Within the framework of this thematic approach, PBI prioritizes accompaniment to the following social processes: recovery of historical memory, the search for justice, reparation and dignification of the victims of the internal armed conflict and the fight against all forms of repression suffered by human rights defenders.
Despite the great achievements of transnational justice in recent years (Genocide Ixil case, Sepur Zarco case, Molina Theissen case etc.), there is still a long way to go to achieve justice, dignity and reparation as well as guarantees of non-repetition for crimes during the internal armed conflict (1960-1996).
In this context we accompany the Human Rights Law Firm (BDH) and the Chicoyogüito Neighborhood Association of Alta Verapaz (AVECHAV).
For some years now, walking through the streets of the historic center of Guatemala City, we are astonished by the hundreds of photographs that paper some of its walls. They are the faces of people who disappeared during Guatemala’s Internal Armed Conflict (IAC), lasting over three decades, and ending with the signing of the Peace Accords in December 1996.
Guatemala City, Guatemala.
The coronavirus pandemic in Guatemala has resulted in addition to the evident impact on an already precarious health system, the mobilization of vast economic resources by the State at different levels. This is partly due to new loans obtained by the government. Such aid is becoming increasingly necessary for large sectors of the population who are facing serious economic difficulties as a result of the pandemic and the measures taken by the Government in response to it.
Patzicía, department of Chimaltenango.
The Association of Neighbors Against Corruption in Patzicía (AVCCP) is an organization that works to combat institutional corruption in the Patzicía region.
During the last week of May, the worrying situation at the Historical Archive of the National Police (AHPN) came to the fore once more. In the month of July of 2018, Gustavo Meoño, director of the archive since 2005 was dismissed without notice or explanations. Since the beginning of 2019, staff have been gradually, but continually, dismissed. Today only 35 people are left working at the Archive, when at its peak the Archive had a team of 200 workers.
It is worth noting the progress achieved in the first semester of 2022 in the trials of high-impact cases of crimes committed during the Internal Armed Conflict. According to Guatemalan and international institutions, these advances, as well as those achieved in recent years, are at the root of the attacks on justice operators mentioned above:
Every July 28, the neighbors of the Chicoyogüito community conmemorate the violent eviction they were victims of in 1968; and demonstrate to reclaim their land. Learn about their struggle:
Cobán, Departament of Alta Verapaz
Legal cases in different areas of the country.
The struggle for justice and against impunity. Edgar Pérez and the BDH - founded by him in 2010 - provide pro-bono legal representation to victim organizations in judicial proceedings for human rights violations committed during the internal armed conflict and other human rights violations that past and present.
