On February 14, 2024, the American Bar Association’s Rule of Law Initiative (ROLI) and Center for Human Rights (CHR) began implementing the five-year Human Rights for All (HRA) project and held its official launch in September 2024. The HRA project aims to strengthen the Guatemalan human rights system so that all citizens are respected and protected. Through advocacy, education, awareness-raising, and capacity building, the HRA project promotes a culture of respect for human rights to foster the further development of Guatemala. The project is funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).
By working closely with civil society organizations, including its four core partners: Diálogos, the Protection Unit for Human Rights Defenders in Guatemala (UDEFEGUA), the National Business Council (CNE), and the Association “Commission Peace and Ecology” (COPAE), HRA project is working to improve the institutional environment to prevent and respond to human rights violations while promoting a culture of respect that allows for the development and protection of all citizens.
It seeks to foment an enabling environment to prevent abuses, improve protection mechanisms, and building capacity among civil society and government institutions, through three main objectives: first, ensure the enabling environment to prevent and mitigate human rights abuses is enhanced; second, the protection of human rights is improved; and third, the capacity of the Guatemalan civil society and selected government entities to respond to human rights abuses is increased.
The HRA Project is being implemented in ten municipalities in the country: Guatemala City, San Marcos, Sumpango, Jalapa, Cuilapa, Rabinal, Camotán, Jocotán, Puerto Barrios, and Livingston, all conflict-affected municipalities and with high levels of human rights violations.
To date, significant achievements include formalizing strategic partnerships with key government entities including the Presidential Secretariat for Women (Spanish - Secretaría Presidencial de la Mujer - SEPREM); the Human Rights Ombudsman’s Office (Spanish, Procuradoria de Derechos Humanos - PDH), and the Presidential Commission for Peace and Human Rights (Spanish, Comisión de Paz y Derechos Humanos - COPADEH). These partnerships support the evaluation of the National Policy for the Promotion and Integral Development of Women (Spanish, Política Nacional de Promoción y. Desarrollo Integral de las Mujeres - PNPDIM) led by SEPREM or the enhancement of human rights protection mechanisms through strategic planning workshops in Support of COPADEH’s objectives.
The HRA Project has also engaged with community leaders and local government entities in its ten prioritized municipalities to foster dialogues, mutual understanding, and cooperation. In addition, in the framework of the International Human Rights Day, the project supported the implementation of the Concert for Freedom of Expression, organized by the COPADEH. Other key milestones include the signing of four subawards with the HRA Project’s core partners to amplify its goals by improving civil society's technical capacity and engagement in research, community-based strategies, and advocacy efforts in Guatemala.