SIGN THE PETITION TODAY REGISTER FOR THE WEBINAR Indigenous peoples of Abiayala (the Americas, in colonial terms) continue to face the destructive results of ongoing Doctrine of Discovery-based colonialism: imposed resource extraction, impunity for crimes against humanity, systemic poverty, robbing of ancestral lands, and more. [...]
These past few months have been full of challenges, victories, and continued perseverance. Continue reading below to join us in celebrating our wins, take action with us, and learn about the continued fight for justice for genocide survivors, land defenders, and all migrants and asylum seekers. Please also consider [...]
Three hundred community members organized by the ADH took over the Mesiilla check point on the Guatemala-Mexico border on August 9, protesting the "third safe country" agreement, systemic impunity & the invasion of their territories by extractive industry. Photo Credit: Departmental Assembly of Peoples of Huehuetenango (ADH) [...]
leer esta pagina en español The Honorable Joseph R. Biden, Jr. President-Elect Office of the President Elect 1401 Constitution Ave., NW Washington, DC 20230 January 14, 2021 Dear President-Elect Biden, Congratulations on your electoral victory. As you prepare to take office, we wish to share our [...]
LEER ESTA PAGINA EN ESPANOL VISIT RESIST ESCOBAL'S WEBSITE January 21, 2021 TO: María Consuelo Porras, Attorney General, Office of the Public Prosecutor, Guatemala Augusto Jordán Rodas Hernández, Ombudsman, Office of the Human Rights Ombudsman, Guatemala Sean McAleer, Senior Vice President and Managing Director, Guatemala, [...]
Written and originally posted by our comrades at the Committee in Solidarity with the People of El Salvador (CISPES). Haz clic aquí para leer en español. On December 18, International Day of the Migrant, CISPES joined over thirty human rights, religious, solidarity and service organizations throughout Central America and [...]
WHAT IS HAPPENING IN GUATEMALA? For centuries, the elite of Guatemala have consolidated their power by violently robbing resources from the Indigenous majority. In recent history, the oligarchy has maintained its control through militarized violence, mass corruption, systemic impunity, and strategic alliances with the U.S. government and multinational corporations. [...]
[Español abajo] On July 30, 38 national and international organizations asked the World Bank Group to take decisive measures to reverse its contribution to fostering conditions that threaten the institutional order in Guatemala. Meeting in Barillas to receive human rights defender and journalist Palas Luin, on January 2020 [...]
Beloved community, we write this Solidarity Update with broken hearts. Rubén Herrera of the Departmental Assembly of Peoples of Huehuetenango (ADH) passed away on July 22. We honor Rubén and we stand in solidarity with Rubén's family and the ADH. We also invite you to watch [...]
Rubén walks between a line of police and protestors outside the Huehuetenango city government building. On this day, Rubén and the ADH led a march against the ACAs and the militarization of Huehuetenango by the U.S. military. [español abajo] NISGUA joins comrades across Guatemala and the [...]
learn more and take action Migrants’ rights organizations deliver petition with 2000+ signatures against the Asylum Cooperative Agreements (ACAs) Leer en español Today, a broad coalition of Central and North American organizations delivered a petition to the U.S. Congress with more than 2000 signatures against the [...]
[English below] The Constitutional Court is the highest body of defense for the Political Constitution of the Republic. (Photo: La Asamblea Departamental de Pueblos de Huehuetenango- ADH) Alta Corte de Justicia de Guatemala Las instituciones internacionales de derechos humanos firmantes expresamos nuestra profunda preocupación ante una [...]
[español abajo] On June 10, we had the honor of coordinating a webinar "From the U.S. to Central America: Asylum, Deportations, and COVID-19" featuring five panelists from Central America and the U.S. who are experts on migration and powerful movement leaders. The panelists spoke about the illegal and [...]
[Español abajo] Image reads: Liberty! No to the State of Siege (Photo credit: Festivales Solidarios) On May 30, Guatemalan President Alejandro Giammattei declared a State of Siege in Santa Lucía Utatlán, Santa Catarina Ixtahuacán, and Nahualá in Sololá due to territorial conflicts in these regions. [...]
Read this statement that our partners from the Departmental Assembly of Peoples of Huehuetenango (ADH) have written demanding "the world bank to stop investing money in projects that only destroy humanity and our Cosmos." The Departmental Assembly of Peoples of Huehuetenango, ADH, informs the national [...]
Para leer en Español Read this statement that our comrades from the Departmental Assembly of the Peoples of Huehuetenango (ADH) wrote "in the face of the serious crisis generated by the measures taken by the Guatemalan government in relation to containing the COVID-19 pandemic." [...]
[English below] LAS VIDAS NEGRAS IMPORTAN. Desde NISGUA nos solidarizamos con todas las luchas en defensa de la vida, la dignidad y la seguridad de las personas negras por todo el mundo. Como una organización estadounidense, honramos a las tácticas diversas que líderes/as negras e indígenas utilizan para exigir [...]
Lawyers of the victims and survivors of the CREOMPAZ case at the hearing on May 18. Photo credit: Dr. Ramón Cadena May 2020 Solidarity Update We are in regular contact with our partners in Guatemala, where people are struggling to follow social-distancing measures and [...]
Nicole Estrada (she/her) wrote this blog while volunteering as an international accompanier in our GAP Internacionalista program. Her blog is here both as a text and an illustrated booklet -- check it out! Read Nico's illustrated booklet! Check out our "No safe third country [...]
Picture of Esteban Celada during a hearing on the Creompaz case. Photo credit: Verdad y Justicia April 2020 Solidarity Update As we all face the multidimensional implications of the current pandemic, we want to share with you the analyses of our Guatemalan partners. Read [...]
A sign from the Departmental Assembly of Peoples of Huehuetenango that reads "Only together, with the memory of the struggle and resistance of our peoples, can we stop imperialism." Human Rights Ombudsman findings on verification mission of deported persons isolated in La Aurora International Airport The adapted [...]
Silvia Raquec, Migration Program Coordinator for Asociación Pop No'j, and NISGUA's 2020 tour speaker. TAKE ACTION: NO SAFE THIRD COUNTRY AGREEMENTS WITH CENTRAL AMERICA WATCH THE WEBINAR! "ANCESTRAL MOVEMENTS: INDIGENOUS TERRITORIES AND MIGRATION" In 2020, a new pandemic [...]
Dams already under construction in Ixquisis are visible from the river bank despite the communities' ongoing resistance against the imposition of mega-projects in their territories. Note of clarification: We reject all attempts to link us to supposed criminal acts On February 29, 2020, certain corporate communications media, [...]
Thank you to Earthworks for the translation.
The setting sun shines through bougainvillea flowers in central Guatemala. Dear friend, I write to you today from my kitchen table, thankful for the pink-blossomed trees outside and the available resources for digital communications. On behalf of all of us at NISGUA, I want to offer [...]
On February 14, Guatemalan Congress approved law Decree 4-2020, formerly known as Bill 5257, or the NGO Law. Guatemalan social movements have pointed out that this initiative is antidemocratic, regressive, limits political rights, and threatens people who work in the defense of life. We are extremely worried about the impacts this [...]
Graphic by CEJIL, Center for Justice and International Law. As NISGUA we thank CEJIL for their leadership in creating this letter.
In light of the COVID-19 outbreak, we have decided to cancel all in-person tour stops for our spring 2020 tour. We are sad to make this announcement and we are incredibly grateful for all those in New Mexico, Arizona, and Los Angeles who have been organizing and planning events [...]
Julio Gómez Lucas speaks before a crowd of thousands of people in San Mateo Ixtatán, Huehuetenango. Photo credit: Nelton Rivera, Prensa Comunitaria Km. 169 January 28, 2020 María Consuelo Porras Attorney General of the Republic of Guatemala Édgar Godoy Samayoa Department of the Interior Nester Mauricio [...]
Representatives of the Xinka Parliament speak with the press following their press conference on December 18. PRESS RELEASE THE MINISTRIES OF ENERGY AND MINES AND OF ENVIRONMENT AND NATURAL RESOURCES HAVE FAILED TO EXECUTE THE CONSULTATION OF THE XINKA PEOPLE REGARDING THE ESCOBAL MINE It has [...]
A banner reads: "Xinkas: never conquered, eternally respected." Summary of Recommendations from Guatemala’s Human Rights Ombudsman (PDH) on the Court-Ordered Consultation over the Escobal mine A report on the status of the Constitutional Court-ordered consultation with the Xinka people over the future of the Escobal silver [...]
In September, NISGUA had the honor of hosting a delegation to Guatemala for representative leaders of the Indigenous Environmental Network (IEN). The delegation featured talks with women land defenders, cultural exchanges, and a community visit to the Chixoy River watershed. There is also so much that cannot be captured [...]
UPDATE: 10/22/19 As the state of siege continues, impacts are felt in communities where no state of siege has been requested, as in the case of the municipality of Ixcán, Quiché: A military incursion in Santa María Tzejá and local military intervention intp internal community conflicts in Pueblo Nuevo [...]
News recap: Hear the voices of our Guatemalan partners who speak out against the current state of siege, take action to support Xinca land defenders, and read updates on the Maya Achí sexual violence case. Don't miss out on our monthly donor drive that we're launching today! Become a [...]
On September 4, 2019, Guatemalan president Jimmy Morales declared a state of siege in 22 municipalities and 5 departments of Guatemala. The decree came after an event in Semuy II, El Estor, Izabal, in which three Guatemalan soldiers were killed and multiple community members were injured and criminalized. There [...]