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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 Supreme Court of Justice and ended at Constitution Plaza. Participants, mostly family members and survivors, demanded the implementation of the National Dignification and Reparation Plan, as well as justice and reparation for the victims.

During the march, ceremonies and altars were held in honor of the victims and survivors, and the fight for truth and justice was emphasized, especially regarding crimes committed by the military. The allocation of funds to military personnel involved in the conflict was also criticized. Organizers reiterated their call for President Bernardo Arévalo to approve the reparation plan and continue the search for missing persons.

We invite you to read the statement from the National Platform of Organizations of Victims of the Internal Armed Conflict.

PRESS RELEASE

NATIONAL DAY OF DIGNITY OF THE VICTIMS OF THE INTERNAL ARMED CONFLICT

National Platform of Organizations of Victims of the Internal Armed Conflict

This February 25th we honor the memory of our loved ones who were disappeared and murdered by the Guatemalan Army during more than 36 years of internal war. We remember their lives and revindicate their struggles for land, community development, and peace.

We recognize that spaces for dialogue with the government are open; however, a year has passed since the public announcement of the creation of a National Plan for Dignification and Reparations, and it still has not been approved. This means that more than 5 years have passed without a single piece of reparations being given to the victims of the internal armed conflict.

Neither have plans been created for the search of disappeared people, the preservation of historical archives, nor the dissemination of historical memory. Meanwhile, a budgetary increase was approved to continue paying the former members of the military who participated in the crimes of the past. This is an offense to the memory of the thousands of disappeared and massacred victims.

We reject the annulments ordered by the High Risk Courts in the CREOMPAZ case and the Ixil Genocide case in the era of Romeo Lucas García. These decisions contradict the obligations of the State to provide the victims with access to justice, and only perpetuate impunity for violators of human rights and perpetrators of genocide.

We reiterate our public condemnation of the Attorney General for the criminalization of honest judges and attorneys, who were in charge of historical cases and major corruption cases. Likewise, we rebuke the instrumentalization of the Attorney General’s Office to persecute leaders of organizations of victims and social movements. These acts are retaliations for daring to denounce and prosecute military officials and corrupt actors.

We back the survivors of the Achi Women’s Case who have an active trial against three former civil patrol members. We join their demand for justice so that sexual violence does not remain unpunished and that it is never again used as a weapon of war by the Army.

THEREFORE, WE DEMAND:

  1. To President Bernardo Arévalo: that he immediately approves the governmental agreement to create the National Plan of Dignification and Reparations, along with the plans for the search of disappeared people, for historical archives and for historical memory.
  2. To the Judicial Body and the Constitutional Court: that they overrule the illegal resolutions in the CREOMPAZ and Ixil-Lucas Genocide cases.
  3. To the Attorney General’s Office: that they stop criminalizing leaders of victim organizations and social movements.
  4. To the attorney Consuelo Porras: that she resign from the position of Attorney General of the Republic.

Finally, we reiterate our commitment to democracy and peace, and we manifest our utmost conviction in defending human rights and helping to recover the justice system from the mafias that have co-opted it. For the dignity of the victims!

Guatemala, February 25th, 2025

Justicia y Dignidad: Marcha por las Víctimas del Conflicto Armado Interno en Guatemala

El 25 de febrero de 2025, se llevó a cabo en Guatemala una marcha en conmemoración del Día Nacional de la Dignidad de las Víctimas del Conflicto Armado Interno. La movilización, que reunió a más de 500 personas, partió desde la Corte Suprema de Justicia hasta la Plaza de la Constitución. Los participantes, en su mayoría familiares y sobrevivientes, exigieron la implementación del Plan Nacional de Dignificación y Reparación, así como justicia y reparación para las víctimas.

Durante la marcha, se realizaron ceremonias y altares en homenaje a las víctimas y sobrevivientes, y se destacó la lucha por la verdad y la justicia, especialmente en relación con los crímenes cometidos por el ejército. También se criticó la asignación de fondos a militares involucrados en el conflicto. Los organizadores reiteraron su llamado al presidente Bernardo Arévalo para aprobar el plan de reparación y continuar con la búsqueda de personas desaparecidas.

Les invitamos a leer el comunicado de la Plataforma Nacional de Organizaciones de Víctimas del Conflicto Armado Interno.

On a blank sheet, the title of the statement is written in red and the text in black. At the top right, there is a hand holding red carnations. //En una hoja en blanco se lee en rojo el título del comunicado y en negro el texto. Arriba a la derecha hay una mano sosteniendo unos claveles rojos.