as well as steps taken to establish a professional judiciary; 11. Underlines with concern the fact that a number of key commitments remain outstanding in the areas of fiscal, judicial, military, electoral and land reform, as well as rural development and indigenous rights, and therefore urges that those commitments be implemented without further delay; 12. Also underlines with concern the budgetary constraints placed on institutions and programmes which are given priority under the peace process, while special budgetary transfers have been made to the armed forces, exceeding both budgetary allocations and targets of the peace agreements; 13. Notes that the consolidation of the peace-building process remains a significant challenge that requires a concerted national effort to guarantee the irreversibility of the peace process; 14. Notes with concern that the human rights situation has deteriorated, in particular the climate of intimidation has worsened amid an increase in threats and violence against judges, journalists and human rights defenders; 15. Calls upon the Government to implement fully the recommendations contained in the report of the Mission on human rights, in particular those related to the systematic impunity for crimes and human rights violations; 2