18 March 2018
The recent death of former dictator Efraín Ríos Montt reveals the slowness of the Guatemalan judicial system. International organisations are deeply concerned about this slowness and negligence of the Guatemalan justice system to investigate, prosecute and punish those responsible for the serious crimes committed during the internal armed conflict (1960-1996). It is important to remember that the State has the obligation to guarantee victims of serious violations of human rights the access to prompt, impartial and effective justice, as established by international standards.
13 October 2017
On October 13, 2017, the hearings of genocide retrial began in Guatemala, after more than four years of legal setbacks. The Ríos Montt’s trial takes place behind closed doors due to his senile dementia and the Rodríguez Sánchez trial, the former head of intelligence, takes place publically. So far, eight hearings have been held, one per week. Here we share a brief informative note on the most difficult trial in the history of Guatemala in English and Spanish.
29 September 2017
On 29 September 2017, Impunity Watch Guatemala presented its report “Monitoring of the United Nations Resolution 1325 (2000): Guatemala’s situation” to women and human rights organizations that have promoted the implementation of this resolution.
8 September 2017
In commemoration of the women’s citizenship day, celebrated on September 8th, the Alliance of Women and Indigenous Women, of which Impunity Watch Guatemala is a member, presented the Forum “Women Magistrates and judges contributing to the good governance of the Country.”
18 August 2017
With this letter to the Secretary General; the International NGO Forum in Guatemala (FONGI), the International Platform against Impunity, International Solidarity Networks Act Alliance, CIFCA, CIDSE and Grupo Sur support the extension of the mandate of Ivan Velásquez as commissioner of the CICIG.
18 August 2017
In a joint letter to the Secretary-General of the United Nations, civil society organisations in Guatemala express their profound concern that the President of Guatemala is planning to meet the UN Secretary General to question the work of the International Commission Against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG) and to ask for removal of Commissioner Iván Velásquez as Head of the CICIG.
18 June 2017
The report “Changing the face of justice, the keys to the strategic litigation of the Sepur Zarco case”, rescues the bravery of the Mayan q’eqchi’ women and the historic value of the Sepur Zarco trial. It examines the main strategies implemented in this case that was able to demonstrate how the Guatemalan state used violence and sexual slavery as a weapon of war.
18 May 2017
International organisations call upon the Supreme Court of Guatemala to remove the immunity of Congressman Edgar Ovalle, a former military officer involved in torture, illegal detention and killings in the Military Zone of Cobán in the 1980s. In 2012, more than 550 bones of indigenous people, including women and children, were found in the Military Zone of Cobán. This is one of the largest cases of forced disappearances in Latin America. For over a year, the Public Prosecutor’s Office has asked the Supreme Court to remove the immunity of Edgar Ovalle but the Supreme Court remains unresolved. This situation violates the right of the victims of the Creompaz case to justice.
18 May 2017
Our office in Guatemala has launched a new website to monitor the independence of the judiciary. The Observatory of Judicial Independence is a tool to monitor and analyse permanently the internal and external factors that threaten judicial independence, as a guarantee of due process in Guatemala.
