Guatemala
17.10.02
Urgent Interventions
Guatemala: six street children and youths have been wounded after a drive-by shooting
Case GTM 171002.CC / GTM 171002
CHILD CONCERN / URGENT APPEAL
Attempted killing
The International Secretariat of OMCT requests your URGENT intervention in the following situation in Guatemala.
Brief description of the Situation
The International Secretariat of OMCT has been informed by Casa Alianza, a member of the OMCT network, that in the early morning of October 16th, 2002, a total of six street children and youths – one of whom was 4 months pregnant - were wounded, including some serious injuries, after a drive-by shooting which targeted a group of twenty children and youths who were sleeping in downtown Guatemala City.
The victims were Nery Rolando Recinos, 16; Jaquelin Yajaira Franco Barrera, 15; Henry Giovani Alvarez Jimenez, 19; and Emilio Sanay Sirin, 26, who were all treated and released from the San Juan de Dios hospital. The pregnant girl Sandra Verónica Guamuch Torres, 17, and Manuel Isaisa Aj, 15, who was shot in the right knee, were both hospitalised in serious but stable condition.
The 22 homeless children and youths aged 12 and above, were reportedly sleeping in a large abandoned house known as “La Casona” in Zone 4 of Guatemala City, when two men walked by the building and insulted the homeless group. Shortly afterwards, at about 1:30am, two armed men on a motorcycle drove by and opened fire on the children who were trying to sleep, resulting in several of them being wounded.
According to the witnesses, a few minutes later a black Chevrolet Suburban vehicle with tinted windows drove to the entrance of the house and one of the occupants partially wound down the window and shouted that if the children reported the crime, then they would return to “finish them off”.
“La Casona” is a partly demolished house that serves as a “home” for several dozen street children who are regularly visited by Casa Alianza street educators. Many of the children are addicted to toxic solvent-based shoe glue, which suppresses their feelings of hunger and cold.
According to the information received, several of the traumatized children immediately went to look for a police car, which arrived shortly afterwards. According to the youngsters, as the police called an ambulance, the same black Chevrolet returned to the scene of the crime and despite their explaining to the police that these were the culprits, the police reportedly did not try to detain the vehicle or question its occupants.
Despite the fact that Casa Alianza reported this most recent serious incident to the authorities, the Public Prosecutor has reportedly not yet visited the scene of the crime or interviewed the hospitalised victims. Investigators from Casa Alianza’s Legal Aid Program recovered seven bullet shells and a bullet head as evidence from the scene of the crime, which have been forwarded to the authorities.
OMCT wishes to recall that Guatemala is party to the Convention on the Rights of the Child and bound to the obligation therein to “(…) recognize that every child has the inherent right to life (…) (and to) ensure to the maximum extent possible the survival and development of the child (article 6).
The International Secretariat of OMCT expresses its grave concern about the situation of street children, and particularly over the physical and psychological safety and integrity of all street children and youths in Guatemala City.
Action requested
Please write to the authorities of Guatemala urging them to:
i. guarantee the security and the physical and psychological integrity of the above-mentioned street child and youths who have become the victims of attempted killing and ensure them the right to adequate reparation;
ii. carry out an impartial and exhaustive inquiry into the attempted killing of these street children and youths, bring those responsible before a competent and impartial tribunal and apply the penal, civil and administrative sanctions provided by law;
iii. guarantee that the afore-mentioned children and youths get access to specialised programmes of medical assistance and rehabilitation;
iv. adopt immediate measures to put an end to the cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment of all street children of Guatemala, in particular to the attempted killing of street children and youths;
v. guarantee the respect of human rights and the fundamental freedoms of all children throughout the country in accordance with national laws and international human rights standards, in particularly the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
Addresses
· S.E. Alfonso Antonio Portillo Cabrera, Presidente de la República de Guatemala, Palacio Nacional, Guatemala, Guatemala. Fax : + 502 221 44 23 or 334 16 15 or 230-1508 E-mail : secgralp@infovia.com.gt
· Eduardo Aravalo Lacs, Minister of the Interior, Ministerio de Gobernacion, 6a Avenida 4-64, Zona 4, Ciudad de Guatemala, GUATEMALA, Fax: + 502 362 0239 / 362 0237
· Lic. Julio Eduardo Arango Escobar , Procurador de Derechos Humanos, Procuraduria de los Derechos Humanos, 12 Avenida 12-72, Zona 1, Guatemala 01001, GUATEMALA, Fax: + 502 238 1734 or 2535712 or E-mail: opdhg@guatenet.net.gt
· Lic. Adolfo González Rodas, Fiscal General de la Nación, Ministerio Público, 6 Av 3-11, Zona 4, Guatemala. Guatemala. Fax : + 502 331 4336
· Sr. Victor Hugo Monroy, Director of the Guatemalan Government's Human Rights Office, fax +502-334-1615 or E-mail: copredeh@guate.net
Please also write to the embassies of Guatemala in your respective country
Geneva, October 17th, 2002
Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this appeal in your reply.
CHILD CONCERN / URGENT APPEAL
Attempted killing
The International Secretariat of OMCT requests your URGENT intervention in the following situation in Guatemala.
Brief description of the Situation
The International Secretariat of OMCT has been informed by Casa Alianza, a member of the OMCT network, that in the early morning of October 16th, 2002, a total of six street children and youths – one of whom was 4 months pregnant - were wounded, including some serious injuries, after a drive-by shooting which targeted a group of twenty children and youths who were sleeping in downtown Guatemala City.
The victims were Nery Rolando Recinos, 16; Jaquelin Yajaira Franco Barrera, 15; Henry Giovani Alvarez Jimenez, 19; and Emilio Sanay Sirin, 26, who were all treated and released from the San Juan de Dios hospital. The pregnant girl Sandra Verónica Guamuch Torres, 17, and Manuel Isaisa Aj, 15, who was shot in the right knee, were both hospitalised in serious but stable condition.
The 22 homeless children and youths aged 12 and above, were reportedly sleeping in a large abandoned house known as “La Casona” in Zone 4 of Guatemala City, when two men walked by the building and insulted the homeless group. Shortly afterwards, at about 1:30am, two armed men on a motorcycle drove by and opened fire on the children who were trying to sleep, resulting in several of them being wounded.
According to the witnesses, a few minutes later a black Chevrolet Suburban vehicle with tinted windows drove to the entrance of the house and one of the occupants partially wound down the window and shouted that if the children reported the crime, then they would return to “finish them off”.
“La Casona” is a partly demolished house that serves as a “home” for several dozen street children who are regularly visited by Casa Alianza street educators. Many of the children are addicted to toxic solvent-based shoe glue, which suppresses their feelings of hunger and cold.
According to the information received, several of the traumatized children immediately went to look for a police car, which arrived shortly afterwards. According to the youngsters, as the police called an ambulance, the same black Chevrolet returned to the scene of the crime and despite their explaining to the police that these were the culprits, the police reportedly did not try to detain the vehicle or question its occupants.
Despite the fact that Casa Alianza reported this most recent serious incident to the authorities, the Public Prosecutor has reportedly not yet visited the scene of the crime or interviewed the hospitalised victims. Investigators from Casa Alianza’s Legal Aid Program recovered seven bullet shells and a bullet head as evidence from the scene of the crime, which have been forwarded to the authorities.
OMCT wishes to recall that Guatemala is party to the Convention on the Rights of the Child and bound to the obligation therein to “(…) recognize that every child has the inherent right to life (…) (and to) ensure to the maximum extent possible the survival and development of the child (article 6).
The International Secretariat of OMCT expresses its grave concern about the situation of street children, and particularly over the physical and psychological safety and integrity of all street children and youths in Guatemala City.
Action requested
Please write to the authorities of Guatemala urging them to:
i. guarantee the security and the physical and psychological integrity of the above-mentioned street child and youths who have become the victims of attempted killing and ensure them the right to adequate reparation;
ii. carry out an impartial and exhaustive inquiry into the attempted killing of these street children and youths, bring those responsible before a competent and impartial tribunal and apply the penal, civil and administrative sanctions provided by law;
iii. guarantee that the afore-mentioned children and youths get access to specialised programmes of medical assistance and rehabilitation;
iv. adopt immediate measures to put an end to the cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment of all street children of Guatemala, in particular to the attempted killing of street children and youths;
v. guarantee the respect of human rights and the fundamental freedoms of all children throughout the country in accordance with national laws and international human rights standards, in particularly the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
Addresses
· S.E. Alfonso Antonio Portillo Cabrera, Presidente de la República de Guatemala, Palacio Nacional, Guatemala, Guatemala. Fax : + 502 221 44 23 or 334 16 15 or 230-1508 E-mail : secgralp@infovia.com.gt
· Eduardo Aravalo Lacs, Minister of the Interior, Ministerio de Gobernacion, 6a Avenida 4-64, Zona 4, Ciudad de Guatemala, GUATEMALA, Fax: + 502 362 0239 / 362 0237
· Lic. Julio Eduardo Arango Escobar , Procurador de Derechos Humanos, Procuraduria de los Derechos Humanos, 12 Avenida 12-72, Zona 1, Guatemala 01001, GUATEMALA, Fax: + 502 238 1734 or 2535712 or E-mail: opdhg@guatenet.net.gt
· Lic. Adolfo González Rodas, Fiscal General de la Nación, Ministerio Público, 6 Av 3-11, Zona 4, Guatemala. Guatemala. Fax : + 502 331 4336
· Sr. Victor Hugo Monroy, Director of the Guatemalan Government's Human Rights Office, fax +502-334-1615 or E-mail: copredeh@guate.net
Please also write to the embassies of Guatemala in your respective country
Geneva, October 17th, 2002
Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this appeal in your reply.