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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
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