November Solidarity Update 2019
Press Release: We support the Association for Justice and Reconciliation (AJR)
On October 17, Judge Claudette Domínguez, known for her right-wing ties and regressive decisions, was removed from the Maya Ixil genocide case against Luis Enríquez Mendoza García, who was chief of military operations under Ríos Montt Government. The plaintiffs of the case successfully proved that Judge Dominguez has a [...]
Solidarity Update: August 2019
News recap: After presidential elections we amplify our partners' analyses as to what they expect from the new government; we also share voices of people in resistance to U.S. Intervention along the Guatemalan border; an update on a significant case against Tahoe Resources, now owned by Pan American Silver; [...]
Comunicado de CALDH frente a Captura del Prófugo Gen. Luis Enrique Mendoza, Acusado de Genocidio
Mientras Guatemalan realizaba sus elecciones generales el 16 de junio, el sistema de justicia hizo una captura importante. Detuvieron al ex-general Luis Enrique Mendoza en Baja Verapaz, cuando él fue a votar. Mendoza había sido prófugo durante casi ocho años. Mendoza fungió como Director de Operaciones (S3) durante la [...]
CALDH Statement on Arrest of Fugitive Gen. Luis Enrique Mendoza, Accused of Genocide
As Guatemala held its general elections on June 16, the justice system made an important arrest. They captured retired general Luis Enrique Mendoza in Baja Verapaz, as he went to cast his ballot. Mendoza had been on the run for nearly eight years. Mendoza served as Chief of Operations [...]
Solidarity Update: February 2019
News recap: Join NISGUA- as staff or as an accompanier!; Survivors Respond as Guatemalan Congress Threatens Amnesty; Sign On in Solidarity with Cross-Border Indigenous Organizing for Self-Determination; Plurinational Government, Omaha Nation Hold Summit in Q’anjob’al territory, Huehuetenango; International Mayan League Holds Vigil Demanding Justice for Youth Killed by U.S. Immigration System; International Organizations [...]
Four lessons from survivors on the Day of Dignification for Victims
In 1999, the UN-sponsored Commission for Historical Clarification presented its report, Guatemala: Memory of Silence, which documented the crimes the Guatemalan state had committed against its own people during the Internal Armed Conflict. Each year, communities around Guatemala remember what they survived and those they lost on the National [...]
Solidarity Update: December 2018
News recap: Organizations demand justice in wake of assassinations and ongoing violence in Ixquisis, TAKE ACTION to stand with communities working to protect community consultations, NISGUA Speaking Tour shares lessons from successful organizing in Chixoy-Copón Rivers Watershed, KCA sues Guatemalan State in international court, survivors of sexual violence in Military Zone [...]
Media Advisory: Social movements at risk as technical coup unfolds in Guatemala
For a downloadable version of this media advisory, click here. For nearly a year and a half, Guatemalan President Jimmy Morales has repeatedly defied the rule of law by attacking the UN-backed International Commission Against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG). On January 7, Morales announced that his administration would [...]
Four lessons on human rights that we’ve learned from defenders of life
On International Human Rights Day, we recognize that the language of human rights has not always served to advance social justice. In many cases, it has functioned as a smoke screen for imperial institutions to validate or obscure their violence. The U.S. government used the rhetoric of human rights [...]
Boletín de ACOGUATE: septiembre-octubre 2018
En este boletín el equipo de ACOGUATE subraya varios desarrollos en casos jurídicos de alto perfil, incluyendo el caso por genocidio, el caso de Las Dos Erres y el caso de la Mina San Rafael. También explica unos puntos en la coyuntura de Quiché y Ixquisis. ¡Haz clic en [...]
Solidarity Update: October 2018
Solidarity Update news recap: NISGUA’s Fall Speaking Tour Kicks Off in November; AJR President, Edwin Canil, speaks on the fight for justice for genocide in "Learning From Survivors" talk; NISGUA welcomes a new GAP cohort; Former accompanier and NISGUA fellow Claire Bransky holds "500 Years Screening: Life in Resistance from Guatemala [...]
Evento de NISGUA: Aprender de Sobrevivientes – Una Conversación con Edwin Canil
Luego de la sentencia en el caso por genocidio Ixil en septiembre, NISGUA invitó a su base a reflexionar sobre la importancia de esta decisión con el presidente de la Asociación para la Justicia y Reconciliación (AJR), Edwin Canil. Edwin habló sobre la lucha de las y los [...]
NISGUA Event: Learning from Survivors – A Talk with Edwin Canil
Following the recent ruling in the Ixil genocide case late last month, NISGUA invited its base to reflect on the significance of the decision for members of the Association for Justice and Reconciliation (AJR) with the organization's president, Edwin Canil. Edwin spoke about survivors' long struggle to break [...]
Solidarity Update: September 2018
News recap: Court affirms that the state enacted genocide, but finds Rodríguez Sánchez not guilty in a split decision; Constitutional Court upholds temporary suspension of Escoal mine and calls on the State to consult impacted Xinka communities. This and more in this month's solidarity update. [...]
5 takeaways from the recent genocide trial verdict
We will use this genocide verdict to leave a good tree planted, with strong roots -- the fruits of which will be enjoyed by our children. - Edwin Canil, President of the Association for Justice and Reconciliation, survivor and plaintiff organization On September 26, in a split, 2-1 decision, [...]
Building the case: Military Intelligence is a key component in carrying out acts of genocide
Today, the trial against former Head of Military Intelligence José Mauricio Rodríguez Sánchez is expected to reach a verdict. As a key player under Efraín Ríos Montt’s 1982-1983 dictatorship in Guatemala, Rodríguez Sánchez stands accused of genocide and crimes against humanity against the Ixil people. Over the past year, [...]
New NISGUA report: 18 years seeking justice in the courts
Next week, a verdict is expected in the retrial of José Mauricio Rodríguez Sánchez, former head of military intelligence under General José Efraín Ríos Montt’s 1982-1983 dictatorship in Guatemala. Rodríguez Sánchez faces charges of genocide and crimes against humanity for the particular role he played in classifying the entire [...]
“Any presumption of his innocence has crumbled. I ask the courts to find Rodríguez Sánchez guilty of genocide.” – Edgar Pérez
"We're motivated to come here - come and listen, to see whether or not there will be justice in Guatemala." Today, the genocide retrial against former head of military intelligence José Mauricio Rodríguez Sánchez moved into powerful closing arguments, where plaintiffs synthesized key points in the [...]
Boletín de ACOGUATE: mayo-junio 2018
En este boletín el equipo de ACOGUATE da actualizaciones sobre las luchas de la resistencia pacífica en Ixquisis, FAMDEGUA y CONAVIGUA. También cuenta sobre la visita de la relatora especial de las Naciones Unidas sobre los Derechos de los Pueblos Indígenas en Guatemala. ¡Haz clic en la foto abajo [...]
Accompanier Perspectives: land, genocide, and gentrification in Guatemala and the US
In her final letter as a human rights accompanier in Guatemala, Clara Lincoln draws connections between the US and Guatemalan governments' violence against indigenous peoples and people of color, through genocide, sexual violence, state brutality, and attempts at erasure through the imposition of mega-projects and gentrification models that strip people's [...]
The search for justice will not end with the death of Ríos Montt
Three Ixil survivors lift up the 2013 sentence in the last day of the retrial against Ríos Montt, following his death. Photo credit: CALDH On April 1, 2018, former Guatemalan dictator José Efraín Ríos Montt died of a heart attack at the age of 91. In his death, [...]
Statement by genocide survivors on the death of Ríos Montt
On April 1, 2018, former Guatemalan dictator Efraín Ríos Montt died from a heart attack at the age of 91. Having initially been convicted in 2013 of genocide and crimes against humanity against the Ixil people, he died under house arrest facing a retrial. Today, survivors organized with the [...]
Statement by CALDH on the death of Ríos Montt
On Sunday, April 1, 2018, former Guatemalan de facto dictator Efraín Ríos Montt died of a heart attack. At the time of his death, he was being retried for genocide and crimes against humanity, after initially being convicted in 2013. Read the following statement by the Center for Human [...]
Solidarity Update: March 2018
News recap: Prayerful action on the Equinox at the Ohlone Shellmound and Village Sacred Site in California; Genocide retrial moves to Nebaj to hear testimonies from elderly and protected witnesses; Nearly 40 years later, former military officials stand trial for crimes against the Molina Theissen family; NISGUA's latest report celebrates community [...]
“We will not tire of speaking the truth” – Statement by Ixil genocide survivors as retrial hearings wrap up in Nebaj
"Let's respect the word of the people." Original statement in Spanish below. The Ixil genocide case retrial was moved to Santa María Nebaj for this week, following plaintiffs’ request for the judges to hear testimony in the region against former de facto dictator José Efraín Ríos Montt and former [...]
Ixil survivors remain committed to search for justice, as trial moves to Nebaj
The Ixil genocide case retrial was moved to Santa María Nebaj for this week, following plaintiffs' request for the judges to hear testimony in the region against former de facto dictator Ríos Montt and former head of military intelligence, José Mauricio Rodríguez Sánchez. Antonio Caba Caba, a survivor and [...]
Solidarity Update: January 2018
News recap: We're ready for 2018 with a new cohort of GAP volunteers; NISGUA Local: Building connections between global movements to defend life and territory; Members of the AJR denounce ongoing racism as they continue their search for justice for genocide; plaintiff organizations to take Military Zone 21 case [...]
AJR members denounce harassment at genocide retrial
Photo credit: Jose Rodriguez After a holiday recess, the Ixil genocide case retrial will be heard again today. As Ixil witnesses come forward to once more share their experience of genocide publicly, they are surrounded by the supportive presence of members of the AJR. However, the AJR members [...]
En el 21° aniversario de la firma de los Acuerdos de Paz de Guatemala, AJR dice que el Estado aún les debe justicia a los sobrevivientes
En medio del nuevo juicio del caso por genocidio de los acusados José Efraín Ríos Montt y José Mauricio Rodríguez Sánchez, la Asociación para la Justicia y la Reconciliación (AJR), el Centro de Acción Legal en Derechos Humanos (CALDH), y el Bufete de Derechos Humanos (BDH) publicaron un comunicado [...]
On 21st anniversary of Guatemalan Peace Accords signing, AJR says State still owes survivors justice
In the midst of the ongoing genocide retrial of José Efraín Ríos Montt and José Mauricio Rodriguez Sánchez, the Association for Justice and Reconciliation (AJR), the Center for Human Rights Legal Action (CALDH), and the Human Rights Law Firm (BDH) published a press release in the Guatemalan newspaper, El Periódico, to mark [...]
Youth add their voices to the cry for justice
Young Ixil university students stand in solidarity with genocide survivors outside of court.Photo credit: Ixil University students, Chemol txumb'al, FUNDEBASE, y AJR Friday, December 1, marked the seventh trial date since the case for genocide against Efraín Ríos Montt and José Mauricio Rodriguez Sánchez was reopened on [...]
Sponsoring Communities: Needham’s Guatemala Partnership celebrates 30 years of solidarity
NISGUA's Sponsoring Community partnerships provide the resources, energy and political action required to ensure ongoing international accompaniment in Guatemala. Their long-term commitment to human rights and solidarity is an essential component of the longevity and sustainability of the Guatemala Accompaniment Project (GAP). The Needham Congregational Church/Guatemala Partnership is one of [...]
AJR ¡Presente! in ongoing genocide retrial
Today, Survivors of massacres in the 80s from Chimaltenango traveled to participate in the trial against Rodríguez Sánchez for the Ixil genocide. The AJR (Association for Justice and Reconciliation) is made up of survivors from 5 regions in Guatemala and solidarity between communities has been their foundation since [...]
Sobrevivientes comparten sus observaciones mientras Ríos Montt está procesado por genocidio…otra vez
El 13 de octubre, el caso por genocidio del pueblo ixil se abrió de nuevo contra el ex-dictador Efraín Ríos Montt y José Mauricio Rodriguez Sánchez, ex-jefe de inteligencia militar. Este fue el segundo intento de llevarles de nuevo a juicio después del proceso, condena, y sentencia de Ríos [...]
Survivors share their reflections as Ríos Montt is tried for genocide…again
On October 13, the Ixil genocide trial is set to open once again against former dictator Efraín Ríos Montt and José Mauricio Rodriguez Sánchez, former head of military intelligence, in the second attempt to retry the case after the 2013 trial, verdict, and sentence convicting Ríos Montt of genocide. While [...]
Solidarity Update: September 2017
News recap: Solidarity in the streets; U.S. Speaking Tour, "Guatemalan Youth in Defense of Land and Life," kicks off on October 9th; Thousands call for resignation of Guatemalan President Jimmy Morales and Congressional representatives; Grieving the loss of Ixil genocide survivor Jacinto de Paz, witness in the trial against Ríos [...]
Que su testimonio sea semilla que cae en tierra fértil
El siguiente comunicado fue publicado por el Centro para la Acción Legal en Derechos Humanos – CALDH y publicado aquí con su permiso. Jose Efraín Ríos Montt fue condenado a 80 años en prisión por genocidio y crímenes de lesa humanidad en contra del Pueblo Ixil el 10 de [...]
Solidarity Update: July 2017
News recap: Ixil communities celebrate ancestral resistance during the Day of Dignity; Land defender Angélica Choc appeals the acquittal of Mynor Padilla, accused of murdering her husband; Communities fighting to protect the Oxec and Cahabón Rivers denounce decision by Constitutional Court; On World Environment Day, the IACHR calls for the protection [...]
Solidarity Update: May 2017
News recap: Motions filed against former Constitutional Court judges for breach of duty in overturning the genocide verdict; Ríos Montt to stand trial for genocide for his role in the Dos Erres massacre; Accompanier perspective: "As You Come Home: Immigration, Reunion, and the Continuity of Power"; Thousands respond to action [...]