Human rights in Guatemala
Human rights is an issue in Guatemala. The establishment of the International Commission against Impunity in Guatemala has helped the Attorney General prosecute extrajudicial killings and corruption. There remains widespread impunity for abusers from the Guatemalan Civil War, which ran from 1960 to 1996, and Human Rights Watch considers threats and violence against unionists, journalists and lawyers a major concern.[1]
A trial for eight former Army members on charges related to the alleged disappearances of 130 people whose bodies were found among 550 at a base now run by the UN called CREOMPAZ has been stalled since it began in 2016 due to witness intimidation, among other factors.[2][3]
History
[edit]After an ongoing civil war which lasted over 36 years in Guatemala, the country began to transition into a more stable and established democratic country. However, political administration were being passed trough the military, in which they began to engulf power over the country.[4] That being said, following the civil war, corruption began to appear all over the country and it eventually engulfed the whole country in common crimes and chaos. In 2013, the crime rate increased to where there was roughly 6,000 homicides per year in Guatemala. These violent killings included deaths of women and children. Not to mention, groups of women and organization began to fight for their rights and security after many years of being silenced.[5] Other cruel upbringings included discrimination towards indigenous groups, gang vandalism increasing, and an overall violation of human rights to the people of Guatemala. While Guatemala was fighting toward ending the corruption, there were many high-level government officials who were involved in organized crime. This resulted in only about 2% of the violent crimes going to trial.[6] In 2015, President Otto Pérez Molina, Vice President Roxana Baldetti, and other high officials lost their power and were prosecuted for participation in human rights violation.[7] Montt was convicted of the charges of genocide and was sentenced to 80–85 years in jail but this was soon over turned 10 days later. During his second trial Efrain Rios Montt died on April 1, 2018, at the age of 91.[8][7]
Injustices in Indigenous Communities (Maya)
[edit]After the civil war, discrimination became a common occurrence towards the indigenous communities like the Mayas. Post war, the Maya community had another battle they were fighting asking for security, residency, and human rights.[9] Not to mention, their access to education, employment, and infrastructure is very limited.[10] Healthcare is a very essential and vital source of living, however, for the Mayans, that is not the case. Following the war, the Maya community remained impoverished which lead to poor health outcomes.[10] As a result, there is little to no healthcare provided for the Mayans. From the civil war to modern day Guatemala, the Maya communities are left alone as they are excluded from the country and government, in which they suffer from discrimination, racism, and structural violence.[11]
Gender
[edit]Fourteen women were found victims of sexual abuse by two military officers and sentenced to prison. The two officers both have prior criminal history, one with triple homicide with three women and the other is responsible for the disappearance of the husband's to his female victims .[12] That is just one of the many female homicides that occur in Guatemala. Females in Guatemala are high danger as they become easy target for any men in high power, whether is government officials, military officials, or drug trafficking. As the population of female is increasing, the homicide rate have also increased greatly with women of ages 16–30 are the victims.[13] In addition, the country's constitution does not protect LGBT rights and a bill proposed in 2017 bans students from learning about other sexual orientations and also bans same sex marriage.[14]
Legal issues
[edit]According to the International Human Rights Law Group, the Guatemalan criminal justice system is to blame for the poor human rights Guatemala faces. Cerezo announced it would now be their responsibility.[15] The Guatemalan criminal justice system is supposed to work with the court to punish those who violate human rights. However, the system is no longer the only ones working to "cleanse" the country. The public has also began to get involved, but much worse. They have taken the phrase "social cleaning" to another level where high levels of violence are present everywhere in Guatemala with attacks on human rights defenders, violence against women, discrimination towards indigenous communities.[16] With a system implemented to protect human rights in Guatemala the issue of these rights being violated remains. This is partly because the judges are not trained properly which can affect the investigation by causing them to be unreliable.[15] The Commission against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG) was established in 2007 and itworks to break down corruption within the country.[12] After a CICIG investigation the 2015 president, Cerezo collected bribes he was later arrested.[12] Human rights violations continue to increase with the Guatemalan people as victims because of improper protections from the government.[15] As a result of the many violations, narcotics has become a common occurrence with many kidnappings, human trafficking, and criminal activities, that have not been stopped due to the corruption of government security and communal leaders rising and gaining power.[17]
On 16 May 2022, Alejandro Giammattei reappointed María Consuelo Porras as attorney general, to serve for another four years. The decision posed a serious risk to human rights and the rule of law in the country. During her initial years in office, Porras has undermined investigations into corruption and human rights abuses, and brought arbitrary criminal proceedings against journalists, judges, and prosecutors.[18]
Solutions
[edit]International Commission against Impunity in Guatemala organization was first established on December 12, 2005. After years of human rights violation in Guatemala, government officials began leading towards creating an established organization that would investigate the many variety of cases that were left unsolved. After getting the assistance from the United Nations, the government of Guatemala formulated an organization called Commission of Investigation of Illegal Bodies and Clandestine Security Apparatuses (CICIACS). The creation of this organization was to combat all forms of corruption and crime impacting the country.[19] However, this caused a controversy in Guatemala, which resulted in it being denied because the ruling deemed it to be a violation of the exclusive constitutional delegation of power to the Public Ministry.[6] After being denied the government of Guatemala revised the document and the regulation of the CICIACS to eliminate all the unconstitutional issues that were brought to their attention from the constitutional court. When they were finished they re-introduced the proposition to the court and after the review the Constitutional court approved it. They renamed it International Commission against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG). The government of Guatemala and the United Nations signed it into order on December 12, 2005.[20] Nonetheless, International Labor Organization Convention No. 169 gives the indigenous peoples the right to approve or disapprove of natural resource development projects that may affect them since they live in rural areas that are sometimes of interest to many project developers.[21]
References
[edit]- ^ "Guatemala | Country Page | World | Human Rights Watch". www.hrw.org.
- ^ "Eight Military Officers to Stand Trial in CREOMPAZ Grave Crimes Case". International Justice Monitor. June 17, 2016.
- ^ "Human rights in Guatemala". Amnesty International.
- ^ Hey, Hilde (1995). Gross human rights violations: a search for causes: a study of Guatemala and Costa Rica. International studies in human rights. The Hague ; Boston: Martinus Nijhoff Publishers. ISBN 978-90-411-0146-4.
- ^ Blacklock, C.; MacDonald, L. (1998). "Human Rights and Citizenship in Guatemala and Mexico: From "Strategic" to "New" Universalism?". Social Politics: International Studies in Gender, State & Society. 5 (2): 132–157. doi:10.1093/sp/5.2.132. Retrieved 2024-11-13.
- ^ a b "International Commission against Impunity in Guatemala". CICIG (International Commission against Impunity in Guatemala) (in European Spanish). 2018-03-05. Retrieved 2018-10-19.
- ^ a b Pallister, Kevin (2017). "Guatemala: The Fight for Accountability and the Rule of Law". Revista de Ciencia Política (Santiago). 37 (2): 471–492. doi:10.4067/s0718-090x2017000200471. ISSN 0718-090X.
- ^ "Former Guatemalan dictator Efraín Ríos Montt dies while facing genocide charges". NBC News. Retrieved 2018-11-22.
- ^ Burrell, Jennifer (2010). "In and Out of Rights: Security, Migration, and Human Rights Talk in Postwar Guatemala". The Journal of Latin American and Caribbean Anthropology. 15 (1): 90–115. doi:10.1111/j.1935-4940.2010.01064.x. ISSN 1935-4940.
- ^ a b "The Right to Health in Indigenous Guatemala: Prevailing Historical Structures in the Context of Health Care – Health and Human Rights Journal". www.hhrjournal.org. Retrieved 2024-12-09.
- ^ Pitarch Ramón, Pedro; Speed, Shannon; Leyva Solano, Xochitl, eds. (2008). Human rights in the Maya region: global politics, cultural contentions, and moral engagements. Durham: Duke University Press. ISBN 978-0-8223-4296-0. OCLC 209335072.
- ^ a b c "World Report 2018: Rights Trends in Guatemala". Human Rights Watch. 2018-01-05. Retrieved 2018-10-18.
- ^ Natsiuk, M. V.; Chekman, I. S. (April 1975). "[Level of nicotinamide coenzymes in the liver and myocardium of rats poisoned with dichlorethane]". Biulleten' Eksperimental'noi Biologii I Meditsiny. 79 (4): 58–60. ISSN 0365-9615. PMID 104.
- ^ Human Rights Watch (2018-01-05), "Guatemala: Events of 2017", English, retrieved 2023-12-27
- ^ a b c Group, International Human Rights Law (1990). "Review of Maximizing Deniability: The Justice System and Human Rights in Guatemala". Human Rights Quarterly. 12 (1): 180–181. doi:10.2307/762176. JSTOR 762176.
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has generic name (help) - ^ Elgueta, Sebastian (2010-11-01). "A Human Rights Murder Mystery in Guatemala: Alternative Formats for Reporting on Complex Challenges to Human Rights". Journal of Human Rights Practice. 2 (3): 408–421. doi:10.1093/jhuman/huq011. ISSN 1757-9619.
- ^ Elgueta, S. (2010-11-01). "A Human Rights Murder Mystery in Guatemala: Alternative Formats for Reporting on Complex Challenges to Human Rights". Journal of Human Rights Practice. 2 (3): 408–421. doi:10.1093/jhuman/huq011. ISSN 1757-9619.
- ^ "Guatemala: Attorney General's Reappointment Threatens Rights". Human Rights Watch. 19 May 2022. Retrieved 19 May 2022.
- ^ Moran, Paulina (2023-06-15). "The International Commission Against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG): A Solution to Organized Crime?". Philippe Zacaïr, Stacy Mallicoat. doi:10.5281/ZENODO.8067571.
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(help) - ^ "CICIG (International Commission against Impunity in Guatemala) | Department of Political Affairs". www.un.org. United Nations. Retrieved 2018-10-19.
- ^ Chan, W. F.; Ong, H. C.; Wong, W. P. (1975). "Acute bacterial myositis following septic abortion. An unusual complication". International Journal of Gynaecology and Obstetrics: The Official Organ of the International Federation of Gynaecology and Obstetrics. 13 (1): 6–8. doi:10.1002/j.1879-3479.1975.tb00325.x. ISSN 0020-7292. PMID 260.