On May 10, 2023, a press conference was held during the activities to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the sentence against Efraín Ríos Montt in 2013, for genocide and crimes against the duties of humanity committed against the Maya Ixil people.

At the press conference, victims and survivors of the Internal Armed Conflict highlighted the historical relevance of the genocide sentence and called the Guatemalan people to not to vote for Zury Ríos, daughter of ex-dictator Ríos Montt, or corrupt political parties. We invite you to read their statement below

Behind a wallpaper of faces of the disappeared in the house of memory, hangs a banner on which in red letters reads the tenth anniversary of the historic sentence for genocide. Below is the back of an Ixil woman with her hand raised giving her testimony before Guatemalan courts.

Photograph of the banner displayed outside The House of Memory during the commemoration activities.

Victims and Survivors of the Internal Armed Conflict

And Human Rights Organizations

DECLARE

THE SENTENCE OF GENOCIDE MARKED THE HISTORY OF THE COUNTRY

Guatemala, May 10, 2023, on this day the victims and survivors of the Internal Armed Conflict commemorate the 10th anniversary of the verdict of the High Risk Court “A”, which sentenced former dictator Efraín Ríos Montt to 80 years in prison for the genocide of the Maya Ixil People.

This sentence was a historic milestone worldwide because for the first time a national court tried and sentenced a former head of state for giving the order to annihilate an Indigenous people, which constitutes the most brutal expression of racism. During the trial, dozens of witnesses presented their harrowing testimonies, and scientific and documentary evidence was provided on the atrocities committed by the Army against the Ixil People.

We victims and survivors do not forget that the daughter of the convicted genocider not only justified her father’s crimes, but was one of the main actors in obstructing justice. In addition, her political party, Valor, has presented amnesty bills so that past crimes go unpunished. However, the truth has been stronger and a second trial has confirmed that there was indeed genocide.

Ten years after the historic sentence for genocide, the organizations of victims of the Internal Armed Conflict and Human Rights Organizations express our support for the Maya Ixil People and survivors who with great dignity continue to demand justice and that these events never happen again.

We call on the entire Guatemalan population not to forget the horrors of the genocide and to not vote for the political parties of corrupt ex-military personnel and sectors that seek impunity and deny that genocide happened.

Guatemala Never Again

Association for Justice and Reconciliation – AJR

National Platform of Survivors of the Internal Armed Conflict 

Center for Legal Action on Human Rights – CALDH

Watch the press conference (Spanish only)