Amnesty International communicated that the UN Working Group on Business and Human Rights visited Guatemala between 18 and 28 August 2026 and published their statement on their findings from that visit. Highlights included:
Indigenous rights: The Working Group noted that consultations with indigenous peoples on matters relating to business and industrial operations are rarely carried out before granting business licenses and permits, which has created conflict and undermined trust. The Group had received reports about evictions of Indigenous communities and the illegal participation of private security in the destruction of homes and crops.
Human rights defenders: The Working Group noted repeated accusations of the criminalisation of human rights defenders, including members of Indigenous communities, NGOs, lawyers and journalists. Human rights defenders have faced charges such as terrorism, illegal association, and attacks against private property among other things. They have also been victims of stigmatisation, smear campaigns in legacy and social media, intimidation, physical attacks and murder on multiple occasions – often perpetrated by armed actors, including private security companies. Other defenders have been forced to flee Guatemala while the police have allegedly failed to take sufficient measures to provide protection.
Environmental and natural resources: The Working Group documented multiple cases of serious human rights impacts affecting local communities and their access to a clean and healthy environment. This concerns limited water flows associated with mining, hydroelectric projects and intensive monoculture farming; the expansion of industrial operations into protected areas; the extensive deployment of pesticides and other chemicals causing water pollution and land contamination, which in turn affects physical and mental health. These have impacted food security and livelihoods, causing malnutrition in children and causing significant risk to children. Over 90% of Guatemala’s water sources are contaminated, due to a lack of a legal framework governing water quality and pollution control.
Labour rights: The Working Group also garnered first-hand accounts of violations of labour rights in agriculture, particularly in plantations of palm oil, banana, plantain and sugar cane, as well as the mining sector. These accounts also mentioned workplace injuries and fatalities resulting from failures to comply with basic occupational health and safety standards. There are reports of repeated failures to provide proper protective equipment; excessively long working hours with few (if any) breaks for minimum wage, with workers resorting to drinking mixtures of energy drinks and painkillers to endure such conditions. There have also been reports of child labour on agricultural plantations.
However, the UN Working Group welcomed the commitment of the Guatemalan Government to implement UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. The group noted a number of positive actions by the Government but said that these efforts in practice are currently being significantly constrained by structural issues, and that greater efforts are needed by the Guatemalan State to address these issues.
You can read the full End of Mission Statement, here, UN Working Group on Business and Human Rights visits Guatemala.
Categories: Accompaniment, Corruption, Criminalisation, Criminalization, Environment, Evictions, Guatemala, Human Rights, Impunity, Indigenous peoples, Justice, Migration, Military, Report, Resource Extraction, Solidarity in Action, Solidarity in Action/Guatemala, Violence
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