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
Ríos Montt ordered to undergo a full psychiatric review
"We can't allow the massacres in our communities to remain in impunity. We've already achieved our sentence, but we're ready for it to be declared a second time because we know there was genocide." - Julia Cortéz, spokesperson for the Association for Justice and Reconciliation (AJR), plaintiff in the [...]
In wake of Guatemala corruption scandals, Tahoe Resources’ Escobal license faces legal challenge
On July 12, 2015, the Guatemalan Center for Environmental and Social Legal Action (CALAS) filed criminal charges against former Minister of the Ministry of Energy and Mines (MEM), Erick Archila, and former mines director at MEM, Fernando Castellanos. CALAS is accusing Archila and Castellanos of violating the Constitution and [...]
Survivors call into question INACIF report claiming Ríos Montt too sick to stand trial
On Tuesday, Guatemala's National Forensic Science Institute (INACIF) published a report stating that former general Efraín Ríos Montt is mentally unfit to stand trial. The report was requested by Judge Carol Patricia Flores, the same judge who attempted to annul the genocide trial proceedings on April 18, 2013. The [...]
NISGUA’s 2015 summer of grassroots organizing kicks off in Los Angeles
Last month, Los Angeles communities kicked off our summer of grassroots organizing and celebration with the first “house party” of the season hosted by the inspiring collective and cultural space, Eastside Cáfe in El Sereno. Local organizers came together with LA cultural performers and families to celebrate the 10-year [...]
Sepur Zarco: First case of sexual slavery will be heard in Guatemalan courts
On June 22, 2015, Judge Miguel Ángel Gálvez ruled to accept witness testimonies and other evidence in the Sepur Zarco sexual slavery case. This is the first case of its kind to be heard in Guatemala courts and will be presided over by Judge Yassmín Barrios. The case first [...]
Second solidarity festival for political prisoners in Huehuetenango
"This is all of our struggle. Who doesn't breathe this air? Who doesn't drink this water? Who doesn't feel the rays of the shining sun on their face? Standing up for life - this is my husband's crime. How many of our brothers and sisters have given their lives [...]
