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Guatemala Swept Under the Rug Abuses against Domestic Workers Around the World
HRW Index No.: C1807 July 26, 2006 Download PDF, 470 KB, 95 pgs Purchase online Download E-Book From The Household To The Factory Sex Discrimination in the Guatemalan Labor Force Women in Guatemala's largest female-dominated labor sectors face persistent sex discrimination and abuse, Human Rights Watch charges in this report. The 147-page report examines two sectors, export processing and private households, which employ tens of thousands of women sewing clothes for sale in the United States and working as live-in domestic workers. The report, From the Household to the Factory: Sex Discrimination in the Guatemalan Labor Force, also finds that some U.S.-based clothing retailers contract with Guatemalan "maquilas," or export-processing factories, that discriminate against women who are pregnant. The Guatemalan labor code protects women workers from this type of discrimination, but is rarely enforced in the maquila sector. Meanwhile, women and girls working in private households do not have adequate legal protection, and are frequently subject to sexual assault and other abuses by their employers. 147 pp., 15.00 HRW Index No.: (2696) February 12, 2002 Also available in 
Purchase online Guatemala: Child Soldiers Global Report 2001 From the Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers There are no indications of under-18s in government armed forces. During the internal armed conflict, child soldiers were used by both the government forces and opposition forces. Opposition fighters were subsequently demobilised and reintegrated. June 12, 2001 Guatemala: Landmine Monitor Report 2000 Guatemala signed the Mine Ban Treaty on 3 December 1997 and ratified on 26 March 1999. Guatemala had passed domestic legislation to ban landmines as early as 1996, with Decree Number 106-97 prohibiting the production, purchase, sale, importation, exportation, transit, use or possession of AP mines or explosive artifacts or their composite parts. It is believed that this law now serves as the implementing legislation for the Mine Ban Treaty. August 1, 2000 Guatemala's Forgotten Children: Police Violence and Arbitrary Detention Thousands of children living in Guatemala’s streets face routine beatings, thefts, and sexual assaults at the hands of private security guards (who are under the jurisdiction of the Interior Ministry) and the National Police. More serious crimes against street children, including assassination and torture, have lessened since their heyday in the early 1990s, but do still occur. In April 1996, sixteen-year-old Susana Gómez was raped by two National Police officers while a third kept watch. In September 1996, sixteen-year-old Ronald Raúl Ramos was shot and killed by a Treasury Police officer. More than ten other street children were murdered in 1996 under suspicious circumstances. As of April 1997, all of the perpetrators in these cases remained at large. While three convictions for murders of street children handed down in late 1996 and early 1997 represent significant and encouraging news, hundreds of other cases involving crimes against street children remain stalled; most are never even investigated. Crimes against street children are a low priority for police investigators, particularly when a fellow officer is implicated. In contrast, juvenile offenders, and even non-offenders, are dealt with harshly. "Juvenile justice" in Guatemala suffers from multiple and severe defects, rendering it less than justice and little more than warehousing. Street children are arrested and locked-up arbitrarily, sometimes merely for being homeless, other times for such vague "offenses" as "creating a public scandal," or "loitering." Children in detention receive no meaningful rehabilitation, education, psychological treatment or vocational training. They are crowded together in unsanitary conditions and are mistreated by unqualified staff—all in violation of international standards. HRW Index No.: ISBN 1-56432-213-0 August 29, 1997 Purchase online Guatemala's Forgotten Children Police Violence and Abuses in Detention Thousands of children living in Guatemala=s streets face routine beatings, thefts, and sexual assaults at the hands of the National Police and private security guards (who are under the jurisdiction of the Interior Ministry). More serious crimes against street children, including assassination and torture, have lessened since the early 1990s, but still occur. More than ten other street children were murdered in 1996 under suspicious circumstances. Hundreds of other cases involving crimes against street children, however, remain stalled; most are never even investigated. Crimes against street children are a low priority for police investigators, particularly when a fellow officer is implicated. In contrast to the impunity enjoyed by police offenders, juvenile offenders, and even non-offenders, are dealt with harshly. AJuvenile justice@ in Guatemala suffers from multiple and severe defects, rendering it less than justice and little more than warehousing.This report is based on interviews with thirty-five children and youths, conducted in August and September 1996 by a researcher for the Human Rights Watch Children=s Rights Project. We also spoke extensively with representatives of Guatemalan and international nongovernmental organizations, including several dedicated exclusively to working with street children. Government officials we interviewed included representatives of the Social Welfare Office of the Presidency of the Republic, the Office of the Human Rights Ombudsman, the Minors= Magistrate, and the Public Ministry=s Minors= Division. July 1, 1997 Download PDF, 706 KB, 180 pgs Printer friendly version Guatemala's Forgotten Children Police Violence and Abuses in Detention As a 1990 State Party to the Convention on the Rights of the Child, Guatemala was one of the first countries to commit itself to respecting the human rights of children. Nearly seven years later, that commitment has borne little fruit. Thousands of children living in Guatemala=s streets face routine beatings, thefts, and sexual assaults at the hands of the National Police and private security guards (who are under the jurisdiction of the Interior Ministry). More serious crimes against street children, including assassination and torture, have lessened since the early 1990s, but still occur. July 1, 1997 Download PDF, 706 KB, 180 pgs Printer friendly version Freedom of Association in a Maquila in Guatemala A two-person Human Rights Watch delegation traveled to Guatemala in January 1997. The visit focused on reports of the discriminatory treatment of trade unionists at the assembly plants there of the U.S.-based corporation Phillips-Van Heusen (PVH), and allegations of obstacles posed by the company and the Guatemalan labor ministry to the union’s recognition for purposes of collective bargaining. Principally at issue in the latter was the union’s claim to have secured the membership of more than one-fourth of the total workforce: Guatemalan law requires employers to negotiate with unions in such circumstances, but the company challenged the union’s membership claims. Human Rights Watch determined to undertake the inquiry into the underlying issue of freedom of association in the two PVH plants in Guatemala plants in response to requests by the union there, their international supporters (notably the U.S./Guatemala Labor Education Project), and the company itself. March 1, 1997 Purchase online Corporations and Human Rights Freedom of Association in a Maquila in Guatemala A two-person Human Rights Watch delegation traveled to Guatemala in January 1997. The visit focused on reports of the discriminatory treatment of trade unionists at the assembly plants there of the U.S.-based corporation Phillips-Van Heusen (PVH), and allegations of obstacles posed by the company and the Guatemalan labor ministry to the union's recognition for purposes of collective bargaining. Principally at issue in the latter was the union's claim to have secured the membership of more than one-fourth of the total workforce: Guatemalan law requires employers to negotiate with unions in such circumstances, but the company challenged the union's membership claims. Human Rights Watch determined to undertake the inquiry into the underlying issue of freedom of association in the two PVH plants in Guatemala in response to requests by the union there, their international supporters (notably the U.S./Guatemala Labor Education Project), and the company itself. March 1, 1997 Download PDF, 492 KB, 63 pgs Printer friendly version Return to Violence: Refugees, Civil Patrollers, and Impunity Tens of thousands of Guatemalans fled systematic army repression between 1980 and 1983, flooding southern Mexico with refugees. Hundreds of thousands more were estimated to be displaced internally. Recent cases of state violence against returning refugees cast serious doubts on the Guatemalan government's commitment to ensure safe repatriation and foster the rule of law in rural areas. In one incident, uniformed troops of the Guatemalan army were involved in a massacre of returnees in the northern department of Alta Verapaz. In other incidents in a neighboring department, the civil patrol apparatus created and controlled by the army was responsible for numerous human rights violations. January 1, 1996 Guatemala: Return to Violence Refugees, Civil Patrollers, and Impunity Recent cases of state violence against returning refugees cast serious doubts on the Guatemalan government's commitment to ensure safe repatriation. In one incident, uniformed troops of the Guatemalan army were involved in a massacre of returnees in the northern department of Alta Verapaz. In other incidents in neighboring El Quiché department, the civil patrol apparatus created and controlled by the army was responsible for numerous human rights violations against returnees and those working with them. January 1, 1996 Download PDF, 315 KB, 38 pgs Printer friendly version Disappeared in Guatemala: The Case of Efraín Bámaca Velásquez Tens of thousands of Guatemalans, both civilians and combatants, were disappeared by government forces over the past 3 decades. One of the fundamental tasks assumed by the government and guerrillas through the ongoing U.N.-mediated peace process is to end the impunity with which such crimes have been committed. In a series of agreements signed over the course of 1994, the parties agreed that the truth about human rights violations should be exposed and those responsible should be brought to justice. The disappearance of Efraín Bámaca Velásquez, a combatant with the Unidad Revolucionaria Nacional Guatemalteca who was captured by the army in March 1992, puts these solemn commitments to the test, a test which thus far, the government has failed. March 1, 1995 Disappeared in Guatemala The Case of Efrain Bamaca Velasquez Tens of thousands of Guatemalans have been forcibly "disappeared" by government forces over the past three decades, many of them civilians and some of them combatants. One of the fundamental tasks assumed by the government and guerrillas through the ongoing U.N.-mediated peace process is to end the impunity with which such crimes have been committed. March 1, 1995 Download PDF, 196 KB, 21 pgs Printer friendly version Human Rights in Guatemala During President De León Carpió’s First Year The people of Guatemala have suffered savage repression at the hands of security forces, civil patrols, and guerrillas waging a thirty-year civil war. Their villages were razed and tens of thousands disappeared — presumably murdered — their bodies occasionally discovered in clandestine graves throughout the highlands. This legacy of human rights abuses has terrorized many Guatemalans to such an extent that the few democratic institutions that developed since military rule ended in 1986 are woefully stunted. Astonishing political changes occurred in 1993, when elected President Jorge Serrano Elías briefly seized dictatorial powers (a la Fujimori of Peru), then was ousted by the army as national and international opinion turned against him. Into the presidency stepped a well-respected governmental human rights advocate, Ramiro de León Carpió. Unfortunately, his proposed reforms were soon overshadowed by a lack of political support, high-profile assassinations, and a recalcitrant military. One year later, with little else to show for its initial promise, the Guatemalan government has signed an accord with the guerrillas paving the way for a United Nations human rights monitoring team, which could restrain the security forces and civil patrols long used to operating without international scrutiny. Absent is an amnesty for human rights abuses, which many feared the military would demand as part of such an accord. However, without establishing a Truth Commission, reconciliation cannot begin, for the government of Guatemala owes the relatives of the disappeared answers as to the fate of their loved ones. HRW Index No.: ISBN 1-56432-137-1 June 1, 1994 Human Rights in Guatemala During President De Leon Carpio's First Year The breathtaking political changes of 1993, which brought a well- respected governmental human rights advocate into the presidency of Guatemala, have one year later degenerated into turmoil and dashed hopes, with little to show for the promise that the new government appeared to bring. The reforms begun in the initial months of the government of former human rights ombudsman Ramiro de León Carpio now appear endangered by a lack of high-level support. At the same time, elements of the military and right-wing groups appear bent on destabilizing the government through such high-profile human rights violations as the assassination on April 1, 1994, of Epaminondas GonzálezDubón, the president of the Constitutional Court, and the March mob assaults against North American women rumored to be stealing Guatemalan children. June 1, 1994 Download PDF, 705 KB, 164 pgs Printer friendly version Clandestine Detention in Guatemala The testimonies presented here-of abductions, clandestine detentions, and physical or psychological mistreatment and torture-comprise just a few examples of which Americas Watch is aware. Two occurred in 1992, while a third occurred during the government of Vinicio Cerezo Arévalo (1986-1991). They are presented here in detail because there have been so few survivors of clandestine detention in Guatemala willing to take the risk of making their stories public. March 1, 1993 Download PDF, 255 KB, 19 pgs Printer friendly version Getting Away with Murder: The Medicolegal System and Human Rights in Guatemala Since the overthrow of a reformist democratic government in 1954, Guatemala has been known for astounding military violence inflicted on a defenseless civilian population. A new civilian government elected in 1986 first raised and then dashed hopes for an end to the torture, murder and disappearances carried out with impunity by the security forces. This report analyzes the medicolegal system and its handling of several recent political killings, including the December 1990 army massacre of villagers in Santiago Atitl n, to show why the perpetrators of political murders are rarely punished in Guatemala. In addition, the report chronicles a series of exhumations of clandestine graves conducted by the forensic team assembled by Americas Watch and Physicians for Human Rights at the start of 1991 in a remote mountain village in the embattled Quiché province. (With photographs.) HRW Index No.: ISBN 1-56432-007-3 June 1, 1991 Guatemala: Slaying of Rights Activists, Impunity Prevail Under New Government The violent events of February 17, 1991, and their aftermath suggest that egregious violations continue to be committed with impunity by agents of the Guatemalan state and that human rights activists, who risk their lives to protect others, continue to be severely persecuted. April 14, 1991 Download PDF, 125 KB, 9 pgs Printer friendly version Guatemala Rights Abuses Escalate as Elections Near As Guatemala prepares for presidential elections scheduled for November 11, 1990, the nation is in the grips of the worst human rights crisis since the military turned over government to civilians in 1986. Targeted assassinations of political figures, human rights activists, journalists, students and trade unionists are on the rise as are murders of individuals apparently selected at random to sow terror. A campaign of violence against street children continues and appears increasingly to be targeting those who seek to defend them as well. The impunity of the security forces and death squads which carry out these activities remains intact, although some low-ranking members of the army and police are under arrest in connection with the killing of an American rancher and the murder of several street children and a former Covenant House worker. November 8, 1990 Download PDF, 216 KB, 22 pgs Printer friendly version Guatemala: Sole Conviction in Human Rights Case Overturned Police Acquitted in Killing of Students in Quezaltenango A Guatemalan appeals court has freed six National Police officers jailed for the 1987 kidnapping and murder of two university students. The appellate court ruling, which overturned the only conviction to date of security force officers for a crime of political violence, underlines the complete impunity with which the Guatemalan authorities commit gross violations of human rights. Americas Watch fears that extra-legal considerations may have influenced the outcome in this politically charged case. The acquittal coincides with a markedly worsening human rights situation just three months before presidential elections. August 1, 1990 Download PDF, 105 KB, 7 pgs Printer friendly version
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