Precedent-Setting Human Rights Cases
Courageous individuals and organizations in Guatemala have sought to bring to justice the people responsible for egregious human rights abuses. NISGUA supports these efforts by providing accompaniment, advocacy, and public education for the most significant human rights lawsuits.
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Genocide Cases

Independent reports, including the United Nations-sponsored Historical Clarification Commission, have concluded that genocide was committed against indigenous Maya peoples. A courageous group of war survivors from the Association for Justice and Reconciliation have filed charges of genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes against former military dictators Romeo Lucas Garcia and Efrain Rios Montt and their military high commands. Read NISGUA's overview of the genocide cases here. NISGUA provides human rights accompaniment and advocacy to these cases.
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Gerardi Case

Monsignor Juan Gerardi was the driving force behind the Catholic Church's Recovery of Historical Memory project (REMHI), which documented human rights violations committed during Guatemala's 36-year civil war. The report placed responsibility on the Guatemalan military for 87% of the 200,000 non-combatant deaths and disappearances that were perpetrated during the war. On April 26, 1998, only two days after releasing the final report, Bishop Gerardi was brutally murdered.
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Myrna Mack Case

The Guatemalan anthropologist Myrna Mack Chang devoted her academic career to uncovering the Guatemalan military's counterinsurgency tactics. On September 11, 1990, Myrna was brutally murdered in retaliation for her damning research on the Guatemalan military's counterinsurgency strategy.
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Xaman Case

On October 5, 1995, the returned refugee community Aurora 8 de Octubre, Xaman estate, was preparing to celebrate the first anniversary of their return from exile when an army patrol entered the community. After some confusion, soldiers fired on the civilian population, killing 11 people, including two children.
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Dos Erres Case

On December 6, 1982, elite members of the Guatemalan military entered the community of Dos Erres, La Libertad, in the northern region of the Peten. After raping many of the girls and women, the military murdered approximately 350 civilians. Thus far, forensic teams have exhumed and identified some 187 remains. Of those, at least 67 were children under the age of 12.
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Plan de Sanchez Case

On July 18, 1982, members of the armed forces massacred 268 residents of Plan de Sanchez, Baja Verpaz. At the time of the massacre, Plan de Sanchez was made up almost entirely of Maya-Achi.
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Other Cases

Other human rights cases of note include those pertaining to the Chixoy Dam/Rio Negro massacre and the El Aguacate massacre.
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