Justice and Accountability
Supporting survivors who seek justice for crimes committed during the Internal Armed Conflict
Background
Since the signing of the Peace Accords in 1996, Guatemalan individuals and organizations have courageously sought justice. The U.S. government provided financial support and training to the Guatemalan military, responsible for the egregious human rights violations that occurred during 36 years of Internal Armed Conflict. According to the UN Historical Clarification Commission, over 200,000 people were killed and an additional 45,000 forcibly disappeared by state forces.
With creativity and bravery, survivors work daily to defend and restore collective memory of the genocide. They aim to guarantee that genocide is never repeated, while taking on the unfinished liberatory work of those who were taken by state violence.
Cases
Latest NISGUA reports on Justice and Accountability
![[ESP] Una imagen de una persona socializada hombre, sosteniendo una pancarta de fondo negro con letras blkancas, amarillas y rojas que dice: Abran los cuarteles, aquí estan los archivos. Nunca más militares genocidas. Al fondo la entrada de un cuartel militar [ENG] An image of a male socialized person, holding a black background banner with white, yellow and red letters that reads: Open the barracks, here are the archives. Never again genocidal military. In the background the entrance of a military barracks](https://nisgua.org/wp-content/uploads/Untitled-design1-2-320x202.png)
Latest from the NISGUA blog
Justice and Dignity: March for the Victims of the Internal Armed Conflict in Guatemala
(Español más abajo) On February 25, 2025, a march took place in Guatemala to commemorate National Victims' Dignity Day of the Internal Armed Conflict. The mobilization, which gathered over 500 people, began at the [...]
“The Molina Theissen Sentence should stay final”. Statement from social organizations in support of the case
(Spanish below) On February 6, 2025, an appeal hearing of the 2018 sentence of the Molina Theissen case was held. This sentence sentenced Benedicto Lucas García, Manuel Callejas y Callejas, and Hugo Zaldaña Rojas [...]
December Solidarity Update
Includes: The Association for Justice and Reconciliation (AJR) denounces the dismissal of the tribunal in the Maya Ixil genocide case against Manuel Benedicto Lucas García. They point to this derailment of the case as [...]
PRESS RELEASE: AJR AND ODHAG DENNOUNCE IMPUNITY IN THE LUCAS GARCÍA GENOCIDE TRIAL
(Spanish below) On November, 28 The First Chamber of Appeals accepted an injuction filed by the defense of Manuel Benedicto Lucas García to disqualify the High Risk Crimes Court A, claiming that the Tribunal [...]