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99% of the crimes committed during Guatemala's war have not been brought to justice. Of over 45,000 forced disappearances, only one case has gone to trial. Send an email to support war survivors' right to truth and justice today. | ||||||||||||
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Did You Know?
> Attacks against human rights defenders in Guatemala have doubled over the last five years. NISGUA's teams of on-the-ground international human rights monitors work to deter violence in communities, courtrooms and at public events. > Former dictator Efrain Rios Montt, who ruled during the bloodiest period of the war, currently holds a seat in the Guatemalan Congress. He is wanted for genocide and crimes against humanity. > The Xalalá hydro-electric dam is rejected by 90% of the local population because it would displace thousands of indigenous people and damage farmlands and forests. > Almost 400 mining concessions have been granted to transnational gold, silver, nickel, and zinc companies in Guatemala, posing severe threats to rural communities' social and environmental well-being. | ||||||||||||
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NISGUA 2010 Tour: Mining and Indigenous Rights
NISGUA
2/6/2010
Join us for NISGUA's 2010 tour, click here for tour schedule.
If you are hosting an event, please see our tour materials
and handouts.
MINING AND INDIGENOUS RIGHTS:
The
Struggle for Self-Determination in Guatemala
Contact bridget[at]nisgua.org today to
participate!
In February and March of 2010, NISGUA will be touring the Southwest and West Coast regions of the U.S. with Pascual Bernabe Velasquez, a community leader from the western highland department of Huehuetenango, Guatemala.
During the tour, Pascual will talk about mining and natural resources in
Huehuetenango and the response of indigenous communities to mining development
in
Pascual is the second town councilor of San Juan Ixcoy, one of the 27 municipalities in Huehuetenango that has carried out community "consultas" on mining in indigenous territory. A "consulta" is a democratic referendum in which each member of the community has a vote. This form of decision-making promotes indigenous self-determination and defends the communities' way of life. Since 2005, 41 "consultas" were organized and over 600,000 people in the Guatemalan Highlands voted NO to proposed mining operations in the region, an amazing example of citizen participation and organizing.
Bernabe is also a member of the Huehuetenango Regional Assembly in Defense of Natural Resources in Huehuetenango, which coordinated all of the Community Consultas in the department of Huehuetenango. On a broader level, this Assembly is part of the People's Council of the Western Guatemalan Highlands (Consejo de los Pueblos de Occidente).
The Consejo's mission is to build a space with the participation of different social organizations to defend and restore the sovereignty of the land-at the local, municipal, departmental, and regional levels-which has the legitimacy and support of the population of the Western Guatemala Highlands.
NISGUA Program Coordinator Bridget Brehen will be accompanying Pascual
throughout the tour. Bridget has been on staff at NISGUA since 2005, when
she started as an international human rights observer with the Guatemala
Accompaniment Project, later joining the organization as coordinator of the
program. She currently works out of the
The tour will take place from February to early March 2010; tour stops are
confirmed for
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