Jo-Marie Burt and Paulo Estrada write, in El Faro, on the recent verdicts in the Achí Women Case and what justice means for the surviving victims – perhaps justice but not closure. The piece describes disturbing examples of gendered violence… Read More ›
Indigenous peoples
10th anniversary of the Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights: challenges for their implementation in Guatemala
“The person who defends Mother Earth is unjustly accused and condemned, without evidence“ PBI-Guatemala recently published a feature on the challenges of implementing, in Guatemala, the Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, which were endorsed by the United Nations… Read More ›
The Origins of Racism in Guatemala — An Interview with Marta Elena Casaús Arzú on Anti-Indigenous Racism
Plaza Pública published an interview with Marta Elena Casaús Arzú in 2017 by Carlos Arrazola and the subsequent English translation was published in El Faro. It is a fascinating interview on race and racism in Guatemala. Marta Elena Casaús Arzú… Read More ›
Indigenous community takes Guatemalan land rights fight to international court
Sandra Cuffe write in Mongabay about a community in north east Guatemala, Agua Caliente Lote 9, which is taking a case, against the Guatemala State, to the Inter-American Court of Human Rights. The case relates to land rights and, if… Read More ›
Decades After Guatemala’s Silent Holocaust, These Indigenous Women Are Fighting to Bring Their Rapists to Justice
Eloise Barry writes in TIME on the fight for justice carried out by the Maya Achi women culminating in five ex-PAC members each being convicted and sentenced to 30 years. The pain endured over the years by the surviving women… Read More ›
25 Years After the Peace Accords, Democracy Weak in Guatemala
In Guatemala, safeguards against corruption, impunity, and state violence are being dismantled by the politicians, elites, and military and some fear the return of an authoritarian state. Giovanni Batz writes in NACLA on the 25th anniversary of the signing of… Read More ›
Hope amidst the darkness: Victims continue to press for justice for wartime atrocities in Guatemala
At the end of last year, Jo-Marie Burt and Paulo Estrada presented a commentary, in WOLA, on the challenges facing those seeking justice for crimes carried out during the internal armed conflict. Many successes have occurred but the state, including… Read More ›
Achí Women’s case ends in 30-year prison sentences
Quorum put out a short briefing on the Achí Women case, its background and why it’s important. Errors in translation are mine. The internal armed conflict savagely hit Guatemala for 36 years, especially women who, in many cases, were considered… Read More ›
Guatemala Sentences Former Fighters to 30 Years in Prison for Rape
Oscar Lopez and Jody García write, in the New York Times, about the Achi Women Case and the sentences handed down within the context of a corrupt judiciary and the likelihood of real justice being denied as time moves on…. Read More ›
Achi Women – Remedial Measures and UN Statement
Impunity Watch Guatemala presented the above infographic to outline the Remedial Measures awarded to the Maya Achi women in the case against five ex-PAC members, who were each sentenced to 30 years for crimes against humanity. Errors in translation are… Read More ›
Guatemala Solidarity Network 