Each month, we send updates on issues affecting Guatemalan human rights and environmental defenders who we actively accompany. Under attack for their work against impunity and ongoing state and corporate violence, Guatemalans continue to request international accompaniment as one tool to dissuade threats and expand political space so that they can more safely carry out their crucial work.
We rely on the support of our grassroots network to be able to respond to requests for a physical presence and to carry out the strategic advocacy that makes our presence effective. This May, your gift to NISGUA will go twice as far! Thanks to a generous donor, all donations made between May 15 - 31 will be matched dollar for dollar, up to $25,000. That means that we have an unprecedented opportunity to raise $50,000 to continue this active presence - something we have maintained for more than 35 years.
We only have 5 more days to take advantage of this incredible opportunity. Please join us by making a meaningful gift today. Give online or call David at 510-763-1403 to make your gift over the phone. Pledges received and gifts postmarked by May 31 will be doubled.
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Justice & Accountability
- 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"
Defense of Life & Territory
- Thousands respond to action calling for an investigation into the murder of youth activist, Topacio Reynoso
- New NISGUA report documents the rise in attacks against environmental defenders
News from the Grassroots
- Join NISGUA in hosting CALDH photo exhibit, "Defending truth and memory: The path towards justice"
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Members of CALDH and Ixil survivors speak at a press conference on May 10, on the fourth anniversary of the historic verdict that convicted Ríos Montt of genocide.
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Motions filed against former Constitutional Court judges for breach of duty in overturning the genocide verdict
On May 10, 2017, four years after former Guatemalan dictator José Efraín Ríos Montt was convicted of genocide and crimes against humanity, the Center for Human Rights Legal Action (CALDH) filed formal complaints against three Constitutional Court judges that effectively voted to overturn the sentence.
On May 20, 2013, ten days after the historic verdict, the Constitutional Court ruled in a 3-2 decision that certain procedural errors warranted sending the case back to a pre-verdict stage. Because of their ruling, the genocide case is now in a process of retrial and has since been stalled. CALDH filed complaints of breach of duty (or "legal prevarication") against Judges Héctor Hugo Pérez Aguilera and Roberto Molina Barreto, two of the three judges who voted in favor. A request to open a process of impeachment has been issued against the other judge who voted in favor - Alejandro Maldonado Aguirre - to revoke the immunity he holds as a representative in the Central American Parliament and open him up to an investigation for the same charges.
CALDH argues that the judges falsified events in their ruling and did not follow normal appeals procedures in overturning the sentence. For more on the motions filed, read the account by the International Justice Monitor.
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Ríos Montt to stand trial on charges of genocide for his role in the Dos Erres massacre
On March 31, 2017, Judge Claudette Domínguez of Guatemala's High-Risk Crimes Court "A" ordered that Ríos Montt stand trial on charges of genocide, given his command responsibility for the December 1982 massacre in Las Dos Erres, Petén. Due to Montt’s advanced dementia, the judge ruled that he will face a closed-door trial and, if found guilty, will not be sent to prison. On May 18, court proceedings against Montt were temporarily suspended while an appeal filed by the defense is resolved. Follow @NISGUA_Guate on Twitter for more updates.
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Accompanier perspective: "As You Come Home: Immigration, Reunion, and the Continuity of Power"
Current NISGUA accompanier, Chris Shorne, has published an article in the Utne Reader exploring the connections between U.S.-backed state violence and international migration through the lens of her experience as a human rights accompanier. Her writing is a gift to our collective reflections on solidarity and we are proud to share it with our political community:
"Do we have a responsibility to let in everyone who has suffered? I don’t know. But when we are responsible, in part, for the conditions from which they flee? That, I think, is a different story." Read the full article here.
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A protest in 2014 outside of the Public Prosecutor's office calls for a full investigation into the murder of Topacio Reynoso, six months after her murder.
Photo: CPR Urbana
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DEFENSE OF LIFE & TERRITORY
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Thousands respond to action calling for an investigation into the murder of youth activist, Topacio Reynoso
Last month, we appealed to our network to take action and call on Guatemala's Public Prosecutor's office to fully investigate the murder of 16-year-old youth activist Topacio Reynoso Pacheco and ongoing attacks against her father, Alex Reynoso. Both Topacio and Alex were deeply involved in the fight to protect their lands and waterways from Tahoe Resources' Escobal mine, located in the neighboring municipality of San Rafael las Flores in southeastern Guatemala.
With the help of ally organizations, we collected more than 2,900 signatures from 53 different countries. An additional 29 organizations signed on to the letter that was delivered to Hilda Pineda, the head of the Special Human Rights Prosecutor's Office. We immediately received a response from Pineda, who has said that their office will be investigating the case. Thank you to those who responded to this important call for action!
It can't end there, however. A full investigation into Topacio's murder will shed light on the many cases of violence against other environmental defenders in the region since Tahoe Resources began mining in the area. In direct partnership with affected communities, NISGUA will continue to look for opportunities for strategic advocacy and grassroots action to demand justice for communities standing up against state and corporate violence. Stay tuned for more information and ways to be involved.
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New report by NISGUA documents the rise in attacks against environmental defenders in Guatemala
Over the last several decades, transnational resource extraction companies have flocked to Central America. Licenses to construct hydroelectric dams, exploit minerals, or build the necessary infrastructure to make these types of projects possible are being granted by national governments in the region at an alarming rate. And those who oppose these types of projects are increasingly being attacked.
A recent report released by the Unit for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders (UDEFEGUA) points to environmental defenders as being among the groups most attacked in 2016 in Guatemala. In their report, they note a significant trend in the country: a corrupt state implementing this narrow vision of development through granting licenses to resource extraction companies has led to a significant increase in violence and aggression against human rights defenders.
In NISGUA’s latest report, “In defense of land: Environmental defenders on the frontlines of the global struggle for community self-determination and respect for the Earth,” we highlight the creative and resilient ways that communities continue to organize in defense of land and life in the face of rising attacks. Read the full report in English and Spanish.
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An excerpt from our latest report, "In Defense of Land."
"The Earth is in the midst of an unprecedented ecological crisis, the impacts of which are being felt by communities the world over. Accompanied by growing political and economic instability and a startling resurgence of extreme nationalism, xenophobia, and right-wing ideology, the political challenges to transforming this reality have never been greater. As the new U.S. administration moves to strengthen corporate power in global governance, the well-being of all communities relies on local and international grassroots action. This work must be guided by the leadership of those most directly impacted - indigenous people, people of color, and frontline defenders who rise up to demand respect for the planet and real autonomy for their people."
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From the exhibit:
Survivors from Yulaurel,
a small community in northern Huehuetenango, receive copies of the 2013 verdict that convicted Ríos Montt of genocide and crimes against humanity.
Photo: Roderico Y. Díaz
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Join NISGUA in hosting CALDH photo exhibit, "Defending truth and memory: The path towards justice"
This summer, in partnership with the Center for Human Rights Legal Action (CALDH), NISGUA will bring a photo exhibit to the U.S. that documents struggles of survivors for justice for genocide in Guatemala. For decades, survivor organizations have fought to preserve the truth about what happened during the country's internal armed conflict and have played a leading role in demanding state accountability.
Four years after the historic verdict that convicted former U.S.-backed dictator Efraín Ríos Montt of genocide, struggles for justice continue - in courtrooms and in the daily lives of survivors. Communities still search for the remains of their loved ones so they can lay them to rest with dignity. As they remain steadfast in their struggle, it is critical that the international community joins them in lifting up the important victories that have been won and in showing their lasting commitment to struggles for justice.
This summer, NISGUA invites you to gather your community to show this important exhibit and participate in nationally-coordinated solidarity actions. Parties are already being planned in Denver and the San Francisco Bay Area. Contact us today for more information about the exhibit and how to become a host.
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