Human Rights Convergence statement on the Attorney General nomination

The pact to maintain impunity consolidates with the nomination for Attorney General

The Human Rights Convergence states:

The director of the Public Prosecutor’s Office is a key and decisive position to guarantee that justice is done and that it is swift. With Doctor Claudia Paz y Paz Bailey at the head of the Public Prosecutor’s Office, meaningful steps were taken in recuperating the Office’s ability to undertake criminal persecution. The Nomination Committee for candidates for the Attorney General position missed an opportunity to advance [these steps]. Instead of offering the Guatemalan society a quality nomination, it presented a list that does not guarantee that this is achieved.

The list of candidates put forth by the Nomination Committee seeks to consolidate a pact to maintain impunity. It is a pact pulled together in the shadow of impunity, by structures responsible for grave human rights violations, sectors of the traditional economic power of the oligarchy and sectors of organized crime.

In the hands of deans, the majority of whom prevail from private universities, the President of the Guatemalan Bar Association and its Ethics Tribunal, the decision was made to form a list of applicants that does not comply with the minimum standards required for candidacy.

During nearly two months, the Nomination Committee joined in the perverse game, mounting a spectacle in which criteria was defined for rating the candidates’ qualifications, including requirements for work plans, education levels and interviews; criteria that was not respected in the end. [The Committee]  flagrantly violated the right to petition exercised by more than six thousand citizens, whose demand [that Paz y Paz be included in the final list of candidates] was illegally dismissed.

Therefore, the list of candidates that was approved and delivered to the President of the Republic includes people who have been sanctioned by the Human Rights Ombudsman’s Office, people lacking experience in criminal proceedings, people linked to the executive office, as well as people linked to private companies, among other shortfalls required for the position.

By presenting this list of candidates, which left out the only Attorney General who has demonstrated leadership in the pursuit of justice, the Nominating Committee has inflicted grave damage on Guatemalan society.

Thus, we reiterate our commitment to the pursuit of justice and we call on all Guatemalan citizens and the international community to uphold the rule of law and respect for human rights in Guatemala.

Guatemala, April 30, 2014

Guatemala’s Constitutional Court set to hear arguments regarding fate of genocide trial

This morning, the Constitutional Court (CC), Guatemala’s highest court, will hear arguments regarding the April 2013 decision by Judge Carol Patricia Flores to set the genocide case back to a pre-trial phase. The mid-trial ruling cited technical errors in the judicial process and stated that the case should return to November 2011, before Ríos Montt had ever been indicted.

Plaintiffs on the case, the Center for Human Rights Legal Action and the Association for Justice and Reconciliation (AJR), immediately appealed Flores' ruling. One member of the AJR reacted to the controversial decision stating, "[Judge Flores] only wants to help impunity continue to reign in Guatemala and that is why we, the victims, have to break this noose of impunity, this beast that has for so long ruled Guatemala."

If the CC upholds Judge Flores’ ruling, witness and expert testimony that formed the basis for the historic genocide sentence will effectively be erased and Ríos Montt will be free. After hearing arguments by the prosecution and the defense, the CC will have 5 days to come to their final resolution; however, the Court notoriously emits their decision late, leaving the involved parties and the public waiting in suspense.

The 13-year struggle of the survivors did not end with the Constitutional Court’s controversial decision to annul the genocide trial last May. Six months later, the Association for Justice and Reconciliation denounced the Guatemalan State for the denial of justice to the Maya Ixil people by filing a formal complaint with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR). The complaint cited a number of deficiencies in the genocide trial process, including excessive delays and the denial of the right to justice of the witnesses who gave their testimony in court.

Meanwhile, Guatemala’s justice system continues to feel the impacts of the national and international struggle for historical memory, prompted by the groundbreaking genocide trial. The ongoing legal debate regarding the possibility of amnesty for Ríos Montt, despite national and international laws that prohibit amnesty for war crimes, is just one example. The decision on amnesty, which threatens to permanently undermine survivors’ decades-long work for justice, is yet to be resolved, as nearly one hundred judges have recused themselves from hearing the issue. Furthermore, the February decision to end current Attorney General Claudia Paz y Paz's term early has once again called into question the impartiality of the Constitutional Court and has instilled a sense of uncertainty as to the future of human rights cases in national courts.

The AJR commemorates the one year anniversary of the start of genocide trial.
Photo: Cristina Chiqun, March 19, 2014

Despite considerable setbacks since the start of the genocide trial and well beyond the annulment of the verdict, survivors remain positive and committed to ending the reign of impunity in Guatemala. The monumental weight of the genocide sentence continues to validate their struggle in search of truth and justice. 

“When the trial started, I was pleased because I knew that the truth had reached the people of Guatemala, and not just Guatemala but the world. This made me satisfied because what we suffered was acknowledged… They were able to annul the sentence politically but historically no one will take it away from us, the sentence remains in our hearts. One year after the historic trial, we remain strong in order to keep fighting and demanding justice in Guatemala.” - Benjamín Manuel Gerónimo, Vice-President of the Association for Justice and Reconciliation

NISGUA has provided human rights accompaniment to the witness organization, the Association for Justice and Reconciliation, and their lawyers, the Center for Human Rights Legal Action since 2000. Review our archival coverage of the historic genocide trial here. 

Organizations denounce high court decision to remove Attorney General Paz y Paz

Guatemalan Attorney General Claudia Paz y Paz
Photo: Ministerio Público

Last week Guatemala's Constitutional Court (CC) emitted a provisional ruling stating that Attorney General Claudia Paz y Paz should end her term in May 2014, seven months before schedule. Friday, the CC dismissed an appeal by Paz y Paz to reconsider its ruling.

US Ambassador to Guatemala, Arnold Chacón, immediately released a statement last week announcing that the US Embassy was closely reviewing the ruling and declared: “My government is privileged to have worked with a partner like Dr. Paz y Paz.”

Today, human rights and civil society organizations gathered to express their support for Attorney General Paz y Paz and to call on Congress to uphold the law despite what many consider to be another illegal decision by Guatemala's highest court.

Protest outside Congress Photo: CPR Urbana

Translation by NISGUA

THE CONGRESS OF THE REPUBLIC

SHOULD NOT OBEY ILLEGAL ORDERS!

Article 156 of the Political Constitution of the Republic of Guatemala clearly states that: “No official or public employee, civilian or military is obligated to carry out orders that are manifestly illegal or that imply committing a crime.”

By granting a provisional decision based on false facts, the Constitutional Court is committing the crime of malfeasance (breech of legal duty) typified in the Penal Code: 

“Article 462. Malfeasance. The judge, knowingly dictating resolutions contrary to the law or based on false facts, will be sentenced to prison for two to six years.”

As it has been exhaustively analyzed, the Attorney General of the Republic was named for a period of FOUR years on December 9, 2010, which means her period LEGALLY ends on December 9, 2014.

Any contrary decision is illegal and the judges that support such a decision are committing an illegal act outside of the law.

ENOUGH CORRUPTION AND IMPUNITY!

RESPECT THE ATTORNEY GENERAL'S CONSTITUTIONAL MANDATE!

Citizens for dignity and against corruption and impunity

2/11/14 Update: Yesterday afternoon Congress approved the creation of the committee in charge of nominating candidates for the Attorney General office to replace Paz y Paz in May. While 94 Congress deputies voted in favor, many expressed to Guatemalan media that their vote was a reasoned vote, influenced by outside pressures to comply with the Constitutional Court's resolution.

Mining license approved in wake of violence, investigation into murder pending

Today, NISGUA and the International Coalition against Unjust Mining in Guatemala (CAMIGUA), presented a petition with over 4,000 signatures to Guatemalan Attorney General Claudia Paz y Paz asking her to launch an investigation into the murder of Xinca leader Exaltación Marcos Ucelo. Ucelo was abducted, together with three other Xinca leaders, while returning from a community consultation on mining in San Rafael Las Flores. Last week, despite ongoing violence against community leaders and their allies, the Guatemalan government granted Tahoe Resources an exploitation license for the Escobal project in San Rafael las Flores.

In the below press release, NISGUA, in coalition with CAMIGUA, denounces the granting of the license in this context of increasing violence. NISGUA has accompanied communities and organizations resisting Tahoe's Escobal project since 2011.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 8, 2013
Mining license approved in wake of violence, investigation into murder pending


(Washington DC, Ottawa, Guatemala City) – After more than two years of delay, the Guatemalan Minister of Energy and Mines (MEM) announced on Wednesday, April 3, that it had approved the exploitation license for Tahoe Resources’ Escobal mine in San Rafael Las Flores, Guatemala. The announcement comes less than two weeks after four indigenous Xinca leaders were abducted while returning from a community referendum in El Volcancito, in the municipality of San Rafael Las Flores, in which more than 99 percent of people voted against the project. One of those abducted was found dead the next day.


“That MEM issued the license while the investigation of our friend Exaltación Marcos Ucelo’s murder is still pending is not only an affront to Exaltación’s memory, but it is also a violation of our right to consent,” said Roberto González, President of the Xinca Parliament, who was one of the four abducted, only to be released hours later. “If there is impunity for outright murder, how can we expect the Guatemalan government to protect us from harmful contamination generated by mining operations?”

More than 4,300 individuals from 42 countries have signed a letter to Guatemalan Attorney General Claudia Paz y Paz, requesting her office involve the International Commission Against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG) to carry out a robust investigation into the attack and murder. The letter also urges the government to protect human rights and environmental defenders as they exercise their rights to live in a safe and healthy environment and to free, prior and informed consent.

“That this license was issued at all is a miscarriage of justice,” said Kristen Genovese, Senior Attorney at the Center for International Environmental Law. “The context of escalating violence only highlights what any impartial observer can see: the Escobal project does not have the social license to operate. Thus far the Guatemalan government has prioritized mining interests over justice and the protection of human rights, and it’s time for the CICIG to step in.”

According to declarations by Rafael Maldonado of the Center for Legal, Social and Environmental Action in Guatemala at a press conference on Thursday, the process to approve the license was “illegal, arbitrary and obscure.” He added that the license approval comes amidst ongoing reports of intimidation, violence, and provocation perpetrated by armed, clandestine groups allegedly linked to the mine private security and the State security apparatus.

“The attack against the Xinca leaders is one of a growing number of acts of intimidation and violence against communities and their allies resisting the Tahoe project,” said Ellen Moore, staff at the Network in Solidarity with the People of Guatemala. “Indeed, since the license was issued on Wednesday, there has been a spike in threats against vocal mine opponents. The more than 4,300 signatures from around the world echo the call by Guatemalan communities for an end to the impunity that continues to benefit transnational companies at the expense of local communities.”

Local and national human rights and environmental organizations have already announced their intention to challenge the legality of the mining license (SEXT-015-11). There is also an open criminal complaint against the mine for industrial contamination of the Los Esclavos River.

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Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) is committed to strengthening and using international law and institutions to protect the environment, promote human health, and ensure a just and sustainable society. CIEL is a non-profit organization dedicated to advocacy in the global public interest, including through legal counsel, policy research, analysis, education, training and capacity building.


The Network in Solidarity with the People of Guatemala (NISGUA) links people in the U.S. and Guatemala in the grassroots global struggle for justice, human dignity and respect for the Earth.

Licencia minera aprobada en contexto de violencia, pendiente investigación sobre asesinato

Hoy NISGUA y La Coalición internacional contra la minería injusta en Guatemala  (CAMIGUA) presentaron una petición con más de 4000 firmas a la Fiscal General Claudia Paz y Paz pidiendo que ella se realice una investigación sobre la muerte del líder Xinca, Exaltación Marcos Ucelo. Ucelo regresaba de una consulta comunitaria sobre la minería en San Rafael Las Flores cuando fue secuestrado, junto con tres otros lideres Xincas. 

La semana pasada, a pesar de estos hechos violentos contra lideres comunitarios y sus aliados, el gobierno guatemalteco aprobó una licencia de explotación para el proyecto minero Escobal de Tahoe Resources en San Rafael Las Flores.



En el siguiente comunicado de prensa, NISGUA, en coalición con CAMIGUA, denuncia la aprobación de la licencia en un contexto de violencia creciente. 

NISGUA ha acompañado a las comunidades y organizaciones que resisten al proyecto minero Escobal de Tahoe Resources desde el 2011.



PARA DIFUSIÓN INMEDIATA:

8 de abril, 2013

Licencia minera aprobada en contexto de violencia, pendiente investigación sobre asesinato

(Washington DC, Ottawa, Ciudad de Guatemala) – Después de más de dos años de retraso, el Ministro de Energía y Minas de Guatemala anunció el miércoles, 3 de abril, la aprobación de la licencia de explotación para el proyecto minero Escobal de Tahoe Resources en San Rafael Las Flores, Guatemala. La aprobación ocurre a menos de dos semanas después del secuestro de cuatro líderes indígenas del pueblo Xinca mientras que regresaban de la consulta comunitaria en el Volcancito, San Rafael Las Flores, en la cual más de 99% de la población votó en contra del proyecto. El próximo día, uno de los secuestrados fue hallado muerto.

“Mientras que el Ministro de Energía y Minas otorga la licencia minera, la investigación sobre la muerte de nuestro compañero Exaltación Marcos Ucelo sigue pendiente. Eso, no solo es una ofensa a la memoria de Exaltación, sino también es una violación de nuestro derecho a ser consultados,” dijo Roberto Gonzáles Presidente del Parlamento Xinca, que también fue secuestrado y liberado horas después. “Si prevalece la impunidad de un asesinato, ¿qué podemos esperar del gobierno guatemalteco cuando la mina contamina nuestros territorios?”

Más de 4,300 individuos de 42 países han firmado una carta a la Fiscal General, Claudia Paz y Paz, pidiendo que su oficina involucre a la Comisión Internacional contra la Impunidad en Guatemala (CICIG), para llevar a cabo una investigación robusta sobre este ataque y el asesinato. La carta también exige al gobierno proteger los derechos humanos y a los defensores del ambiente, mientras que ejercen sus derechos de vivir en un medio ambiente seguro y saludable, tanto como el derecho a la consulta libre, previa e informada.

“La aprobación de esta licencia es injusta,” dijo Kristen Genovese, abogada del Centro para el Derecho Internacional Ambiental. “La intensificación de la violencia solo resalta lo que a cualquier observador imparcial puede percibir: que el proyecto Escobal no tiene la licencia social para operar. Hasta ahora el gobierno de Guatemala prioriza las licencias mineras encima de la justicia y la protección de los derechos humanos, y ya es hora que la CICIG intervenga.”

En una conferencia de prensa el jueves 4 de abril, Rafael Maldonado del Centro de Acción Legal Ambiental y Social de Guatemala (CALAS), explicó que el proceso de aprobación de la licencia era “ilegal, arbitrario e oscuro.” Agregó que, la otorgación de la licencia viene en medio de reportes de intimidación, violencia y provocación perpetuado por grupos armados clandestinos que presuntamente se les asocia a la seguridad privada de la mina y al aparato de seguridad del Estado.

“El ataque contra los lideres Xinca es uno de varios actos de intimidación y violencia contra las comunidades y sus aliados que están en resistencia al proyecto de Tahoe,” dijo Ellen Moore de la Red en Solidaridad con el Pueblo de Guatemala. “Por cierto, desde que se otorgó la licencia el pasado miércoles, han aumentado las amenazas contra opositores visibles a la mina. Las más de 4,300 firmas de la comunidad internacional se suman al llamado de las comunidades en Guatemala de poner fin a la impunidad que continua beneficiando a las empresas transaccionales a costa de las comunidades de dicha localidad.”

Organizaciones locales y nacionales de derechos humanos y ambientales ya han anunciado su intención de recurrir a acciones legales para cuestionar la legalidad de la licencia minera (SEXT-015-11). Ya que existe una demanda penal abierta contra la mina por contaminación industrial del río Los Esclavos.

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Centro para el Derecho Internacional Ambiental (CIEL) se ha comprometido a fortalecer y aprovechar las leyes e instituciones internacionales para proteger el medio ambiente, promover la salud humana y garantizar una sociedad justa y sostenible. CIEL es una organización sin ánimo de lucro dedicada a la incidencia para el bien común global proporcionando asesoramiento jurídico,  investigación política, análisis, educación y construcción de capacidad.

La Red en Solidaridad con el Pueblo de Guatemala (NISGUA) conecta gente de los Estados Unidos y Guatemala en la lucha global para la justicia, dignidad humana y respeto para la Tierra.