As I write these lines, I can’t help but think that just a year ago, on March 15, 2020, the first COVID-19 death was reported in Guatemala. On March 17, the state closed the borders and imposed a stage of siege. One month later, on April 23, I closed [...]
Since Giammattei announced a series of decrees closing several institutions created to comply with the Peace Accords signed by the Guatemalan State in 1996, we have been echoing the demands of our Guatemalan partners and uplifting their actions and statements. We also express our concerns on this grave setback [...]
"What is the institutional framework of peace in Guatemala? They are institutions that ensure that the State respects the Peace Accords and provides dignified reparation to the people who suffered crimes against humanity committed by the Guatemalan State through its repressive apparatus during the Internal Armed Conflict. The current [...]
Members of the Platform of Victims and Survivors of the Internal Armed Conflict outside the Constitutional Court of Guatemala. Photo credit: Courtesy of AJR On October 5, the National Platform of Victims of the Internal Armed Conflict and Guatemalan social organizations expressed their rejection of President Giammattei’s [...]
June 21 is the National Day Against Forced Disappearance in Guatemala, marking the anniversary of the collective forced disappearance of 27 unionists from the National Workers Union (Central Nacional de Trabajadores). We share the statement of the survivors of the Internal Armed Conflict and echo their demands. Photo Credit: [...]
In the midst of an unprecedent health, economic and social crisis caused by COVID19, the Guatemalan government is betting on closing SEPAZ, one of the few institutions that ensures the monitoring and compliance with the Peace Agreements. In this critical context, we stand in solidarity with the victims of [...]
Survivors of the Internal Armed Conflict at their Press Conference. Photo Credit: Impunity Watch Statement on International Human Rights Day The Victims and Survivors of the Internal Armed Conflict, convened in National Assembly, declare before national and international public opinion that: 1. We publicly condemn the [...]
This morning, survivors of the internal armed conflict held a press conference to denounce remilitarization under President Jimmy Morales' government and call for the renewal of the mandate for the International Commission Against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG). Since Jimmy Morales, surrounded by soldiers, held a press conference on August [...]
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 [...]