The Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA) was a signatory, among many others, of a Joint Statement demanding due process at the review of journalist Jose Rubén Zamora’s detention. 19 international civil society organisations demand due process at the review… Read More ›
Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA)
Guatemala: Renewed Attacks Against Democracy
The Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA) and Human Rights Watch (HRW) issued a joint statement in relation to the ongoing abuse of the law by the government to silence critics and anti-corruption activists. Guatemala’s Attorney General’s Office, Congress, and… Read More ›
Claudia González – demands for her freedom
This from the website of Guatemala Human Rights Commission (GHRC) in response to the arrest of lawyer, Claudia González. On August 28, at the behest of Attorney General Consuelo Porras and on the order of Judge Jimi Bremer, police arrested… Read More ›
Five Things to Know About the Guatemalan Elections
Shortly after the results of the presidential election election in Guatemala became known and attempts had already started to discredit and ban the Semilla Party from the second round run-off, the Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA) published a piece… Read More ›
The Distortion of Justice in Guatemala
A sham trial against a former anti-corruption prosecutor gets underway, while a judge gives an alleged war criminal a “get out of jail free” card. Jo-Marie Burt and Paulo Estrada write in WOLA about justice in Guatemala today. While a… Read More ›
Special Reports: Guatemala’s Downward Spiral
The Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA), the Latin America Working Group Education Fund, the Guatemala Human Rights Commission/USA (GHRC), and the Due Process of Law Foundation (DPLf) have, together, presented three reports into the challenges being faced by human… Read More ›
‘The Indigenous Women of Guatemala had the Courage to Break the Silence’
Josefina Salomón and Sergio Ortiz Borbolla spoke with Dr. Jo-Marie Burt, a Senior Fellow at WOLA, about the historic importance of two gender violence trials, that of the Maya Q’eqchi’ women of Sepur Zarco, and of the Maya Achi women… Read More ›
Inter-American Court of Human Rights orders urgent measures to protect victims and the judge in the Military Diary case
Jo-Marie Burt writes in WOLA about a resolution of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACHR) ordering the State of Guatemala to protect Miguel Ángel Gálvez, the pretrial judge in the Diario Militar (Death Squad Dossier) case, and to guarantee… Read More ›
Guatemala’s Attorney General Elections: Judicial Independence and Democracy at a Crossroads
Ana María Méndez Dardón and Julia Aikman Cifuentes write in WOLA on the challenges facing an independent judiciary and the consequences for Guatemala’s commitment to fighting impunity when these are essential components of a democratic state. The persecution of independent… 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 ›