The Guatemalan government must adopt immediate measures to end the violence and the acts of intimidation against members of its human rights community, said Amnesty International, the International Commission of Jurists and Human Rights Watch in a joint statement issued today.
For the past months, non-government organizations in Guatemala have been subject to an alarming number of acts of intimidation that have continued in spite of the recent visit to the country by Special Representative of the United Nations on Human Rights Hina Jilani.
"Everything seems to point to the existence of an organized campaign to intimate those dedicated to the documentation of past human rights violations and bringing to justice those responsible for them," Amnesty International said.
For years, the situation of human rights activists in Guatemala has caused profound concerns in the international community, which has repeatedly called for increased protection for human rights advocates who continue their work, even when it threatens their lives.
"In all societies, the independent work done by civil society is an important contribution to guarantee that governments protect human rights and act within the boundaries of both national and international law," stated the International Commission of Jurists, recalling that in 1988, the General Assembly of the United Nations recognized the importance of this contribution when it adopted the Declaration on the Rights and Responsibilities of Individuals, Groups and Institutions that promote and protect human rights and universally recognized fundamental liberties.
"It is essential that the Guatemalan authorities guarantee defenders the maximum level of protection and that they are committed to investigating all the threats and hostage taking, and further bringing those responsible to justice," added Human Rights Watch.
In particular, the three organizations urge President Alfonso Portillo to do everything possible to:
Assure that those in charge of investigating the crimes have all the material and technical resources, as well as the necessary personnel, to exhaust all leads,
Assure that the investigators receive open cooperation from all the State institutions, especially the Public Security Forces
Facilitate the active participation of Civil Society organizations in the investigations, keeping them informed about the progress of each investigation.
"Unfortunately, these threats are not new, and their violent nature reminds us of the grave abuses in Guatemala's recent past," said the three organizations. "It is time now for the government of Guatemala to turn the page on this sad history and take the necessary measures to protect those who monitor the human rights of all and fortify the respect of those rights in Guatemalan society," they concluded.
