Gloria Porras recently wrote an Opinion piece in Americas Quarterly on the challenges she has faced as a Magistrate in Guatemala’s Constitutional Court, and continues to face following the Guatemala Congress rejection of her election to the current bench. Anyone… Read More ›
Criminalisation
“Whether on the Court or Not, I Swore to Protect the Constitution”
“This is an affront to democracy, and each and every citizen of the country should be offended,” José Luis Sanz presents an interesting and timely interview with Magistrate Gloria Porras in El Faro English. As presented here, and elsewhere, the… Read More ›
Composition of New Guatemalan Constitutional Court
Peace Brigades International recently posted about the composition if the new Constitutional Court in Guatemala – here is a summary. On March 10, 2021, appointments to the Constitutional Court were complete. Five titular, or permanent, judges and five alternate judges… Read More ›
Lolita Chávez: ‘We have the right to live in a territory that for us is sacred’
Barbara Fraser presents, in EarthBeat, an interview with Lolita Chavez, who is to receive the annual Romero Human Rights Award, named for St. Óscar Romero. The award was established by the University of Dayton Ohio, in the United States, in… Read More ›
A Final Blow to Guatemala’s Justice System
It is crucial that in the coming years, new coalitions coalesce between businesses, civil society, Indigenous peoples, and international allies, to promote a democratization of the country. Otherwise, the only path forward will be the one that leads to authoritarianism…. Read More ›
Prosecutions Against Members of the Constitutional Court of Guatemala Should Stop
A recent post by the Clooney Foundation for Justice (CFJ) highlights the continuing struggle against impunity in Guatemala and calls on Guatemala to ensure that judges are permitted to decide cases free of any “pressures, threats or interference, direct or… Read More ›
Interview with wrongfully imprisoned Maya Q’eqchi river defender Bernardo Caal Xol
Peace Brigades International-Guatemala Project posted a video of its Acércate (‘come closer’) interview with Maya Q’eqchi river defender Bernardo Caal Xol in prison in Cobán, Alta Verapaz. Caal Xol is a leader of the Peaceful Resistance of Cahabón, a collective… Read More ›
World Water Day – It Is Time To Free Bernardo Caal Xol
Yesterday, 22nd March, was World Water Day, and we wanted to bring attention to the case of Bernardo Caal Xol, who has been unjustly detained for three years now. Since 2015, Bernardo Caal has defended the rights of the communities… Read More ›
Canada’s Diplomatic Support to Mining Under Scrutiny
In a series of tweets, Jackie McVicar has outlined the background to an important court case taking place in Canada regarding Canadian Government pressure on the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights regarding the Marlin Mine in Western Guatemala. Guate’s constitutional… Read More ›
David vs Goliath in Guatemala: how palm oil companies encroach on indigenous land
A community in northern Guatemala is fighting against the force of nature and against the expansion of palm oil. Jody García writes in Climate Tracker about a community that is increasingly trapped, literally, by the effects of climate change, on… Read More ›