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> 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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139 Organizations Demand Compliance with IACHR Precautionary Measures
Various
6/4/2010
139 International and National Organizations Demand Executive Compliance with the Precautionary Measures MC-260-07139 in Favor of the Maya Mam and Sipacapan People.
Concerned over the situation of the Mam and Sipacapan people regarding the mining operations of the company Montana Exploradora, North American and European networks that work for the protection of human rights, promote sustainable development, democracy, global justice and solidarity between the Global North and the Global South in their countries of origin, under the mark of the European Union and the United Nations, together with the Council of Western Peoples of Guatemala, present today two open letters to the President of the Republic containing 139 signatures from 107 North American and European organizations and 32 Guatemalan and Latin American countries.
They are asking for immediate compliance with the precautionary measures MC-260-07 of May 20, 2010, issued by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR). This measure, designed to guarantee the life and physical integrity of the Maya Mam and Sipacapan communities, constitutes a unique historic opportunity in providing backing from the Inter-American system so that the Guatemalan State can respect international conventions that it has ratified in regards to the rights of indigenous peoples, as well as its own Constitution.
The organizations also reiterate their support for the 2009 Report by the
Committee of Experts on the Application of Conventions and Recommendations of
the International Labor Organization (ILO), and urge the President to comply
with the conclusions of the Committee. This report recommends that the
Representatives of the Front for the Defense of San Miguel, FREDEMI, and of the Council of Western Peoples, the CPO, expressed their concern over the response of the government and the Human Rights Ombudsman: "The government is ignoring the reality of the affected communities. No one was every consulted in order to obtain their free, prior, and informed consent as indigenous peoples" said Carmen Mejia of FREDEMI. "The CPO rejects the attitude of the government and its institutions who ignore violations of our fundamental rights, coming from a Western vision of law that is racist and exclusionary. It makes a mockery of our dignity, our identity, and our way of life as indigenous peoples" expressed Rolando Lopez of the CPO.
For more information contact Anabella Sibrian p.holandesa@gmail.com representative of the Dutch Platform in Guatemala, Max Gomez 5057-9769 consejodepueblos.cpo@gmail.com communications officer of the CPO, or Maudilia Lopez Cardona 5551-6272 frente.defensa.miguelense@gmail.com coordinator of FREDEMI.
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