Over 100 organizations and coalitions demand justice and reparation in Hogar Seguro case
Guatemala City/Geneva – Withcourt proceedings starting today to determine the criminal responsibility of three high-ranking civil servants in the gruesome deaths of 41 teenagers, 117 organisations are calling for justice in one of the worst cases of human rightsviolations against children in Latin America.
On 8 March 2017, 41 teenagegirls burned to death and another 15 survived with serious wounds, includingamputations, at a home for children called Virgen de la Asunción – also knownas the “Hogar Seguro” - on the outskirts of Guatemala City. The girls had been lockedin a small classroom the whole night by police and the management of the home, incrammed conditions and without water. This came as punishment for an attemptedescape the day before to flee routinely inflicted severe abuse, including of asexual nature. After their capture, the girls had been beaten with sticks,police shields and electric batons, pepper sprayed and forced to lie on theground facedown while handcuffed.
As the fire, set by theteenagers in a desperate attempt to attract attention, engulfed the room, thepolicewoman in charge refused to open the door for nine minutes.
According to information fromGuatemalan NGOs, the legal process to try those responsible has been flawed forthe start, including by the opening of three distinct investigations into thesame case and by multiple delays- This has further deepened the suffering ofthe survivors and of the victims’ families.
Of serious concern is alsothe fact that the three people accused – including two who were working at thePresidency of Guatemala at the time of the deaths – are only charged with minoroffenses. Last December, the UN Committee Against Torture had shared itsconcerns “about the qualification of the facts as minor offenses, without takinginto account the intimidation as a possible objective, the absence ofinvestigation around the allegations of abuse, sexual abuse and trafficking inthe said centre” and urged Guatemala to “investigate promptly, exhaustively andimpartially all allegations of homicide, torture, abuse, sexual abuse and childand teenager trafficking on those placed at the Virgen de la Asunción home” (CAT/C/GTM/7).
Given all this, it is highlyconcerning that neither the survivors of the fire nor any of the victims’families have received any care or reparations. Worse, the Public Ministry has recentlyopen an investigation against one of the surviving girls, accusing her of beingresponsible of the events on 7 and 8 March 2017, in line with constant argumentsfrom the lawyers of the defendants, who keep putting the blame on the girls andon their families. The survivors are further being retraumatized by repeatedquestioning during the three distinct investigation processes, which alsoexpose them to threats and potentially to attacks against their physicalintegrity.
The undersigned civil societyorganisations urge the relevant Guatemalan authorities to:
- Guarantee thepersonal security of all surviving victims, witnesses and family members in acontext of threats, harassment, intimidation and defamation;
- Applyinternational human rights standards and the recommendations of internationalorganisations, together with relevant domestic legislation, to theinvestigation and judiciary processes, with the best interest of the girls inmind;
- Refrain fromretraumatizing the survivors, and abstain from having them speak repeatedlyabout the same events;
- Establish thefacts and determine criminal responsibility by creating a unified procedure,and take urgent measures to avoid further delays;
- Open the courtproceedings to the public, which is not the case currently.
It is high time for justiceto be done. There is no other way to put an end to impunity and avoid therepetition of such tragic events elsewhere in Guatemala.
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The Litigators Groupagainst Torture in Latin America was established in April 2019. It is comprisedof 17 civil society organisations from 10 Latin American countries and of theWorld Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) and aims to fight, collectively,torture and impunity in the region via a global approach to litigation.
Contacts for the media: IolandaJaquemet ij@omct.org mobile +41 79 539 41 06
List of signatories
Organisations belonging to the LitigatorsGroup against Torture in Latin America:
1. Centro deDerechos Humanos Fray Bartolomé de Las Casas (Frayba) - Mexico
2. Centro deDerechos Humanos Miguel Agustín Pro Juárez (Centro Prodh) - Mexico
3. Centro deDerechos Humanos Paso del Norte, AC - Mexico
4. Centro deEstudios Sociales y Legales (CELS) - Argentina
5. Centro dePrevención, Tratamiento y Rehabilitación de víctimas de la Tortura y susFamiliares (CPTRT) - Honduras
6. ComisiónColombiana de Juristas (CCJ) - Colombia
7. Comité deFamiliares de Detenidos Desaparecidos de Honduras (COFADEH) - Honduras
8. Comité deFamiliares de las Víctimas de los sucesos ocurridos entre el 27 de febrero ylos primeros días de marzo de 1989 (COFAVIC) - Venezuela
9. Comisión deDerechos Humanos (COMISEDH) - Peru
10. ComisiónMexicana de Defensa y Promoción de los Derechos Humanos, A.C. (CMDPDH) - Mexico
11. Coordinadora deDerechos Humanos del Paraguay (CODEHUPY) - Paraguay
12. Documenta,Análisis y Acción para la Justicia Social, A.C. (Documenta) - Mexico
13. Fundación Comitéde Solidaridad con Presos Políticos (FCSPP) - Colombia
14. Instituto deDerechos Humanos de la Universidad Centroamericana “José Simeón Cañas” (IDHUCA)- El Salvador
15. MujeresTransformando el Mundo (MTM) - Guatemala
16. Centro para laAcción Legal en Derechos Humanos (CALDH) - Guatemala
17. ObservatorioCiudadano - Chile
18. OrganizaciónMundial Contra la Tortura (OMCT) - Switzerland
19. “ Xumek”Asociación para la promoción y protección de los Derechos Humanos – Argentina
Organizations fromGuatemala:
20. ASOL (Guatemala)
21. Asociación deMujeres Alas de Mariposas (Guatemala)
22. SITRADOMSA(Guatemala)
23. SINETS(Guatemala)
24. Asociación Ixoqib'MIRIAM (Guatemala)
25. Asociación ColectivoN'oj (Guatemala)
26. Alianza de Mujeres yMujeres Indígenas por el Acceso a la Justicia (Guatemala)
27. Muvacofum (Guatemala)
28. Cambridge(Guatemala)
29. AsociaciónProfesionales Mayas Kembal Noj (Guatemala)
30. FADS(Guatemala)
31. Centro de Estudiosde Guatemala
32. DEMOS(Guatemala)
33. AMES(Guatemala)
34. Asociación Mujeresen Solidaridad (Guatemala)
35. Asociación deAbogadas Indígenas Chomija' (Guatemala)
35. ATRAHDOM(Guatemala)
36. INCIDE Joven(Guatemala)
37. Asociación PolíticaLa Cuerda (Guatemala)
38. Platafoma Tejedorasdel Güipil (Guatemala)
39. Alianza Estratégicade Mujeres Cedaw (Guatemala)
40. Agenda Global deMujeres Indígenas (Guatemala)
41. Red de MujeresAfrodescendientes (Guatemala)
42. Red de MujeresIindigenas por la salud de las Mujeres (Guatemala)
43. Red Nacional deMujeres con Diversas Discapacidades (Guatemala)
44. Red de Mujeres dePetén (Guatemala)
45. Red de MujeresDefensoras de Derechos Humanos de Petén (Guatemala)
45. Unidad de Proteccióna Defensoras y Defensores de Derechos Humanos, Guatemala - UDEFEGUA -(Guatemala)
46. La Otra Cooperativade Mujeres Petén (Guatemala)
47. Asociación deMujeres Ixqik (Guatemala)
48. Asociación deMujeres Aq’ab’al (Guatemala)
49. Cooperativa deMujeres Agua Viva, Petén (Guatemala)
50. Comité de MujeresLos Rosales (Guatemala)
51. Comité de MujeresActivas, Petén (Guatemala)
52. Asociación MujerTejedoras del Desarrollo (AMUTED) (Guatemala)
53. Asociación deMujeres de Occidente Ixquic (Guatemala)
54. Asociación deMujeres de Petén Ixqik (Guatemala)
55. Asociación VidasParalelas (Guatemala)
56. Asociación deMujeres Empleadas y Desempleadas Unidas contra la Violencia (Guatemala)
57. Asociación lasCrisálidas de Villa Nueva (Guatemala)
58. Asociación Políticade Mujeres Mayas MOLOJ (Guatemala)
59. Asociación TransReinas de la Noche (Guatemala)
60. Organización deMujeres Afroamérica 21 (Guatemala)
61. Asociación GentePositiva (Guatemala)
62. Casa de la Cultura 4de Noviembre LGBTIQ (Guatemala)
63. Oficina para laDiversidad Sexual y de Género Alta Verapaz (Guatemala)
64. Trabajando UnidosHuehuetenango (Guatemala)
65. Refugio con VisiónDiversa Quiché (Guatemala)
66. GrupoMultidisciplinario por la Defensa de los Derechos Sexuales y Reproductivos(Guatemala)
67. Familiares deVíctimas del Diario Militar (Guatemala)
68. PlataformaInternacional contra la Impunidad (Guatemala)
69. Majawil Q'ij(Guatemala)
70. ASOGEN(Guatemala)
71. Pastoral de la MujerVAP (Guatemala)
72. IEPADES(Guatemala)
73. Union Nacional deMujeres Guatemaltecas UNAMG (Guatemala)
74. ONG GuatemaltecosUnidos para el Progreso de Guatemala UNIPROGUA (Guatemala)
75. Asociación deVecinos de Chicoyoguito de Coban Alta Verapaz AVECHAV (Guatemala)
76. H.I.J.O.S. Guatemala(Guatemala)
77. Central deOrganizaciones Indígenas Campesinas Ch´ort´i Nuevo Día (Guatemala)
78. Red deTransformación Guatemalteca RTG (Guatemala)
79. Resistencia PacíficaLa Puya (Guatemala)
80. Grupo de MujeresIxchel (Guatemala)
81. Rebeca Lane – SomosGuerreras- (Guatemala)
82. Go Joven Guatemala(Guatemala)
Organizations across the region and globe, including internationalorganizations
83. Asociación de Mujeres deGuatemala -AMG- (Spain)
84. Guatemala Human Rights Defenders Project (Washington, USA)
85. Colectiva Feminista MAPAS(Michoacan- Mexico)
86. Mujeres TransformandoMundos A.c. (Chiapas-México)
87. Centro de EducaciónIntegral de Base Chiapas (Mexico)
88. Maritimes – Guatemala Breaking the Silence Network (Canada)
89. Colectivo Miradas Criticasdel Territorio desde el Feminismo (Spain)
90. ColectivoMiradas Criticas del Territorio desde el Feminismo (Mexico)
91. Colectivo Miradas Criticasdel Territorio desde el Feminismo (Ecuador)
92. Colectivo Miradas Criticasdel Territorio desde el Feminismo (Peru)
93. Colectivo Miradas Criticasdel Territorio desde el Feminismo (Argentina)
94. Colectivo Miradas Criticasdel Territorio desde el Feminismo (Uruguay)
95. Campaña 28 de Septiembrepara América Latina y el Caribe.
96. Católicas por el Derecho aDecidir (Argentina)
97. Proyecto Generar(Argentina)
98. Centro de Apoyo Solidario,Documentación y Estudio, A.C. (Yucatán- México).
99. Peace Watch Switzerland(Switzerland)
100. Centro de AtenciónPsicosocial (Peru)
101. Fundación Ecuménica parael Desarrollo y la Paz -FEDEPAZ- (Peru)
102. Comisión Episcopal deAcción Social -CEAS- (Perú)
103. Coordinadora Nacional deDerechos Humanos -CNDDHH- (Peru)
104. Grupo de Trabajo contrala Tortura de la CNDDHH (Perú)
105. Coalición Colombianacontra la Tortura - CCCT – (Colombia)
106. Consorcio para el DiálogoParlamentario y la Equidad Oaxaca A.C. (Mexico)
107. ACI PARTICIPA (Honduras)
108. Comisión de Justicia, Paz e Integridadde la Creación, Provincia Franciscana Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe de Centroamericay Panamá
109. ComisiónInternacional de Juristas (CIJ)
110. Melel XojobalA.C. (Mexico)
111. Movimiento Latinoamericano y del Caribe de Niñas, Niños y Adolescentes Trabajadores(MOLACNNATS)
112. Mujeres TransformandoMundos A.C. (Chiapas-Mexico)
113. Peace Watch Switzerland (Switzerland)
114. Plataforma Internacional contra la Impunidad
115. Proyecto Generar (Argentina)
116. Red por los Derechos de la Infancia en Mexico - REDIM (Mexico)
117. Red Nacional de Organismos Civiles de Derechos Humanos - Red TDT (Mexico)
