Feb 16, 2018 | News
The ICJ strongly condemns the attack against the Deputy Prosecutor for Human Rights, Sonia Elizabeth Montes Valenzuela, carried out on 15 February by unknown gunmen in the central Zone 1 of Guatemala City.
Sonia Montes was on her way to work at the Public Prosecutors Office when two gunmen on motorbikes drove past and fired six bullets into the car.
Fortunately both Sonia Montes and her driver, Néstor Valdes Antonio, were unharmed.
“This is a vile attack against the justice system in Guatemala and the whole human rights movement in the country. These types of attacks seek to destabilize democracy and the rule of law,” Ramón Cadena, the ICJ Director stated.
“We call on President Jimmy Morales to carry out a full and impartial investigation in order to identify the material and moral authors of these acts,” he added.
The ICJ also expresses its solidarity with the families of the victims of the attack and with the Attorney General, Thelma Aldana, and the Commissioner of the International Commission against Impunity (CICIG), Iván Velásquez.
The Public Prosecutors’ Office and the CICIG are working tirelessly to investigate crimes and to end impunity and corruption in Guatemala.
Dec 18, 2017 | Multimedia items, News, Video clips
Leaders of indigenous communities in Guatemala, seeking to protect their lands and natural resources from the negative impacts of business operations and infrastructure projects, have been charged with alleged criminal offences and in some instances arbitrarily detained.
This response is designed to silence voices of protest and legitimate demands for free, prior and informed consent for infrastructure or other projects in indigenous communities.
The video includes interviews with Ramón Cadena, ICJ Director for Central America, two indigenous traditional leaders, who have been the victims of arbitrary detention, and a women community leader, explaining the impact of the detention on the family and the whole community.
The criminalization of human rights work is a phenomenon whereby community leaders are charged with different criminal activities because of their opposition to a development model based on extractive industries or the privatization of essential social services.
This development model affects the natural resources (water, land and the environment) on indigenous peoples’ territories.
This is a global phenomenon and is particularly acute in Guatemala.
The exploitation of natural resources, such as open-cast mining and the operations of extractive industries in the territories of indigenous peoples, is one of the main reasons which are behind the crackdown on social protest and human rights work.
The different communities that have been affected seek to defend their territories and oppose the different forms of exploitation of the natural resources found on their territories or in the surrounding areas because it can affect the water supply, the land and the environment.
A number of leaders have been killed because of their opposition to these projects.
Some family members of those killed have in turn taken on the task of opposing these projects and they have also been charged with criminal offences.
In Guatemala, there is also an intense social conflict because of the way in which electricity services are delivered.
As a result of the privatization of the service in 1996, the Guatemalan State has granted concessions to national and international companies to provide electricity services.
Over the years, many users have complained about the poor quality and high cost of the services that these private companies provide.
The National Electricity Commission has failed to respect its legal duty to “ensure that the obligations of the concessionaries and contractors are fulfilled and to protect the rights of users,” which many discontented users have demanded.
The social protests concern the three different phases of electricity production: the generation of electricity, involving the construction of hydroelectric dams by multinational companies that impact on indigenous peoples’ territories, the electricity transmission grids, and the electricity services.
Because of this situation, many electricity users have declared that they are in resistance, citing article 45 of the Guatemalan Constitution that states: “It is legitimate for the people to resist in order to protect and defend the rights and guarantees enshrined in the Constitution.”
Acting on this Constitutional protection has led to human rights attacks on many community leaders, lawyers and human rights defenders.
The ICJ supports access to justice for persons who are victims of these human rights violations.
The ICJ supports lawyers who defend these victims of the criminalization of social protest; it carries our trial observations in significant cases; it promotes dialogue between the communities and the relevant State authorities as well as the local Mayors; and in some cases, it supports submissions before the Constitutional Court.
Dec 5, 2017 | News
Guatemalan indigenous and peasant communities are finally finding a measure of justice and recovering lands and territories that had previously been seized by authorities or private economic actors, including during the internal armed conflict that took place from 1960 to 1996.
The ICJ learned of these encouraging developments at a workshop it held jointly with the UN Office of the High Commissioner on Human Rights (OHCHR) at an International Workshop on strategic litigation in the defense of land and territory, in Guatemala City, between 9 and 10 November.
One of the successful stories, told by Don Pedro Herrera, a community leader from Tzalbal community, municipality of Nebaj, Department of Quiché (Northern Guatemala), concerns a favourable decision by a first instance judge in Nebaj, in August 2016, ordering the restitution of some 1485 hectares (33 caballerias in the old measurement system still in use in Central America) to the Tzalbal communities.
The decision is under appeal before Guatemala’s Constitutional Court, but the Workshop heard that it had already boosted morale and hope among members of local communities on prospects for restitution for violations of their land rights.
The 33 caballerias had been segregated from the rest of municipal and community land in around 1984, in the midst of the Guatemalan civil war and as part of the counter-insurgency plans drawn by the military rulers purportedly to create loyal villages in the frontline to combat insurgency.
Most members of the community at the time had fled their homes, fearing for their lives that were threatened by both the armed insurgency and State military forces.
The de facto local authorities were coerced into signing documents agreeing to the separation of the land, but much of the population had remained unconcerned with the operation.
However, in 2011 FONTIERRAS, the government land authority, revealed to the community that their land had in fact been registered as State property following the forced separation in 1984.
Since then, Tzalbal communities started to take concerted action to recover the lands that they considered to be lawfully theirs and were the places where they maintained their homes and livelihood.
Tzalbal communities have some 70 families with some 500 people of all ages. When they learned that the land they traditionally possessed was “legally” the property of the State of Guatemala, they approached the ICJ- to provide legal assistance.
An Amparo constitutional writ was filed on behalf of the Tzalbal communities requesting the court to protect the rights of property and due process under the Guatemalan Constitution and declare the entry of land property in favour of the State in the land register invalid.
In August 2016, the first instance judge ruled in favour of the communities and ordered the register to amend the entry into the land registry. However, the State representatives have appealed against the ruling and a public hearing on the case took place the first week of November 2017. A final decision on the case by the Constitutional Court is now awaited.
Land, territory and resources are crucial assets for the survival and well being of indigenous and other local communities in Guatemala and other countries. For indigenous peoples, there is also an inherent and special relationship with land and territory which many times acquires religious and cultural significance. At the Workshop on Strategic Litigation, several other groups explained how they carry on their fight for justice and in defense of their land and territory.
Several of those groups recognized the instrumental assistance from the Guatemala office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, which through its Maya Programme provides advice and support to local communities in their defense of land and territory.
One case under discussion, still underway, concerns the legal challenge to the Environmental Impact Assessment carried out by the Island Oil Company pursuant an oil exploration and exploitation contract with the government involving five municipalities of El Petén department. El Petén is the location of the largest biosphere reserve in Guatemala, where, curiously, human settlements are not allowed but some oil companies are authorized to carry out operations.
The legal battle has been led by Qeqchi, Mopan and Itza peoples and supported by the Maya Programme. An administrative remedy known as opposition was filed before MARN, the national authority for the preservation of the environment, alleging the violation of rights such as lack of consultation and consent from local communities. The administrative authority ruled in favour of the plaintiffs and ordered the exploration to stop until regulatory requirements are fully complied with.
Over time, the work of the ICJ and other groups, taken in coordination with the UN human rights office in Guatemala, has begun to show results.
More and more communities are taking concrete steps to legally challenge the actions or laws that cause or perpetuate their dispossession of their traditional land and territory.
Sep 25, 2017 | News
Guatemala’s Congress should immediately remove obstacles to investigation and accountability of President Jimmy Morales (photo) and other public officials for alleged violations of campaign finance rules and corruption, the ICJ said today.
The ICJ also called on President Morales to cease efforts to impede the effective functioning of the United Nations mandated International Commission against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG).
“Guatemala’s president and some members of Congress are obstructing justice by abusing their authority to avoid investigations for corruption and block the important work carried out by the Attorney General, with CICIG’s assistance,” said Sam Zarifi, ICJ’s Secretary General, just returned from a visit to the country.
“Guatemala, with CICIG’s assistance, has witnessed important progress in the fight against corruption and impunity in recent years, and Congress should be making sure that this trend continues,” he added.
The Congress voted on September 21 to reject the request by Attorney General Thelma Aldana and Ivan Velasquez, Commissioner of CICIG, to strip President Morales of Constitutional immunity he enjoys as president, in connection to allegations that his political party failed to report more than $800,000 in campaign financing.
But the Congressional vote fell short of the threshold of 105 votes needed to reach the necessary two-thirds of Congress needed to reach a final decision and thus can be reconsidered.
On September 13, Congress voted to revise the country’s criminal code by removing Secretary Generals of political parties from accountability for violations of electoral laws (instead limiting accountability to accountants) and to commute the sentences of those already convicted of a number of serious crimes, including corruption, trafficking of persons, and sexual abuse.
The legislators rescinded the vote after two days of nationwide public demonstrations and a decision of the country’s Constitutional Court to suspend the law’s application.
The Guatemalan Constitutional Court suspended the revisions in response to a writ of amparo and characterized Congress’ revisions to the criminal code as “a threat that, in case of being implemented, could cause irreparable damage to the judicial system”.
“The Constitutional Court’s speedy action avoided a massive blow to the fight for accountability in Guatemala, because if the law had gone into effect for even one hour, it would have provided a legal basis for politicians convicted on corruption charges to demand release or commutation of their sentences,” Zarifi said.
Congress’s actions followed an attempt by President Morales to expel CICIG’s Commissioner Velasquez, as persona non grata and to revise CICIG’s mandate, in an apparent bid to block investigations into his alleged wrongdoing.
“Since CICIG was formed in December 2006 at the request of the Guatemalan government, it has worked closely with the country’s Attorney General to improve accountability, and its impact has been undeniably positive,” Zarifi said.
“This is a model of international support for national accountability mechanisms that should be studied and emulated around the world; its continued operation is therefore of interest not just to Guatemala and the region but to global efforts to combat impunity,” he added.
The ICJ called on the Guatemalan government to comply with its international legal obligations as a State party to the 2004 United Nations Convention Against Corruption and the 1996 Inter-American Convention Against Corruption.
Background
Article 30(2) of the UN Convention Against Corruption calls on State Party to strike “an appropriate balance between any immunities or jurisdictional privileges accorded to its public officials for the performance of their functions and the possibility, when necessary, of effectively investigating, prosecuting and adjudicating offences established in accordance with this Convention.”
Article 30(3) demands States “to ensure that any discretionary legal powers under its domestic law relating to the prosecution of persons for offences established in accordance with this Convention are exercised to maximize the effectiveness of law enforcement measures in respect of those offences and with due regard to the need to deter the commission of such offences.”
Contact:
Sam Zarifi, ICJ Secretary General, t: +41 79 726 44 15 ; e: sam.zarifi@icj.org
Jun 5, 2017 | News
La CIJ espresa su más honda preocupación por los desalojos forzosos de las comunidasdes de Laguna Larga y la Mestiza, del Departamento de El Petén.
El pasado viernes 2 de junio, el Gobierno de Guatemala llevó a cabo un operativo militar en el Departamento de El Petén de desalojo forzoso de la comunidad Laguna Larga, situada en Laguna del Tigre en el municipio de San Andres, y tiene programado llevar a cabo otro de la comunidad La Mestiza, del mismo municipio, para el 14 de junio.
Como consecuencia de este operativo militar, la comunidad de Laguna Larga – alrededor de 600 o 700 personas, incluidos niños, mujeres y ancianos- decidió desplazarse en condiciones deplorables hacia territorio mexicano, en búsqueda de refugio y protección.
El sábado 3 de junio los miembros de la comunidad de Laguna Larga cruzaron la frontera y se encuentran actualmente en el municipio de La Candelaria, Campeche, México, en condiciones sumamente adversas. Varios niños y niñas muestran signos de enfermedades respiratorias.
Preocupa particularmente a la CIJ la situación física y mental de un niño que fuera perseguido por las fuerzas militares, durante el operativo de desalojo.
En repetidas ocasiones, la CIJ ha expresado que las comunidades que viven en los municipios de San Andrés y La Libertad en el departamento de El Petén, siguen enfrentando la exclusión sistemática por parte de las instituciones del Estado, así como violaciones graves a los derechos humanos, en particular violaciones a los derechos económicos, sociales y culturales.
Por el hecho de vivir en una zona protegida de conformidad con la Ley de Áreas Protegidas, el Estado guatemalteco considera a estas poblaciones como “ilegales” y las acusa de cometer el delito de “usurpación” de áreas protegidas, prohibiendo el ingreso de materiales de construcción, herramientas o cualquier bien que pueda garantizar o significar la más mínima “permanencia” en dichas comunidades o en la zona.
Recientemente fue detenido arbitrariamente el señor Jovel Tovar, acusado del delito de usurpación de áreas protegidas, quien se encuentra detenido en la cárcel de San Benito, en el Departamento de El Petén.
Paradójicamente, el Estado guatemalteco permite y facilita la explotación petrolera en dicha zona, de la compañía PERENCO, a pesar de que los derrames petroleros y otras actividades relacionadas con esa actividad, producen un serio deterioro a las reservas de agua dulce, las cuales son las más importantes de Mesoamérica.
La CIJ considera que esta política afecta seriamente los derechos de la población asentada en la zona.
En repetidas ocasiones, la CIJ ha podido observar que el Ejército de Guatemala, conjuntamente con la Comisión Nacional de Áreas Protegidas (CONAP), implementa operativos por medio de los cuales se lleva a cabo un acoso permanente a las comunidades que viven en las zonas protegidas.
La presencia del Ejército de Guatemala en la zona y la existencia de diferentes “retenes” militares son parte de la estrategia de acoso permanente a las poblaciones asentadas en la región, las cuales llegaron allí en el marco de un programa estatal en los años setenta, antes de la declaración de zona protegida.
Según la Constitución Política de la República de Guatemala, el Estado se organiza para proteger a la persona y no para perseguirla.
El acoso permanente a las comunidades, así como las políticas de Estado contra las personas que viven en las zonas protegidas, estableciendo “cercos de presión psicológica, material y militar”, constituye una política de Estado que contradice la Constitución Política de Guatemala, así como convenios y tratados en materia de derechos humanos – especialmente el Pacto Internacional de Derechos Económicos, Sociales y Culturales (PIDESC) de las Naciones Unidas-, que imponen la obligación al Estado de garantizar los derechos económicos, sociales y culturales y que toda persona disfrute del más alto nivel posible de salud física y mental.
Ramón Cadena, Director de la CIJ para Centro América expresó: “Esta política del Estado de Guatemala de desalojar a las comunidades de cualquier región del país en forma violenta, contraviene el Derecho Internacional de los Derechos Humanos y los estándares internacionales y el Estado de Guatemala debe ser declarado responsable y reparar los daños y perjuicios causados.”
Para mayor información:
Ramón Cadena, director CIJ C.A. al correo ramon.cadena(a)icj.org o a los telefonos +502 23601919; +502 23610538.
Leer más aqui:
Guatemala-Desalojo Peten-News-2017-SPA (en PDF)
