Joint Press Release: Climate of intimidation against civil society after the regrettable decision not to renew CICIG’s mandate
JOINT PRESS RELEASE – THE OBSERVATORY / UDEFEGUAGeneva-Paris-Guatemala City, September 6,2018 – Police interventions seeking to locate the leaders of human rightsorganisations as well as monitoring and surveillance of their offices areexamples of the intimidation taking place in Guatemala after President JimmyMorales’ decision not to renew CICIG’s mandate, theObservatory and UDEFEGUA have denounced.
On August 31, the President of the Republicof Guatemala announced his decision not to renew the mandate of theInternational Commission against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG), which will endin September 2019. The announcement was made in the framework of a pressconference in which President Jimmy Morales was surrounded by senior police andmilitary officers and while police and military units were deployed throughoutGuatemala City, including near the office of CICIG. The decision has been madeby the President of Guatemala while an investigation against him is carried outdue to alleged illegal financing of his election campaign.
The Observatory and UDEFEGUA report thatsince the run-up to the press conference there has been a climate ofintimidation and harassment against the main human rights organisations in thecountry and, specifically, against their leaders.
It has been documented by UDEFEGUA that theNational Civilian Police (PNC) tried to track down at least seven human rightsorganisations leaders in the run-up to and immediately after the announcementthat CICIG’s mandate would not be renewed. The listincluded Mr. Nery Rodenas, Head ofOficina de Derechos Humanos del Arzobispado de Guatemala (ODHAG), Ms. Helen Mack, Executive Director of theMyrna Mack Foundation, Mr. AlfonsoCarrillo, human rights lawyer, Mr. DanielPascual, leader of Comité de Unidad Campesina (CUC), Ms. Iduvina Hernández, Asociación para elEstudio y la Promoción de la Seguridad en Democracia (SEDEM), Mr. Jorge Alberto Santos, GeneralCoordinator of UDEFEGUA, and Ms. ClaudiaVirginia Samayoa, President of the Board of UDEFEGUA and member of theExecutive Council of OMCT.
According to one person who did speak to thePNC, the police officers stated that they were assessing the effectiveness ofthe protection measures granted to human rights defenders in Guatemala.However, several facts lead to believe that they were carrying out anintimidation campaign against human rights defenders in the framework of the currentpolitical and human rights crisis in Guatemala. Firstly, they arrived at theoffices unannounced around the time President Morales’ press conference took place. Moreover, several of these individuals havenever been granted protection measures. Secondly, it is important to note thatsince August 31 several police and military units have been monitoring andsurveying the offices of social, popular and human rights organisations,including with armoured and armed vehicles. One example is the fact that anUDEFEGUA building has been permanently and continuously surveyed since August31.
Therefore, the Observatory and UDEFEGUA urgethe Guatemalan authorities to end any acts of intimidation against theGuatemalan civil society and, specifically, against human rights organisations.
Lastly, the Observatory and UDEFEGUA condemnthe decision not to renew CICIG’s mandate. This commissionhas played a paramount role in the fight against impunity and corruption in thecountry, a key requirement to ensure the respect of human rights and,specifically, to guarantee the full protection of human rights defenders inGuatemala. Furthermore, the Observatory and UDEFEGUA condemn the illegaldecision, which opposes the rulings of the Constitutional Court, to bar entryto the Commissioner of CICIG Iván Velásquez and urge the Guatemalan authoritiesto urgently reverse both decisions[1].
For more information, please contact:
- OMCT: MiguelMartín Zumalacárregui / Delphine Reculeau: (+41) 22 809 49 39
- FIDH: JoséCarlos Thissen : +51 95 41 31 650
- UDEFEGUA: Jorge Alberto Santos Contraras :(+502) 31 100 753
The Observatory for the Protection of Human RightsDefenders (the Observatory) was created in 1997 by FIDH and the WorldOrganisation Against Torture (OMCT). The objective of this programme is tointervene to prevent or remedy situations of repression against human rightsdefenders. FIDH and OMCT are both members of ProtectDefenders.eu,the European Union Human Rights Defenders Mechanism implemented byinternational civil society.
The Unit for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders of Guatemala(UDEFEGUA) is an organization that provides services to human rights defendersin Guatemala and in countries of the Central American region since 2000, forthe generation of individual and Collective self-management of risks. UDEFEGUAis a member organization of the SOS-Torture Network of OMCT.
[1] See also yesterday’s Press Releasepublished by FIDH and its member organisation in Guatemala, “Organizaciones rechazan medidasarbitraria y difamatorias contra la CICIG”.
