Project Description
Community Consultations: A model of resistance under attack in Guatemala
A bill currently before Guatemalan Congress seeks to co-opt the consultation process and violate the rights of indigenous communities to free, prior, and informed consent. Add your voice in calling on the Guatemalan government to respect the results of community-organized consultations.
Three ways to take action:
1. Print out the postcard and mail it to NISGUA’s office for delivery
2. Read more about the incredible role that consultations play in community organizing to protect land, life, and self-determination
3. Sign the extended action! Petition available here.
Photo: Graham HuntAdditional reading about community consultations
Retrial for Ríos Montt to take place behind closed doors
Legal battles over Efraín Ríos Montt's health have taken center stage over the past three months in the decades-long search for justice for genocide in Guatemala. On August 25, the three-judge tribunal ruled that Ríos Montt is mentally unfit to stand trial due to chronic and irreversible dementia. The [...]
Crumbling political support for Tahoe Resources in Guatemala
Article written in collaboration with MiningWatch Canada and the Maritimes-Guatemala Breaking the Silence Network. If the militarized security strategy that Tahoe Resources has used to put its Escobal silver mine into operation isn’t enough to raise questions about the ethics of the company’s operations in Guatemala, the recent resignation of Guatemalan President [...]
Guatemalan President Otto Pérez Molina resigns, detained on charges of corruption
Update: On Tuesday, September 8, former President Otto Pérez Molina was indicted on charges of customs fraud, illicit association, and bribery in connection with "La Línea," a customs fraud network accused of stealing millions of dollars from the Guatemalan state. Given the number of people still being investigated in [...]
Despite the arrest of former VP Roxana Baldetti, President Otto Pérez Molina says he won’t step down
On Friday, the UN-backed International Commission Against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG) and Public Prosecutor's office revealed evidence connecting Guatemala President Otto Pérez Molina to the massive customs corruption network known as La Línea. Prosecutors have filed a legal motion to strip Pérez Molina of his presidential immunity – the [...]
Take Action: Call on the U.S. Embassy to stand up for political prisoners Saúl and Rogelio
On September 1, Barillas land defenders Saúl Méndez and Rogelio Velásquez will stand trial again for accessory to murder. Citing serious irregularities and major errors in the initial trial earlier this year that condemned both men to 33 years and 4 months in prison, a Special Appeals court ruled [...]
For there to be peace in Barillas…
Original article posted on CMI-Guatemala in Spanish on August 11, 2015. Written by Alba Cecilia Mérida Translation by NISGUA On August 8, beneath the energy and protection of Kawok - symbolizing the strength of unity and wisdom - hundreds of women, men, boys, girls, youth, and the elderly gathered [...]
