August 2, 2011
Hastings Women's Law Journal

Abstract:

This report presents information on the current state of femicide in Guatemala. In Part II, we discuss the meaning of the term “femicide” and place the phenomenon as emerging out of a culture involving pervasive and widespread violence against women. In Part III, we revisit a topic examined in our prior two reports — the theories regarding the causes for the escalating gender-motivated murders of women. In Part IV, we detail the response of the Guatemalan government to rising violence, as well as the efforts and pronouncements of international human rights bodies regarding the femicide. We also examine the efficacy, or lack thereof, of recent developments in Guatemala, as well as the barriers that exist to meaningful change. Finally, in Part V, we discuss recommendations for action by the Guatemalan government, as well as for other significant actors involved in developing a response to this phenomenon, including the United States government....

May 11, 2009
Households in Conflict Network // Institute of Development Studies // University of Sussex

Abstract:

We combine data from the 2002 National Population Census and the distribution of the number of victims and human rights violations across 22 departments to examine how the worst period of the civil war in Guatemala, between 1979 and 1984, affected human capital accumulation. The year of birth and the department of birth jointly determine an individual's exposure to the worst period of the civil war. Specifically, the identification strategy exploits variation in the war's intensity across departments and which cohorts were school age during the war. We find a strong negative impact of the civil war on female education, with exposed girls completing 0.44 years less schooling than non-exposed girls. Given an average of 3.65 years of schooling for females, this represents a 12 percent decline. This impact is stronger for older female cohorts exposed to the war, who completed 0.64 years less schooling, a decline of 17 percent. Older males exposed to the war were less likely to complete grades 7 to 12. However, older females exposed to the war experienced a larger decline in completing grades 4 to 12. These effects are robust to the inclusion of indicators for department of residence, year of birth, and controls for differential trends in human development in war affected and peaceful departments of Guatemala....

September 29, 2008
Wilton Park // Japan International Cooperation Agency // United Nations Development Programme

Abstract:

Recent research on civil wars in poor countries has focused on structural conditions as causal factors, and a rich literature has emerged over the last decade. While these analyses consider specific conditions such as natural resource reliance or grievances over horizontal inequalities, and have generated controversies, they also consistently point to weak governance as a common and underlying factor. This paper considers the role of state-citizen relationship, its nature and breakdown as a part of the process that lead to war, and its restoration as an important part of the peacebuilding and conflict prevention processes. Taking the human rights perspective to the compact between state and citizen, it explores the links between the state obligations to guarantee human rights of citizens and civil wars. The paper draws on the cases of Guatemala, Liberia and Nepal to shows that where the state fails to meet its human rights obligations including the functions of security and basic needs the compact between the state and citizens breaks down, but to meet these obligations requires institutional and financial capacity. The paper then explores the nature economic, social and governance reform policies that would restore state-citizen compact....

May 12, 2008
University of Ottawa // Paris, Roland

Abstract:

The United Nations and other international agencies conducted three major post-conflict peacebuilding operations in central America in the 1990s: in Nicaragua, El Salvador and Guatemala. Like the many other international peacebuilding missions that were deployed during the 1990s, the operations in Central America aimed to assist local actors in the implementation of peace settlements after civil wars, and more generally to create the conditions for what UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan has called a 'stable and lasting peace,' or a peace that is likely to endure for the foreseeable future. Peacebuilding, in other words, is more than merely the supervision of ceasefires among former combatants. According to both Annan and his predecessor, Boutros Boutros Ghali, the overarching goal of peacebuilding is to eliminate the underlying sources of conflict in a war-shattered state, in order to reduce the likelihood of renewed violence....

March 26, 2008
Annual Convention of the International Studies Association

Abstract:

In November 2006, a local trial court in Guatemala’s capital ordered the arrest of the country’s ex-President, Oscar Mejía Víctores, along with ex-Defense Minister Anibal Guevara, ex-Police Chief German Chupina, and Pedro Arredondo, ex-head of the Secret Police, on charges of genocide, torture, enforced disappearances, arbitrary detention and terrorism. The defendants, along with two others whose arrest warrants were not executed, were deeply implicated in the conceptualization and execution of a repressive state strategy that resulted in the deaths of 200,000 Guatemalans and the destruction of over 400 villages. Although the arrest order was carried out through a Guatemalan court, it was issued by a Spanish judge, Santiago Pedraz. Judge Pedraz of Spain’s Audiencia Nacional issued the warrants in July 2006, followed by formal extradition requests. He based Spanish jurisdiction over crimes committed by Guatemalans in Guatemala on a Spanish law which allows universal jurisdiction over certain international crimes....

January 8, 2007
National Public Radio

Abstract:

Ten years ago, Guatemala's government signed a peace deal with guerrilla fighters, meant to end decades of civil war. But violence has persisted, and conditions in much of the country remain grim. A presidential candidate has said that Guatemala is close to being a failed state. Dennis Smith, a Presbyterian missionary in Guatemala City, tells Linda Wertheimer about his own experiences there.

November 22, 2005
National Security Archive // George Washington University

Abstract:

On July 5, officials from the Guatemalan government's human rights office (PDH - Procuradurxc3xada de Derechos Humanos) entered a deteriorating, rat-infested munitions depot in downtown Guatemala City to investigate complaints about improperly-stored explosives. During inspection of the site, investigators found a vast collection of documents, stored in five buildings and in an advanced state of decay. The files belonged to the National Police, the central branch of Guatemala's security forces during the war - an entity so inextricably linked to violent repression, abduction, disappearances, torture and assassination that the country's 1996 peace accord mandated it be completely disbanded and a new police institution created in its stead. The scope of this find is staggering - PDH officials estimate that there are 4.5 kilometers - some 75 million pages - of materials. During a visit to the site in early August, I saw file cabinets marked "assassinations," "disappeared" and "homicides," as well as folders labeled with the names of internationally-known victims of political murder, such as anthropologist Myrna Mack (killed by security forces in 1990). ...

June 2, 2011
International Crisis Group

Abstract:

Crisis Watch summarises briefly developments during the previous month in some 70 situations of current or potential conflict, listed alphabetically by region, providing references and links to more detailed information sources (all references mentioned are hyperlinked in the electronic version of this bulletin); ƒƒassesses whether the overall situation in each case has, during the previous month, significantly deteriorated, significantly improved, or on balance remained more or less unchanged; ƒƒalerts readers to situations where, in the coming month, there is a particular risk of new or significantly escalated conflict, or a particular conflict resolution opportunity (noting that in some instances there may in fact be both); and ƒƒsummarises Crisis Group’s reports and briefing papers that have been published in the last month.

Amid mounting tensions between North and South Sudan over the disputed border area of Abyei, clashes broke out between the two sides at the beginning of the month. Northern Sudanese forces invaded Abyei on 20 May and asserted control in breach of existing peace agreements. Tens of thousands are reported to have fled south. The attacks threaten renewed conflict and weaken confidence between North and South as critical post-referendum arrangements remain unresolved. Tensions also increased over military control and the presence of armed forces in the transitional areas of Blue Nile and South Kordofan, and CrisisWatch identifies a conflict risk alert for North Sudan for the coming month. Violence escalated further in Yemen, where military forces loyal to President Saleh battled on several fronts, renewing fears that the continued political stalemate could erupt into civil war.

President Bashar al-Assad's regime in Syria continued to use troops and tanks to violently suppress the ongoing revolt, with hundreds of protesters feared killed, thousands detained, and widespread reports of torture.

In Pakistan, the U.S. killing of al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden in Abbottabad at the beginning of the month again raised questions about the military's possible involvement with jihadist groups.

Local elections in Albania on 8 May proved even more troubled than anticipated as the race for the Tirana mayor's seat ended deep within the margin of error.

In Guatemala, the Mexican Los Zetas cartel killed and decapitated 27 farm workers in the northern Petén department.

In Serbia, war crimes fugitive Ratko Mladic, the Bosnian Serb military leader accused of commanding the Srebrenica massacre and the siege of Sarajevo during the 1992-95 Bosnian war, was arrested after 16 years on the run. He was extradited to The Hague, where he will stand trial for genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity....

October 17, 2008
International Center for Transitional Justice

Abstract:

Case studies of four truth commissions organized in Africa and the Americas that are notably positive examples of how circumstances in each society helped shape the commissions' work. The cases reviewed include South Africa, Peru, Guatemala, and Greensboro, USA.

February 8, 2006
Human Rights First

Abstract:

Myrna Mack, a renowned Guatemalan anthropologist, was assassinated on September 11, 1990, in Guatemala City. She had been stalked for two weeks prior to her death by a military death squad, who targeted her in retaliation for her pioneering field work on the destruction of rural indigenous communities. For over twelve years, Myrna's sister, Helen Mack, has fought tirelessly to bring to justice all persons involved in the murder, including high ranking officials in the Guatemalan armed forces.

October 6, 2005
Globalsecurity.org

Abstract:

A dictatorship led by General Jorge Ubico was overthrown in 1944 by a group of dissident military officers, students, and professionals. Juan Jose Arevalo, a civilian, was popularly elected in democratic elections, became president in 1945 and began an extensive program of liberal social reforms. These reforms were continued by his successor, Colonel Jacobo Arbenz, who took office in 1951 and also legalized the communist Guatemalan Labor Party. The Labor Party began to control labor unions, peasant organizations, and the governing political party. American firms in Guatemala such as the United Fruit Company became increasingly discontent with the Guatemalan government, especially after the Arbenz government passed a law expropriating large estates, a law which greatly affected the United Fruit Company's plantations. The United States itself also began to fear the increasingly communist nature of the Arbenz government and coupled with pressure from the United Fruit Company and other firms, the CIA supported a coup that invaded Guatemala from Honduras and quickly took control of the government, installing military dictator Colonel Carlos Castillo Armas. The coup and the resulting regime began an almost 50-year period of military dictators, fraudulent elections, and civil wars that claimed 200,000 lives, many of them civilians....

October 6, 2005
Globalsecurity.org

Abstract:

Guatemala suffered more than 36 years of internal conflict, which formally ended with the signing of the Peace Accords at the end of 1996. The war is over, 200,000 paramilitary troops have been disbanded, nearly 3,000 guerrillas have been demobilized and resettled and are now being integrated into the political and economic life of the country. Despite some progress, many Peace Accord commitments remain unfulfilled. There are still enormous problems of poverty -- especially in the rural areas -- and of participation, credit and economic opportunity. ...

April 23, 2005
United States Institute of Peace

Abstract:

Generally, truth commissions are bodies established to research and report on human rights abuses over a certain period of time in a particular country or in relation to a particular conflict. Truth commissions allow victims, their relatives and perpetrators to give evidence of human rights abuses, providing an official forum for their accounts. In most instances, truth commissions are also required by their mandate to provide r#ecommendations on steps to prevent a recurrence of such abuses.

January 4, 2011
Foreign Policy Magazine // International Crisis Group

Abstract:

Across the globe today, you'll find almost three dozen raging conflicts, from the valleys of Afghanistan to the jungles of the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the streets of Kashmir. But what are the next crises that might erupt in 2011? Here are a few worrisome spots that make our list. [Captions provided by International Crisis Group]

August 12, 2007
British Broadcasting Corporatoin

Abstract:

Forty-six children in Guatemala, believed to have been taken from their parents for illegal adoption abroad have been rescued, officials say.

February 18, 2005


Abstract:

ASIES is a private non-profit service organization dedicated to the promotion of scientific study and analysis of Guatemalan political, socioeconomic and cultural reality.

February 8, 2006
Women's International League for Peace and Freedom

Abstract:

This portal links to a number of resources related to women, peace and security in Guatemala.

November 20, 2006
Center for Gender and Refugee Studies

Abstract:

In just the past five years, over 2200 young Guatemalan women have been murdered, 665 in 2005 alone. What local activists are calling "femicide" is spreading in Guatemala and throughout Latin America. The killings are notable for their brutality and the continuing impunity of those responsible. There have been just twelve successful prosecutions; less than 10% of the reported cases of femicide in Guatemala have even been investigated.

July 28, 2011
Fundación para las Relaciones Internacionales y el Diálogo Exterior

Abstract:

What role do women play in statebuilding? How do statebuilding processes affect women's participation? Support for statebuilding has become the dominant model for international engagement in post-conflict contexts, yet donor approaches lack substantial gender analysis and are missing opportunities to promote gender equality. This paper presents findings from a research project on the impact of post-conflict statebuilding on women's citizenship. It argues that gender inequalities are linked to the underlying political settlement, and that donors must therefore address gender as a fundamentally political issue....

June 16, 2011
International Crisis Group

Abstract:

Guatemalans go to the polls in September 2011 to elect a president, the Congress and local officials. The vote itself is likely to be reasonably free, but violence and unregulated campaign finance imperil the country’s political institutions. Deteriorated security, drug traffickers’ brutality and polarised politics leave candidates especially vulnerable to attacks. An exorbitant campaign, meanwhile, threatens to indebt office-holders to powerful financial interests, including organised crime, deepening corruption and widening the gulf between citizens and their politicians. State security agencies should redouble efforts to prevent bloodshed, especially in the most dangerous municipalities; politicians and parties must fully reveal who funds them, and the Public Prosecutor’s office, electoral authorities and donors should press them to do so....

May 31, 2011
International Crisis Group

Abstract:

Since it began operations in September 2007, the International Commission Against Impunity in Guatemala (Comisión Internacional contra la Impunidad en Guatemala, CICIG) has brought a degree of hope to a country deeply scarred by post-conflict violence and entrenched impunity. As homicide rates sky-rocketed to rival Mexico’s, and criminals fought for territorial control and dominated or corrupted multiple levels of state agencies, the novel independent investigating entity created by agreement between the government and the UN Secretary-General responded to fear that illegal armed groups had become a threat to the state itself. Much remains to be done, however. During the next years the commission should establish the strategic basis for dismantling the illegal security forces and clandestine security organisations (Cuerpos Ile­ga­les y Aparatos Clandestinos de Seguridad, CIACS) over the long term and building Guatemalan justice capacity, including by supporting national ownership of the commission’s functions and embedding them within the judicial system.

CICIG’s formal mandate is to support and assist domestic justice institutions in the investigation and prosecution of crimes committed by CIACS, to identify their structures, operations and financing and ultimately to dismantle them. At the same time, CICIG has sought to strengthen the weak judicial system in order to put an end to impunity, a task made infinitely more difficult by the complex relationship between elements of state institutions, political parties, the private sector and the CIACS....

April 28, 2011
Norwegian Peacebuilding Centre // Noref

Abstract:

Criminal violence has taken on epidemic proportions in several Latin American countries. While the violence has complex causes and expressions, a major reason behind the current surge in levels is the strengthening of transnational criminal organisations (TCOs), most of which are based on illicit drug trafficking. TCOs have fuelled a deepening of multi-faceted state crises, which in some cases may be characterised as the “criminalisation of the state”. The seminar on which this report is based focused on the causes of this wave of violence and policy responses at different levels.

The main conclusion from the seminar was that, while US policy includes an array of measures, it is still heavily focused on military assistance and a “supply-side” approach to curbing the flow of drugs and other illicit goods into the US. National responses have in many cases mirrored this approach, focusing on strengthening police controls and in some cases deploying military forces. Regional responses have so far proven weak, yet there are important initiatives in the pipeline. The idea of an alternative agenda is also gaining support both nationally and regionally. This includes measures to decriminalise the production and possession of soft drugs, bolster police and judicial reform, and focus on treatment and finding alternative livelihoods for growers....

March 7, 2011
Amnesty International // International Action Network on Small Arms

Abstract:

Over the past decade, there has been growing international momentum to conceptualise, document and address the various manifestations of “armed violence”. To date the discourse has focused largely on the causes and effects of armed violence and explored the range of available programming options to prevent and reduce it. Discussions on the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) currently underway in the United Nations (UN) provide an important opportunity to examine armed violence in the context of decisions concerning international transfers and the export and import of conventional arms used in armed violence. One of the objectives of the ATT is to address the “absence of common international standards on the import, export and transfer of conventional arms.” As the UN General Assembly has noted, this absence contributes to “conflict, displacement of people, crime and terrorism” thereby undermining peace, reconciliation, safety, security, stability and sustainable development.” In other words, the absence of such common international standards contributes to armed violence.

This report is divided into two parts, and includes three case studies drawn from recent examples of armed violence in Bangladesh, Guatemala and the Philippines. Part I examines how an ATT with a clearly elaborated risk assessment process can make a contribution to the prevention and reduction of armed violence. Part II focuses on one form of armed violence: firearms-related homicide. Discussions of armed violence have repeatedly noted that the use of firearms in non-conflict settings is the most prevalent form of armed violence and the form that results in the most deaths and injuries. This fact underscores the importance of adopting an approach to addressing armed violence that will encompass violence outside of armed conflict settings....