the lack of any indication that the police would not assist if called again, and the legal protections and services discussed in the country reports, it was reasonable for the BIA to decide that the . (16) Interview with Sergio Morales, Guatemalan Human Rights Ombudsman, Violencia se ensaña con mujeres en Guatemala, La Nación, San José, Costa Rica, 4 April 2006. The Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Women of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights visited Guatemala in September 2004 and issued recommendations following her visit (see www.cidh.org/women/20.04.htm). This site uses cookies. (41) See A Summary of Amnesty International's Concerns. Economic abuse entails controlling a woman's ability to access economic resources (money, education or employment) as a form . (35) While some individual deputies and the Congressional Commission on Women have demonstrated political will to remove discriminatory legislation, Congress at large has thus far failed to legislate to remove such legislation. Country Summary: Violent crime such as extortion, murder, armed robbery, carjacking, narcotics trafficking and gang activity are common in Guatemala. On her return from a lobbying trip to the Netherlands in March 2006 the family received numerous anonymous telephone calls to their home. Official statistics continue to mask low prosecution rates. Due to the COVID emergency, Guatemala closed its borders, but continued to allow entry of Guatemalan nationals adults and children, accompanied or unaccompanied who are deported from the U.S. or from Mexico. The friend that was with her at the time but who managed to escape was able to testify against him. In two municipalities outside Guatemala City, Villa Nueva and Mixco, activist mayors are trying to combat gangs and create stronger ties between the local communities and law enforcement. with regard to the Guatemalan Government's implementation of the United Nations Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment or Punishment. The government of President Otto Prez Molina must reboot and revitalise police reform, as part of an overall effort to strengthen justice and law enforcement, with financial support from the U.S. and other countries interested in preventing Guatemala from becoming a haven for organised crime. It is critical (determinante) in the questions witnesses and family members are asked, in the way the investigation is carried out and in the position in which the victim is found as a victim or as the instigator of her own death."(31), According to information received by Amnesty International forensic specialists receive no training in relation to the documentation of sexual violence and it is not common practice for forensic experts to refer to international standards on the practice of forensic investigation which includes specific information not only on carrying out effective forensic investigations but also how to detect and investigate cases of sexual violence. Amnesty International concurs with other national and international experts that the steps taken by government authorities since have been wholly insufficient to address the scale of the problem. UN High Commissioner for Human Rights following her visit to Guatemala, 27 May 2006.(45). As is custom in Guatemala, the protection she was receiving as part of the Public Ministry's witness protection programme was terminated on the sentencing of "Small" despite the fact that she was still clearly at risk of retaliatory violence. (38) Furthermore, while the recent Congressional Commission's opinion proposes amending Article 106 of the Penal Code, the provision which allows the victim to pardon the perpetrator in cases that are not prosecutable ex-officio, including cases of rape and other sexual crime, still remains, making victims vulnerable to pressure not to file complaints.(39). A multinational investigation involving the United States . (28) Amnesty International understands that both the Public Ministry and Judiciary are yet to formally respond to the PDH's request. In a 104-page document, the inspector general, Michael A. Bolton, criticized the way the Capitol Police prepared for and responded to the mob violence on Jan. 6. On 8 March 2006, three Congressional Commissions issued a joint favourable opinion to a draft amendment which proposes the reform of the Guatemalan Penal Code in relation to violence against women. Around 4,800 men were murdered in Guatemala in 2005. (20) The lack of physical or scientific evidence to back up witness testimony means that if cases reach the courts suspects are often acquitted for lack of evidence. (29) Article 116 of the Guatemalan Penal Code gives relatives the right to propose avenues of investigation, participate in proceedings, request certain tests or examinations and seek the intervention of a judge if they disagree with a prosecutor's decision not to carry out a particular line of investigation. It left five officers injured and a patrol truck on fire. While Amnesty International was informed that talks are underway within the Commission to Address Femicide to create a database which would record and cross-reference cases of disappeared women and girls with the discovery of dead bodies, at the time of writing no such mechanism existed. Similarly, neighbours also witnessed the abduction of 18-year-old student Paola Ninet Gil Escobar, by four men in a green car with no number plates and tinted windows close to her home in the municipality of Amatitln on the outskirts of Guatemala City on 28 March 2006. (24) On many occasions interviews do not take place until months after the crime when witnesses or family members are no longer willing to talk or cooperate, often because they have been threatened. In an apparent effort to improve the ability to identify victims of women who are killed as a result of domestic violence, the Office of Attention to the Victim (Oficina de Atención a la Victima OAV) has reportedly begun to take finger prints of women who present complaints of domestic violence. The question is whether his government will be able to muster the resources and will to bolster institutional reform or will rely primarily on militarised crime-fighting operations that provide short-term gains without solving long-term problems. In November 2005 simultaneous demonstrations calling for an end to the killings were held in nine Latin American countries. Another issue is child marriage, which has life-long consequences. (17) At the time of writing, only two cases of killings in 2005 had resulted in convictions. Guatemala lacks a land registration system, creating an obstacle to landowners and paving the way for abuses, fraud, and illegalities (BTI 2016). In November 2019, a gun battle broke out in the neighborhood of Zona 7 in Guatemala City between a patrol unit and the Police Inspector General's office. Reporting gang activities to police puts a person in greater danger because it aggrevates the gang, challenges their authority, and shows disrespect. Of particular importance is the tendency to discredit the victims by placing the blame for their deaths on their conduct or background. The realities were much closer several weeks ago in Guatemala, . (11) Establishing a comprehensive overview of the statistics regarding both the numbers of women killed as well as the identity of the perpetrators is still therefore extremely difficult. Her case was set for an individual calendar hearing on August 24, 2016, at 9:00 am. (6) Despite considerable national and international concern including two visits and subsequent recommendations by the United Nations and Inter-American Commission special rapporteurs on Women women and girls continue to be murdered with impunity in Guatemala. Nor do police exist in a vacuum; permanent change can only take place within broader efforts to battle corruption and favouritism within the justice system as a whole. An average of 101 murders per week were reported in 2018. Drug traffickers, including Mexican cartels, move at will across porous borders, while criminal gangs dominate many urban areas. Some projects may provide templates for broader institutional change. She had been decapitated and her body cut up with a machete. Acts of harassment and intimidation against relatives of murdered girls and women, witnesses or members of organizations who support them should be thoroughly investigated and the perpetrators bought to justice. Despite recommendations made by Amnesty International and others, no urgent search mechanisms or comprehensive data collection system of women and girls reported missing have yet been created. On receiving his sentence "Small" reportedly threatened Clara Fabiola García that she would pay for testifying against him. Analysis in English on Guatemala about Peacekeeping and Peacebuilding and Protection and Human Rights; published on 31 Dec 2017 by IACHR and OAS On 6 November 2005, the dismembered parts of an unidentified woman were found in three bin bags in Guatemala City. (20) See La Nación, Violencia se ensaña con mujeres en Guatemala, 2 April 2006 and Feminicidio en Guatemala. In the case of 17-year-old Andrea Fabiola Contreras Bacaro who was raped and murdered in June 2004 in Jocotenango, Sacatepéquez, and who had the word "vengeance" carved into her leg, in February 2005 Otto René Argueta was sentenced to 35 years. On 7 December 2005, unidentified individuals went to Cristina's father's work place claiming they had a parcel to deliver from Miami and needed his home address, but refusing to identify themselves. An urgent search mechanism for missing women and girls should be created without further delay. In Guatemala, the justice system is increasingly losing credibility, as evidence emerges that the courts have been co-opted by organized crime, drug trafficking, and corruption networks. Blaming the victim Then I went to San Juan police station and begged the police to try to stop their car. This adversely affects their physical health as well as the . Telephone interview with police investigador, 16 May 2006. In the case of Cristina Hernndez (see first page) the police failed to respond to the desperate pleas of her family despite neighbours having witnessed her abduction. (24) Interview with Female Homicide Unit of the PNC, 6 April 2006. Judicial authorities do not collect disaggregated statistics for the number of sentences in cases of murdered women and girls, making it difficult to obtain an accurate picture of the number of successful prosecutions at a national level in cases of women killed and whether the number is increasing. Combatting violence against children, especially sexual exploitation and abuse, is a key component of programming. But these efforts are dependent on the financial aid and political backing of donors. The U.S. offer came during a video call between U.S Vice President Kamala Harris and Guatemalan President Alejandro Giammattei. As COVID-19 sweeps across the globe, doctors and other healthcare workers are witnessing limited availability of personal protective equipment (PPE), particularly appropriate masks, and being confronted by difficult situations that pit their desire to remain safe against their duty to help patients. From 2010 to 2013, Barnica and her long-time life partner and now husband, Leslie Rene Lopez ("Rene"), were engaged in business buying gold jewelry in Guatemala and reselling it for profit in Honduras.1 As part of this venture, Rene drove back and However, police scholars have criticized . (10), The precise number of women who have been murdered continues to be disputed with the Public Ministry, the National Civilian Police (PNC) and the Judiciary generating and referring to different statistics. Download the PDF Statement Here (2) Interview with father of Cristina Hernndez, BBC This World documentary, Killer's Paradise.. (3) AI Index: AMR 34/017/2005, see http://web.amnesty.org/library/Index/ENGAMR340172005?open&of=ENG-GTM. GTM43453.FE - Guatemala: The process for acquiring citizenship; possibility of losing one's citizenship; possibility of reestablishing one's citizenship; whether a child under 10 years who leaves Guatemala without the authorization of a parent can lose his or her citizenship (2003-2005) - April 2005 Then my brother-in-law went to the homicide department; and they said nothing could be done. While there has been some progress in relation to gender-sensitive law reform, the persistence of discriminatory legislation continues to mean that many forms of gender-based violence against women in particular violence against women in the family and sexual harassment go undetected. In the case of the rape and murder of Oliberta Elizabeth Calel Gómez, on 2 April 2005 former police agent Bartolome Teni Cu was sentenced to 60 years 50 years for the murder and 10 years for the rape. Published by Teresa Romero , Jun 14, 2022. The failure to carry out the most basic investigations, properly process the crime scene and protect potential evidence remains evident in numerous cases. Indigenous Guatemalans, who represent the majority of the country's population, account for an estimated 80 percent of Guatemala's poor. 5 in Mixco, as after that I didn't feel like going. Her bloodstained clothes, which may have contained evidence identifying her attackers, were handed back to the family and were buried together with her body. Fear of reprisals stops many families from seeking justice for the killing of their loved ones. The main threat to young people in Guatemala is the high level of impunity for crimes against children and adolescents. Informe de muertes violentas de mujeres, PDH, 2005. The police had noted that D.C. law prohibits anyone from carrying a firearm within 1,000 feet of any First Amendment activity. Amnesty International considers that the state's failure to respond appropriately and effectively to emergency calls or reports of missing women engages its responsibility for their subsequent murders. She fears will find her, take her daughter from her, and harm or kill her. The nongovernmental organization (NGO) Unit for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders (UDEFEGUA) alleged that at least seven members of rural and indigenous activist groups were killed or died in disputed circumstances between January and November. Page 234, available at: http://hdr.undp.org/2005. Officials that make unfounded public statements discrediting the serious nature of crimes committed against women should be dealt with appropriately. The Constitutional Court should permanently remove Article 200 from the Guatemalan Penal Code in line with its international obligations regarding violence against women and Article 46 of the Guatemalan Constitution which provides that international human rights treaties take precedence over internal law. http://web.amnesty.org/library/Index/ENGAMR340172005?open&of=ENG-GTM, #NoBanNoWall Protest Resources & Toolkits. A previous document from the same unit, however, stated that this figure was 665, of which 195 of the cases were termed as "non-violent" deaths. She knows the police in Guatemala will not protect her. (4) According to the Human Rights Ombudsman's Office (Procuradoría de Derechos Humanos PDH) while the killings of men increased by 45% between 2002 and 2005, the number of women killed during this time increased by 63%. To Amnesty International's knowledge convictions for cases of women killed between 2002 and 2004 were secured in 15 cases in 2005. Pending the final decision as to the legal validity of the Article, in cases of rape of minors (over 12 years old), criminal responsibility cannot be waived with the marriage of the rape victim and her rapist. To Amnesty International's knowledge in neither of the above cases are the officers who failed to respond to reports of abductions facing any disciplinary measures. purge of Guatemala's reformed police force after being named interior . Mobile phones and a fax machine were stolen and files containing sensitive information about their work were searched. Still, the country experienced one of the smallest GDP contractions in 2020 in LAC (-1.8 percent compared to a regional average of -6.7 percent). Police are often also entrusted with various licensing and regulatory activities. (8) Most recently in the US, on 8 May 2006, 117 members of the US Congress signed a letter in which they urged the US State Department to call on the Guatemalan government to take prompt and effective action to address the killings of women and that the State Department provide technical assistance to promote the proper investigation, prosecution and punishment of these crimes. The majority (23.8%) of cases classified as "solved" were "archivado" (cases where the Public Ministry desisted from the prosecution either because of alleged lack of collaboration from witnesses or family members, at the request of victims' families or due to lack of evidence), "dismissed" (desestimaciones y actos conclusorios) (8.4%), the suspects were cleared (2.6%) or the cases were provisionally closed (2%). For decades, the process of electing the highest authorities in the justice system has been riddled with illegalities, weakening the institutions that comprise it. Then after two hours of searching everywhere I went back to the police station to see if they had any newsthey claimed I hadn't reported anything and so they'd done nothing. Guatemala Executive Summary The 25,000 members of the National Civil Police (PNC) are on the front lines of Guatemala's battle against crime. According to the PDH, "the difference is that in the case of women they make them suffer more before being killed."(16). On 25 November 2005 the government announced the creation of the Comisión para el Abordaje del Femicidio, the National Commission to Address Femicide, which aims to develop a diagnostic of the situation from a government perspective and improve coordination between state institutions responsible for the prevention, investigation and prosecution of killings of women and girls. Over the past three years, Guatemala has been pursuing a unique experiment to fight organized crime and government corruptionwith impressive results. The Public Ministry's Witness Protection Programme should be strengthened to guarantee the safety of both witnesses and family members. R. App. The level of coordination and cooperation, in particular, between the PNC and the Public Ministry continues to be extremely poor. WASHINGTON, D.C. U.S. (18) Cases of Maria A. López Camas and Suly Niseyda Leonardo and Maria C. Menchu Tacan. State authorities have come under criticism for what many perceive as a failure to control spiralling violence and to provide public security. Serious deficiencies were reported in relation to the effectiveness of the investigation. As highlighted by the IECCP "there is no institutionalized policy of protection for victims and other individuals subject to penal cases which directly correlates to a retraction or abandonment [of testimony] during the trial."(30). Governments have repeatedly promised reform, including the Prez administration that took office in January 2012. is terrified to return to Guatemala. In the case of 19-year-old university student Claudina Velsquez who was studying to become a lawyer, her dead body was found on 13 August 2005. GUATEMALA CITY. It is unclear whether reform efforts have enough support within the PNC hierarchy to survive over the long term. Guatemala's police force is vastly over stretched In total, there are estimated to be as many as 150,000 private security guards in the country, compared with a police force of just 30,000.. Using the army to fight crime, however, further demoralises and weakens the police, especially when the militarys role is poorly defined. In the case of the sex worker nicknamed "la mudita", later identified as 25-year-old Silvia Patricia Madrid whose body was found dumped on a roadside on 22 February 2006, the investigation carried out by the Assistant Prosecutor in charge of the case limited itself to establishing the identity of "la mudita". 2. Considering the positive police response after the only undisputed report, the lack of any indication that the police would not assist if called again, and the legal protections and services discussed in the country reports, it was reasonable for the BIA to decide that the authorities were ab le and willing to protect petitioners. In June 2005 Amnesty International published a report No protection, no justice: killings of women in Guatemala(3) to highlight the murder of women and girls in Guatemala and the state's failure to exercise due diligence in preventing, investigating and punishing these crimes. NCB Guatemala is part of Guatemala's national police - called Policia Nacional Civil - which is part of the Ministry of Interior. Amnesty International welcomes these proposals as a critical step towards the removal of legislation that is discriminatory towards women. 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