Issues and Advocacy – Guatemala

For Action Alerts from the ELCA Washington Office, see link at:
http://www.elca.org/advocacy/issues/latinamerica

For news on Guatemala, see the Latin America Working Group link at:
http://www.lawg.org/countries/guatemala/intro.htm

VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN
Since 2001, more than 2,500 women have been brutally murdered in Guatemala. According to the National Civilian Police (PNC), 527 women were murdered in 2004, and the number climbed to 665 in 2005.

For more information, see: http://www.wola.org/central_america/guatemala/guate_countrypage.htm 

To take action, see: http://www.wola.org/central_america/guatemala/guatemala_urgent_action_house_resolution_nov_06.htm 

SERIOUS HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS CONTINUE
The resurgence of clandestine security groups and illegal bodies dates back to 1998 when human rights groups began to investigate atrocities committed against the country’s indigenous population during the early 1980’s. The Ombudsman for Human Rights and international groups called for a commission to be named to investigate the rising tide of violence and intimidation against human rights workers. Under pressure from the Ombudsman for Human Rights and international human rights organizations, a special commission was established on March 13, 2003 to investigate the rising tide of violence by clandestine security forces.

For information about these human rights violations, see the GHRC-USA link at:
http://www.ghrc-usa.org

To take action, see:
http://web.amnesty.org/library/eng-gtm/index

CANADIAN MINING FIRM FORCES COMMUNITIES TO BE EVICTED FROM THEIR LANDS
On January 8th and 9th 2007, hundreds of police and soldiers in Guatemala forcibly evicted the inhabitants of several communities who were living on lands that a Guatemalan military government had granted to Canadian mining company INCO in 1965. Local indigenous populations claim the land to be theirs, and resent the exploitation of an outside corporation. Canada’s Skye Resources now lays claim to the land, and paid workers a nominal sum to destroy homes. Watch the illegal evictions here.

For information and to take action, see:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q20YxkM-CGI

Higher quality video file available at
http://www.rightsaction.org/video/elestor

 

For information on contacting congress, sign up for e-advocacy at: http://www.elca.org/advocacy

Advocacy tools at: http://www.lawg.org/tools/contacting_congress.htm