2011: The Most Violent Year for Human Rights Defenders
2011: The Most Violent Year for Human Rights DefendersThe Human Rights Defenders Protection Unit – Guatemala (Unidad de Protección a Defensoras y Defensores de Derechos Humanos – Guatemala; UDEFEGUA) reports that, according to our records, 2011 was the most violent year so far for human rights defenders. We counted a total of 402 violations of the right to defend human [...]
Take Action: Justice for Emilia Quan
Emilia - we still remember you. The search for justice continues.On the 8th of December 2011, the first anniversary of the tragic death of Emilia Quan Staackmann takes place. Emilia was a Guatemalan woman, 33 years old, that always will be remembered as a sociologist committed to her work and as a lively, human and intelligent person.Emilia Quan was a [...]
Firmas – Justicia por Emilia Quan
Emilia - no te hemos olvidado. Seguimos buscando justiciaEl 8 de Diciembre de 2011 se cumple el primer aniversario de la trágica muerte de Emilia Quan Staackmann. Emilia era una mujer guatemalteca de 33 años de edad, que siempre será recordada como una socióloga comprometida con su trabajo, alegre, humana e inteligente.Emilia fue secuestrada en Huehuetenango el 7 de diciembre [...]
Nuestra Voz Nuestra Memoria: El genocidio en Guatemala
The Association for Justice and Reconciliation (AJR) and the Center for Human Rights Legal Action (CALDH) have released a 30 minute documentary, "Our Voice, Our Memory: The genocide in Guatemala". The documentary, available in full online, uses survivor and expert testimony to explain the concept of genocide, demonstrating how the atrocities committed by the Guatemalan military against indigenous Maya communities [...]
Military high command and former president arrested for Guatemalan genocide: Trials expected to open in 2012
Ten years have passed since genocide survivors filed cases against General Efraín Ríos Montt and members of his military high command. As a result of this investigation, in 2011, three former military officials—including a former president—have been arrested, andanother has been declared fugitive from justice. On October 12, 2011, arrest warrants were issued for retired General and former de facto [...]
Former General Wins Presidential Election in Guatemala
On November 6, Guatemala's presidential elections ended in a close victory for retired General Otto Pérez Molina. Pérez Molina's Patriot Party has promised an iron fist approach to security in the face of rising crime and international drug trafficking. Carrying a majority in urban and Eastern departments, Pérez Molina won 54% of the vote. With a populist discourse merging social [...]