"We can't allow the massacres in our communities to remain in impunity. We've already achieved our sentence, but we're ready for it to be declared a second time because we know there was genocide." - Julia Cortéz, spokesperson for the Association for Justice and Reconciliation (AJR), plaintiff in the [...]
On Tuesday, Guatemala's National Forensic Science Institute (INACIF) published a report stating that former general Efraín Ríos Montt is mentally unfit to stand trial. The report was requested by Judge Carol Patricia Flores, the same judge who attempted to annul the genocide trial proceedings on April 18, 2013. The [...]
When President Otto Peréz Molina was elected in 2012, he came with an agenda to fully re-instate US military aid and end the restrictions on funding to Guatemala in place to varying degrees since the Carter administration implemented a direct security aid ban in 1977. Even before the Peace [...]
NISGUA sat down with several members of the Association for Justice and Reconciliation (AJR) to ask them how they feel about the genocide retrial and the events of January 5th, when lead Judge Jeannette Valdés was recused from hearing the case and the retrial was suspended. The departure of [...]
"We know that genocide took place. The whole world knows it, but the truth has been denied." Juventino Caal, member of the Association for Justice and Reconciliation (AJR) Yesterday, a new trial against Jose Efraín Ríos Montt and José Mauricio Rodriguez Sánchez opened in Guatemalan courts and once again [...]
January 5, 2015 Dear members of the Association for Justice and Reconciliation (AJR), During this moment in which the Guatemala justice system is retrying the case against Efraín Ríos Montt and José Mauricio Rodriguez Sánchez, we here at NISGUA want to acknowledge this long process in search of justice and particularly [...]
“The thousands and thousands of victims will never abandon this struggle. We have to see it through. There are multitudes of victims by my side demanding that I speak out for justice and so I am going to speak out. In no moment will this [struggle] be abandoned. We have [...]
"We are thousands of Guatemalan victims of grave human rights violations committed during the internal armed conflict. The only thing we ask for is justice." - Communique from survivors in response to congressional resolution to deny genocide Genocide survivors gather in front of the Congress of the Republic. On [...]
On May 10, supporters, scholars and students from over a dozen countries celebrated the one-year anniversary of the genocide sentence. The worldwide day of action brought together communities to support the survivors' decades-long struggle for truth and justice in Guatemala. People across the world read the sentence aloud, participated commemorative events [...]
“We must raise awareness [so] that these kinds of events are never repeated, because the people of Guatemala want to live in peace, acknowledging our identity, our rich multicultural, multilingual [heritage] and the respect for the freedom of expression of our ideas.” -Genocide sentence (page 89 in English translation) [...]
OUR SUPPORT FOR THE DIGNITY AND PROFESSIONALISM of HONORABLE JUDGE YASSMÍN BARRIOS To the people of Guatemala and to the international community, we express our total indignation of the decision emitted by the ethics tribunal of the Guatemalan Bar Association that attempts to penalize Judge Yassmín Barrios Aguilar. [...]
Interview originally published by El Periódico in Spanish. Translation by NISGUA. Judge Yassmín Barrios Photo: El Periódico Judge Iris Yassmín Barrios, presiding judge of the High Risk Crimes Court A, refers to the decision handed down against her last week by the Ethics Tribunal of the Guatemalan Bar Association (CANG [...]
This morning, the Constitutional Court (CC), Guatemala’s highest court, will hear arguments regarding the April 2013 decision by Judge Carol Patricia Flores to set the genocide case back to a pre-trial phase. The mid-trial ruling cited technical errors in the judicial process and stated that the case should return [...]
February 25 marks the annual Day of Dignity for Victims of the Internal Armed Conflict in Guatemala. In addition, 15 years ago to the day, the UN-sponsored Historical Clarification Commission presented its "Guatemala: Memory of Silence" report. Twelve volumes in total, the report provides findings from a detailed investigation [...]
Guatemalan Attorney General Claudia Paz y Paz Photo: Ministerio Público Last week Guatemala's Constitutional Court (CC) emitted a provisional ruling stating that Attorney General Claudia Paz y Paz should end her term in May 2014, seven months before schedule. Friday, the CC dismissed an appeal by Paz y Paz [...]
On November 5, almost six months since the highly contested decision by Guatemala's Constitutional Court (CC) to annul the genocide sentence, Guatemalan courts announced a date for the retrial of former General Ríos Montt. Guatemala's High Risks Court “B” affirmed that it has the jurisdiction to hear the case but said [...]
Genocide survivors submit a complaint before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights in Washington DC on November 6, 2013. Photo: AJR INTERNATIONAL COMPLAINT AGAINST THE GUATEMALAN STATE FOR DENIAL OF JUSTICE IN THE GENOCIDE CASE Washington D.C., November 6, 2013 - Today, survivors of the Guatemalan genocide, along with [...]
Guatemalan newspaper Prensa Libre splashed "CC brings José Efraín Ríos Montt closer to amnesty" across its front page headlines, with the corresponding article publishing excerpts of a leaked ruling issued by the Constitutional Court. Plaintiffs and lawyers still have not received notification of the decision at the time of [...]
This past spring, thousands of you participated in our international "Justice for Genocide" photo and pledge campaign in support of the brave survivors of the Association for Justice and Reconciliation (AJR). NISGUA staff recently shared your photos and messages with the members of the AJR during their national assembly, [...]
Several hundred traveled from Guatemala City to Nebaj on June 21-22 with the "Caravan for the Dignity of the Ixil People and Against Genocide". Photo: NISGUA Ixil authorities welcome organizations to Nebaj. Photo: NISGUA Each year on June 22, the Ixil people remember their martyrs and heroes. The day [...]
While we await the next steps of the genocide trial, we are honored to provide an accessible archive of the daily coverage we provided from day 1 of the trial. Please read and share this historic collection. Genocide on Trial, Day 1: Ixil witnesses speak Genocide on Trial, Day [...]
Guatemalan civil society reacted to the May 20 annulment of the genocide trial verdict through public actions, marches and vigils overwhelmingly rejecting the decision. On May 24, an impromptu march that some activists reported to be the largest in recent history organized in the name of memory in Guatemala. [...]
Live transmission of event in NYC with the AJR. Tramission will begin at approximately 7:15pm EST, May 30, and last for one hour. Transmisión en vivo de la actividad en la ciudad de Nueva York con la AJR. Transmisión de 1 hora, 30 de mayo, empezando a las 7:15pm [...]
The Association for Justice and Reconciliation addressed the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues in New York City today. We are honored to provide the exclusive English translation of the declaration. Read the Spanish version here. Association for Justice and Reconciliation Declaration to the United Nations Permanent Forum [...]
The Guatemalan Constitutional Court emitted a resolution late Monday evening to annul the genocide trial verdict and revert proceedings back to April 19. Judge Barrios of the First Court for High Risk Crimes "A" has 24 hours after being notified of the resolution this morning to comply with the [...]
On May 10, Efraín Ríos Montt was found guilty of the crimes of genocide and crimes against humanity, in an historic ruling that sentenced him to 80 years in prison. As ordered during the verdict, yesterday Judge Yassmín Barrios heard the reparations requests of the Association for Justice and [...]
Today in Guatemala, Judge Yazmin Barrios found former dictator Efraín Ríos Montt guilty of genocide and crimes against humanity. The court ratified all the elements of genocide described by witness and expert testimony, concluding that Ríos Montt had both command authority and "full knowledge of what was happening [...]
NISGUA continues live coverage of the trial in Guatemala of Efraín Ríos Montt and José Mauricio Rodríguez Sánchez for genocide and crimes against humanity. Read our previous summaries: Day 1, 2, 3, 4/5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11-14, 12, 13/14, 15/16, 17/18, 19, 20-1, 20-2, 21, Constitutional Court decisions, [...]
NISGUA continues live coverage of the trial in Guatemala of Efraín Ríos Montt and José Mauricio Rodríguez Sánchez for genocide and crimes against humanity. Read our previous summaries: Day 1, 2, 3, 4/5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11-14, 12, 13/14, 15/16, 17/18, 19, 20-1, 20-2, 21, Constitutional Court decisions, [...]
NISGUA continues live coverage of the trial in Guatemala of Efraín Ríos Montt and José Mauricio Rodríguez Sánchez for genocide and crimes against humanity.Read our previous summaries: Day 1, 2, 3, 4/5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11-14, 12, 13/14, 15/16, 17/18, 19, 20-1, 20-2, 21, Constitutional Court decisions, trial suspension, [...]
NISGUA continues live coverage of the trial in Guatemala of Efraín Ríos Montt and José Mauricio Rodríguez Sánchez for genocide and crimes against humanity. Read our previous summaries: Day 1, 2, 3, 4/5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11-14, 12, 13/14, 15/16, 17/18, 19, 20-1, 20-2, 21, Constitutional Court decisions, trial [...]
NISGUA continues live coverage of the trial in Guatemala of Efraín Ríos Montt and José Mauricio Rodríguez Sánchez for genocide and crimes against humanity. Read our previous summaries: Day 1, 2, 3, 4/5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11-14, 12, 13/14, 15/16, 17/18, 19, 20-1, 20-2, 21, Constitutional Court decisions, trial [...]
NISGUA continues live coverage of the trial in Guatemala of Efraín Ríos Montt and José Mauricio Rodríguez Sánchez for genocide and crimes against humanity. Read our previous summaries: Day 1, 2, 3, 4/5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11-14, 12, 13/14, 15/16, 17/18, 19, 20-1, 20-2, 21, Constitutional Court decisions, trial [...]
NISGUA continues ongoing coverage of the trial in Guatemala of Efraín Rios Montt and Mauricio Rodríguez Sánchez for genocide and crimes against humanity.The air in Guatemala is tensely optimistic as various injunctions and appeals related to the fate of the genocide trial are one by one being resolved in Guatemalan [...]
NISGUA continues ongoing coverage of the trial in Guatemala of Efraín Rios Montt and Mauricio Rodríguez Sánchez for genocide and crimes against humanity.Survivors, lawyers and human rights groups remain hopeful that the Constitutional Court will clear the legal obstacles impeding the conclusion of the genocide case, but lawyers interpreted today's [...]
NISGUA continues live coverage of the trial in Guatemala of Efraín Rios Montt and Mauricio Rodríguez Sánchez for genocide and crimes against humanity. Read our previous summaries: Day 1, 2, 3, 4/5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11-14, 12, 13/14, 15/16, 17/18, 19, 20 part 1, 20 part 2 and our [...]
NISGUA continues live coverage of the trial in Guatemala of Efraín Rios Montt and Mauricio Rodríguez Sánchez for genocide and crimes against humanity. Read our previous summaries: Day 1, Day 2, Day 3, Day 4/5, Day 6, Day 7, Day 8, Day 9, Day 10, Day 12, Days 13/14, Days 15/16, Days 17/18, Day 19 and [...]
NISGUA continues live coverage of the trial in Guatemala of Efraín Rios Montt and Mauricio Rodríguez Sánchez for genocide and crimes against humanity. Read our previous summaries: Day 1, Day 2, Day 3, Day 4/5, Day 6, Day 7, Day 8, Day 9, Day 10, Day 12, Days 13/14, Days 15/16, Days 17/18, Day 19 and [...]
NISGUA continues live coverage of the trial in Guatemala of Efraín Rios Montt and Mauricio Rodríguez Sánchez for genocide and crimes against humanity. Read our previous summaries: Day 1, Day 2, Day 3, Day 4/5, Day 6, Day 7, Day 8, Day 9, Day 10, Day 12, Days 13/14, Days 15/16, Days 17/18 and full archive [...]
NISGUA continues live coverage of the trial in Guatemala of Efraín Rios Montt and Mauricio Rodríguez Sánchez for genocide and crimes against humanity. Read our previous summaries: Day 1, Day 2, Day 3, Day 4/5, Day 6, Day 7, Day 8, Day 9, Day 10, Day 12, Days 13/14, Days 15/16 and full archive of ongoing live [...]