Legal Assistance to Victims of Human Rights Abuses in Guatemala on Hold

In Guatemala, the municipality of Rabinal is one of the towns most affected by the country’s 36-year internal armed conflict. Residents in Rabinal experienced grave human rights violations committed by the Guatemalan army and paramilitaries between 1981 and 1983, including extrajudicial executions, forced disappearances, and acts of sexual violence against women. 

Since its inception over 35 years ago, the American Bar Association’s Center for Global Programs (ABA CGP) has been a staunch defender of the truth, justice and human rights. Our programs work to protect the most vulnerable from gross human rights violations, but those programs had to abruptly stop due to the US foreign aid freeze. For example, in Guatemala, ABA CGP was prepared to offer legal and psychosocial support to the Mujeres Achí (Achí Women), a group of ethnic-minority women who suffered high rates of sexual violence at the hands of the Guatemalan Government during this period. According to analysis done by the case lawyers, the grave human rights violations committed by the Guatemalan army and paramilitaries qualify as crimes against humanity, noted by the International Criminal Court, article 7 of the Rome Statute and the Guatemalan Penal Code and Criminal Procedure Code.

In 2011, the survivors started opening up about their experiences, which eventually led to the Mujeres Achí case. Since more than 40 years have passed, some of the victims have died due to illness or old age. In the Mujeres Achí case, six of the 36 women who initiated the case in 2011 have passed away.

Funded by ABA CGP’s Human Rights for All (HRA) project, lawyer Lucía Xiloj was preparing for the oral and public debate of the Mujeres Achí case.

“The freezing of funds was a great challenge for us, because we had strategic support to work with witnesses and experts to provide psychosocial and legal support to survivors of the armed conflict. We couldn't do in-depth work without these resources. Now we face obstacles in terms of time and financial resources, which makes it difficult for us to offer more direct support to survivors and witnesses,” said Lucía.

Jesus Tecú, Director of the Rabinal Law Firm, supporting the case, explained the severe repercussions the funding freeze has had on the firm's ability to support the victims.

"[With HRA] we expected to support 30 women victims in the case and now we can only accompany 10 to the hearings because we do not have enough funds. The presiding judge of the court reviews the list of victims present every day, so we always try to ensure that some of them participate during the hearings," explained Jesus. 

ABA CGP was also providing similar legal support in a case known as the Chichupac Massacre case. The Inter-American Commission found that the Guatemalan State violated multiple rights under the American Convention and other international agreements during the massacre of the Maya Achí indigenous people of Chichupac village and neighboring communities. However, the Guatemalan justice system still struggles to implement this decision and ensure that victims’ access to justice is in line with international human rights standards. The US foreign aid freeze immediately suspended the ABA’s legal assistance to the Mujeres Achí and Chichupac Massacre cases at an important moment when they were being processed through the Guatemalan judicial system. This situation not only puts the lawyers and civil society organizations working in these cases at risk but detrimentally impacts the victims and survivors. 

Due to the aid freeze, ABA CGP was forced to withdraw support in the Mujeres Achí case, which included preparing 15 witness statements and seven expert reports and analyzing 56 documents. Our technical assistance was expected to benefit 22 individuals through legal support for the case. It also aimed to provide legal and/or psychosocial support to 160 victims of the Chichupac massacre and the Mujeres Achí case, highlighting the importance of comprehensive assistance in promoting justice and reparation for victims.

The trial for the Mujeres Achí case began on January 28. Both the attorney and psychologist, known for their work on transitional justice cases, are generously supporting the victims without payment but this is unjust and unsustainable. But they continue to do so because they believe in the cause and work tirelessly to support survivors of gross human rights violations. 

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