Program News and Updates

Immigration and Trade

• MIGUA, the Movement of Guatemalan Immigrants, expresses concern over Congress' approach to immigration reform, citing frustration with some who focus on a temporary worker program, which deepens rifts with local unions, instead of pushing for a more comprehensive immigration reform. Lea el articulo en Prensa Libre.


• GHRC marches in support of immigrant rights, May 1.


• April 9, 2009: White House Announces Plans for Immigration Reform


• April 4, 2009: GHRC gave a presentation on US trade policy and its effects on immigration at the 24th annual Peace, Justice, and Environmental Conference sponsored by Pax Christi and Maryland United for Peace and Justice


• The March delegation to Guatemala was a success. Delegates met with policy analysts, community groups, cooperatives, and immigrant rights advocates across the country. The group shared its experiences with the US Embassy in Guatemala City.

For Women's Right to Live

• GHRC releases a report analysing the effectiveness of the report and provide recommendations.


• GHRC brought Rosa Lopez, mother of femicide victim Maria Isabel, to Washington, DC to be present at Inter-American Commission on Human Rights for her daughter's trial. It was the Commission's first-ever femicide trial to be heard.

Human Rights Defenders

• April 9: GHRC met with Gladys Monterroso, Human Rights Ombudsman Sergio Morales, and a representative of the Guatemalan Embassy to express support for Gladys, the investigation of her case, and other victims of violence in Guatemala.


• GHRC hosted Amílcar Méndez, long-time human rights activist, who visited Washington seeking investigation and justice in the case of his son, Pepe, murdered in 2007.

News Archive

• Despite overwhelming community opposition, environmental destruction, and drastic effects on the health of the community members, the Canadian mining company Goldcorp continues to operate the Marlin Mine in the region of San Miguel, Ixtahuacán. Read more about the mine and watch a video about eight women who resisted.
  
• New Guatemalan Attorney General encouraged to investigate cases of death threats and murders of human rights defenders. Read Letter.


• National Security Archive launches website for The Guatemala Project, with declassified documents from the Guatemalan Archives since 1994, as well as other links and analysis.


• 2008 Testimony from the Spanish Court: Guatemalan Genocide Hearings


• Guatemalan Interior Minister Killed in Helicopter Crash (The Associated Press, June 28): A helicopter crash killed Guatemala's Interior Minister Vinicio Gomez, Vice Interior Minister Edgar Hernandez, the pilot and one other passenger in Baja Verapaz on Friday... (read more)
  
  
• US Approves Merida Initiative for Mexico and Central America (WOLA, June 27): The U.S. Senate has approved $400 million to help Mexico fight drug-related violence, sending the bill to President Bush for his signature.  Known as the Mérida Initiative, the package includes a further $65 million in security aid to be divided among seven countries of Central America plus Haiti and the Dominican Republic... (read more)


• Guatemalan Congress Approves Law Against Femicide (Latina America Press, May 2):
  On April 5, 16-year-old Carmen del Rosario Aguirre and her friend Yesenia Adaly Pérez Arévalo, 17, went to the local market of La Parroquia. Both girls came from the village of Rincón de la Peña, in the municipality of Palencia, about 30 kilometers (19 miles) from Guatemala City... (read more)
  
  
• Bishop Ramazzini Threatened in Guatemala (April 3) Monseñor Álvaro Leonel Ramazzini Imeri, bishop of the Diocese of San Marcos and president of the Guatemalan Bishop’s Conference, received a death threat on March 31, 2008. Read more.
  
  
• Guatemalan Stresses Immigrant Sacrifices (Washington Post, April 30): Guatemalan President Alvaro Colom, on his first visit to Washington since taking office in January, said yesterday that his country's discredited police and justice systems need to be "reordered and disciplined" and that Guatemalan immigrants who are in the United States illegally deserve the same temporary legal protections that have been granted other Central Americans... (read more)


• Commemoration of Bishop's Assassination Calls Attention to Impunity in Guatemala (April 26): Hundreds of members from the D.C. metropolitan area Latino community, human rights organizations, and religious institutions gathered for a memorial service to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the assassination of Guatemalan Bishop Juan Gerardi... (read more)
  
• Una Conmemoración del Asesinato de Mons. Gerardi Llama Atención a la Impunidad en Guatemala (26 de abril): Cientos de miembros de la comunidad Latina en el área metropolitana de Washington DC, organizaciones de derechos humanos, e instituciones religiosas se juntaron para un servicio memorial para conmemorar el décimo aniversario del asesinato de Monseñor Juan Gerardi...(leer más)


• Colom Vetoes the Death Penalty (March 14): After several days of meetings with diplomats, religious leaders, presidents from other countries, and a twenty-two member legal team, President Álvaro Colom announced his decision to veto the Presidential Pardon Law (Decree 06-2008) for those awaiting the death penalty... (read more)


• Read Femicide in Guatemala, an article by Victoria Sanford in Revista: the Harvard Review of Latin America


• Read testimonies given to the Spanish Federal Court by Guatemalan victims of genocide (Feb. 4 - 8, 2008). Analysis provided by Kate Doyle, National Security Archive.


• Read a letter to the Attorney General of Guatemala from GHRC and other non-governmental organizations regarding threats to human rights defenders from the Guatemalan Forensic Anthropology Team (FAFG) Feb. 28.

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