As newly-elected Guatemalan president Jimmy Morales prepares to start his four-year term, the ghosts of the Central American country’s past violence are re-emerging in a dramatic way as, earlier this month, Guatemala’s Public Prosecutor’s Office arrested 18 high-ranking retired military… Read More ›
Guatemala
Guatemalan ex-military officials arrested in connection with crimes against humanity
Guatemalan authorities have arrested 18 former military officials accused of committing human rights abuses during the country’s 36-year civil war. Charged in connection with forced disappearances and massacres, the men have this week been taken into custody. Among those arrested… Read More ›
NGOs condemn Canadian ruling that mining case be heard in Guatemala
Canadian and U.S. organisations condemn judge’s ruling that a lawsuit against Vancouver-based mining company Tahoe Resources must be heard in Guatemala, not Canada. Six plaintiffs allege that security personnel attacked protesters in 2013 with rubber bullets at the Tahoe Resources-owned… Read More ›
New report on the right to food and human rights defenders in Guatemala
A coalition six of international organisations have published a new report on the Right to Adequate Food (RtAR) and the situation of human rights defenders in Guatemala. The report, published in October, followed a third international mission to Guatemala, carried… Read More ›
UN Report on Central American Women’s Plight to Flee Violence
A new UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) report, Women on the Run, reveals why women are fleeing violence in Central America and Mexico and the obstacles they in face in their journey to be safe. Based upon in-depth interviews with 160… Read More ›
Beyond Good Business: mining, women and human rights
On October 26, the Latin American Mining Monitoring Programme (LAMMP), a London-based NGO, hosted the Beyond Good Business conference aimed at advocating women’s rights in the context of natural resource extraction. The all-day event brought together an array of global… Read More ›
Guatemala: new president’s first few weeks in power
Last month, on October 25, Jimmy Morales won the Guatemalan presidential elections in a landslide victory. The new president, whose slogan was “not corrupt, not a thief”, strategically campaigned on an anti-corruption platform, earning himself 67.4% of the votes. Morales’… Read More ›
Struggle for food as drought hits Guatemala
The BBC has reported on the struggle for food in eastern Guatemala as severe drought impacts thousands of farmers. In an area known as the Dry Corridor, the drought has turned fertile fields barren with many crops failing to grow…. Read More ›
Lynchings and injustice in Guatemala
Last month, on October 10, residents of Concepcion, Solola province, lynched to death a mayor accused of orchestrating a violent attack against his political opponent which left two teenage girls dead. Angry residents beat and set light to Bacilio Juracan,… Read More ›
El Quetzal – Winter 2014-15
Guatemala Human Rights Commission’s (GHRC) Winter 2014-2015 issue of El Quetzal highlights continued challenges regarding the defence of land rights and provides updates from a slew of important human rights cases. The issue also includes a report from their autumn… Read More ›
Guatemala Solidarity Network 