Oli (they/them) former NISGUA internacionalista wrote this update during their time as a volunteer with NISGUA. Read and enjoy! Dear community, I am in Guatemala for my second stint as an accompanier. Some of the struggles I accompanied when I was here last in 2018-19 have been won, [...]
![[ENG] Photo of a red and white protest sign that reads "Never Again, Rivers of blood in Guatemala" behind a wall that is the entrance of a church. [ESP] Fotografía de una manta dolor rojo que en blanco dice "Nunca más rios de sangre en Guatemala" en la puerta de entrada a una iglesia](https://nisgua.org/wp-content/uploads/nb25-320x202.jpeg)
En los últimos cuatro años, la lucha por la justicia en Guatemala ha sufrido una serie de alarmantes reveses que nos llaman a mantener y sostener nuestra solidaridad con aquellos a quienes hemos apoyado durante más de cuatro décadas. Durante la presidencia de Giammattei, quien en coordinación con el [...]
Over the past four years, the struggle for justice in Guatemala has endured a series of alarming setbacks that call us to maintain and sustain our solidarity with those we have stood beside for over four decades. During Giammattei’s presidency, the Pact of the Corrupt and their powerful economic [...]
On the National Day for the Dignification of the Victims of the Internal Armed Conflict. WE DEMAND JUSTICE! On this day, we, surviving victims and family members,remember the victims of the CREOMPAZ case. We light candles to keep the fire of hope [...]
Photo by NISGUA Genocide Never Again: Defend the right to Memory, Truth, and Justice. On this, the national Day of Dignification of the Victims of the Internal Armed Conflict, we affirm that we are fighting and will continue to [...]
De manera urgente, La Asamblea Departamental de los Pueblos de Huehuetenango ADH, nos hemos declarado en sesión permanente; analizando la situación preocupante de la Comunidad de Triunfo de Champerico Retalhuleu. En este momento la comunidad está bajo atropellos, amenazas de Energuate y luego coordinado con las fuerzas represivas del [...]
learn more and take action Migrants’ rights organizations deliver petition with 2000+ signatures against the Asylum Cooperative Agreements (ACAs) Leer en español Today, a broad coalition of Central and North American organizations delivered a petition to the U.S. Congress with more than 2000 signatures against the [...]
APRENDEr MAS y tomar accion Organizaciones pro migrantes entregan petición al congreso estadounidense con más de 2000 firmas en contra de los Acuerdos de Cooperación de Asilo (ACAs) Read in English Una amplia coalición de organizaciones centroamericanas y norteamericanas hoy entregaron una petición al congreso estadounidense [...]
A sign reads, "The interference by the United States buries the people's peace." NO NOS CONSULTAN, NO NOS TOMAN EN CUENTA, RESISTIMOS PARA VIVIR… Los pueblos originarios de Zaculeu, en este 9 de agosto de 2019 nos auto convocamos para condenar enérgicamente los hechos que están sucediendo [...]
July 23, 2019 Escalation of tension, threats and defamation against the peaceful resistance to mining in Mataquescuintla, Guatemala On July 5th, in the evening, members of the Peaceful Resistance of Mataquescuintla were at one of the two encampments set up on either side of the Escobal mine, owned by [...]
23 de julio 2019 Escalada de tensiones, amenazas y difamación en contra de la resistencia pacífica a la minería en Mataquescuintla, Guatemala La noche de viernes 5 de julio, integrantes de la Resistencia Pacífica de Mataquescuintla estaban de turno en uno de los dos plantones pacíficos en los dos [...]
Rubén Herrera, Coordinador General de la ADH, entrega el Memorial de Zacaleu a los representantes del gobernador de Huehuetenango el 11 de julio, 2019. El 11 de julio, 2019, comunidades de Huehuetenango manifestaron en contra de la presencia de militares estadounidenses en sus territorios. Ni una [...]
Dear Friends and Family, As I reflect on the past year since joining Network in Solidarity with the People of Guatemala (NISGUA) and officially finishing my first period in Guatemala Accompaniment Program, I hold my deepest gratitude to you all who have supported my journey in this accompaniment work. [...]
As Guatemala held its general elections on June 16, the justice system made an important arrest. They captured retired general Luis Enrique Mendoza in Baja Verapaz, as he went to cast his ballot. Mendoza had been on the run for nearly eight years. Mendoza served as Chief of Operations [...]
Current NISGUA accompanier Olivia Pandolfi (they/them or she/her) created this zine about community consultations as a Friends and Family Letter to their community. To read the zine as a PDF, click here. To download the zine, cut it up, and fold it into your own mini [...]
In 1999, the UN-sponsored Commission for Historical Clarification presented its report, Guatemala: Memory of Silence, which documented the crimes the Guatemalan state had committed against its own people during the Internal Armed Conflict. Each year, communities around Guatemala remember what they survived and those they lost on the National [...]
News recap: Organizations demand justice in wake of assassinations and ongoing violence in Ixquisis, TAKE ACTION to stand with communities working to protect community consultations, NISGUA Speaking Tour shares lessons from successful organizing in Chixoy-Copón Rivers Watershed, KCA sues Guatemalan State in international court, survivors of sexual violence in Military Zone [...]
Jimmy Morales holds a press conference to announce unilateral cancellation of CICIG agreement. Photo credit: Moises Castillo/Associated Press The Jimmy Morales administration has brought Guatemala to a technical coup, as it ramps up its attack against the International Commission Against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG), in [...]
Jakelin Ameí Rosmery Caal Maquin died on December 6 of septic shock, fever, and dehydration while in US Border Patrol custody. Artist credit: Ruben Guadalupe Marquez Like many of you, we have spent this week reeling with pain from the murder of seven-year-old Jakelin Ameí Rosmery [...]
On International Human Rights Day, we recognize that the language of human rights has not always served to advance social justice. In many cases, it has functioned as a smoke screen for imperial institutions to validate or obscure their violence. The U.S. government used the rhetoric of human rights [...]
En este boletín el equipo de ACOGUATE subraya varios desarrollos en casos jurídicos de alto perfil, incluyendo el caso por genocidio, el caso de Las Dos Erres y el caso de la Mina San Rafael. También explica unos puntos en la coyuntura de Quiché y Ixquisis. ¡Haz clic en [...]
En este boletín el equipo de ACOGUATE hace un análisis histórico del caso Las Dos Erres y da actualizaciones sobre un caso por violencia sexual, el estatus de defensorxs criminalizadxs en Huehuetenango y la lucha del pueblo Ch’orti’ de Morola. ¡Haz clic en la foto abajo para leer más! [...]
En este boletín el equipo de ACOGUATE da actualizaciones sobre las luchas de la resistencia pacífica en Ixquisis, FAMDEGUA y CONAVIGUA. También cuenta sobre la visita de la relatora especial de las Naciones Unidas sobre los Derechos de los Pueblos Indígenas en Guatemala. ¡Haz clic en la foto abajo [...]
In the midst of the ongoing genocide retrial of José Efraín Ríos Montt and José Mauricio Rodriguez Sánchez, the Association for Justice and Reconciliation (AJR), the Center for Human Rights Legal Action (CALDH), and the Human Rights Law Firm (BDH) published a press release in the Guatemalan newspaper, El Periódico, to mark [...]
Peaceful Resistance of Santa Rosa, Jalapa and Jutiapa member from Santa Rosa de Lima speaks to the press during a conference held at their second permanent resistance camp in front of the Guatemalan Constitutional Court on November 29. Community members from Santa Rosa, Jalapa and Jutiapa have been [...]
In her first letter from Guatemala, Claire Bransky provides a brief history of Guatemala and how its people have been affected by forces of racism, exploitation, and the US's imperialism. As a volunteer with NISGUA's Guatemala Accompaniment Project (GAP), Claire provides accompaniment through the international coalition ACOGUATE to Guatemalan [...]
NISGUA's Sponsoring Community partnerships provide the resources, energy and political action required to ensure ongoing international accompaniment in Guatemala. Their long-term commitment to human rights and solidarity is an essential component of the longevity and sustainability of the Guatemala Accompaniment Project (GAP). The Needham Congregational Church/Guatemala Partnership is one of [...]
Foto: Nómada El siguiente artículo fue escrito por Zia Kandler y publicado en inglés en la revista electrónica, Upside Down World. Fue traducida a español por la autora y publicado aquí con permiso de la autora y Upside Down World. Zia Kandler era testigo presencial de este conflicto durante 10 [...]
NISGUA partnered with Jalapa-based youth organization, Youth Organized in Defense of Life (JODVID), for a 16-day U.S. speaking tour, “Guatemalan Youth in Defense of Land and Life.” Together we helped raise awareness about the community and youth forces that have organized in resistance to Tahoe Resources' Escobal silver mine in southeastern [...]
Members of the Peaceful Resistance Camp in Casillas have created a second camp in front of the Guatemalan Constitutional Court. They arrived one week ago and will remain until court justices make a decision on the permanent closure of Tahoe Resources' Escobal mine. The Peaceful [...]
[En español aquí] A week ahead of the launch of our 2017 speaking tour, “Guatemalan Youth in Defense of Land and Life,” NISGUA sat down with the invited organization to learn more about the young activists who form part of the environmental justice organization, JODVID – Youth Organized Youth in [...]
[English here] Con solo una semana hasta el inicio de la gira de charlas de 2017, “La juventud guatemalteca en defensa del territorio y de la vida”, NISGUA entrevistó a la organización invitada para conocer a las y los jóvenes activistas quienes forman parte de la organización guatemalteca de justicia ambiental, JODVID [...]
Guatemala plunged into a political crisis this month as President Jimmy Morales attempted to circumvent a criminal investigation into his campaign finances by declaring the head of the UN-sponsored Commision (CICIG) persona non grata, a decision that sparked widespread public outcry. A second wave of outrage followed over legislation [...]
One of the pillars of international human rights accompaniment is the backing of a strong and active international network that commits to ongoing education of the international community about the human rights context of those we accompany, monitors the specific situations of those human rights defenders, and is ready [...]
CALAS and the Xinca Parliament announce the suspension of Tahoe Resources' mining license on Wednesday morning. Photo: Prensa Libre (Ottawa/Guatemala City) On Tuesday, the Civil and Mercantile Division of Guatemala’s First Court of Appeals notified the Centre for Environmental and Social Legal Action (CALAS) that it is upholding an [...]
Since the May 2 declaration of a state of siege in four municipalities surrounding Tahoe Resources' mine, 12 members of the Committee in Defense of Life and Peace of San Rafael had their homes raided by police and military forces, five community members have been arrested and charged, and [...]
While we await the next steps of the genocide trial, we are honored to provide an accessible archive of the daily coverage we provided from day 1 of the trial. Please read and share this historic collection. Genocide on Trial, Day 1: Ixil witnesses speak Genocide on Trial, Day [...]
On Friday June 7, Alberto Rotondo, former security manager for Tahoe Resources, was summoned to appear for the second time in a Guatemalan court. During the first hearing on May 7, Rotondo was charged with assault and obstruction of justice in connection to the April 27 attack outside Tahoe's [...]
Guatemalan civil society reacted to the May 20 annulment of the genocide trial verdict through public actions, marches and vigils overwhelmingly rejecting the decision. On May 24, an impromptu march that some activists reported to be the largest in recent history organized in the name of memory in Guatemala. [...]