The People We Accompany
............................................................................................

Emergency Response Accompaniment Team

In recent years, threats and direct attacks targeting Guatemalan human rights organizations, indigenous communities, trade unionists, and others working for justice have increased dramatically. At the request of Guatemalan human rights leaders, G.A.P. initiated the short-term emergency response accompaniment team (formerly called organization accompaniment), designed to be flexible and to respond rapidly to the needs of those who request an international presence. G.A.P. accompaniers work within the International Accompaniment Project of Guatemala (ACOGUATE) to provide accompaniment for groups and/or individuals who face actual or potential threats as the result of a commitment to the nonviolent social movement in Guatemala for a democratic, multiethnic, and multi-cultural society, based on socioeconomic justice and full respect for human rights and freedom of expression. G.A.P. respects the autonomy and confidentiality of Guatemalan organizations and does not intervene or take a position in the affairs of the groups we accompany.

The accompaniment we provide takes many forms. Several Guatemalan organizations have asked that accompaniers spend a morning or an afternoon in their office for a number of weeks at a time. Accompaniers also travel to rural areas with exhumation teams and mental health support groups, either for quick visits or for longer periods of time. Individuals in the capital have also asked for members of the team to stay overnight in their homes. In some indigenous communities defending their land and rights in the face of natural resource extraction, accompaniers visit once a month.

New requests for accompaniment are evaluated and prioritized in terms of our mandate, the security risks involved, and our human resources available at the time. The accompaniment we provide can not be related to illegal activities of any kind.

All G.A.P. accompaniment work is supported by NISGUA’s network of activists who are committed to responding to Action Alerts, as well as pressuring U.S. and Guatemalan officials to take action regarding issues of concern to the human rights community. Funding for the accompaniers comes from a number of Sponsoring Communities located throughout the U.S.

To learn more about the current political situation, contemporary trends, and historical context that has led to the need for the creation of the emergency response accompaniment team, visit our News and Analysis section. See our Human Rights Defenders section for updates on the situation of Guatemalan organizations and individuals working for justice.