Guatemala in 2022: a year of joy, a year of struggle
We are pleased to share PBI Guatemala’s Annual Report for the year 2022
Below is a brief summary of some of the key highlights:-
2020 was marked by a complete virtual modality as a result of the covid 19 pandemic; during 2021 PBI began to recover its face-to-face presence in some activities, and 2022 as hoped marked its return to complete in-person activities.
In 2022, PBI witnessed the continued deterioration of the rule of law in Guatemala due to: the intensification of attacks on the independence of the judiciary system and freedom of expression; repression and criminalisation against leaders and indigenous communities in defence of territory and natural resources; various legislative, political and judicial actions that continue the closure of civic society spaces and consolidate an authoritarian regime.
In addition to justice operators, the work of journalists was also attacked during the year. The Association of Journalists of Guatemala denounced 105 attacks against freedom of expression in 2022, mostly pursued by the Judicial Organism (OJ) and the Public Prosecutor’s Office (MP). In relation to people who defend environmental rights, PBI has been able to confirm, through direct observation, the increase in criminalisation and evictions. Among the organisations accompanied by PBI, more than 2,000 arrest warrants have been issued against Indigenous leaders in the department of Alta and Baja Verapaz alone.
As a result of the situation described above, several international bodies have made statements during the year requesting the Guatemalan government to take concrete actions to preserve the rule of law and halt the authoritarian drift in these territories. Highlighted is the resolution on Guatemala issued by the European Parliament, which criticises the judicial actions initiated by the Supreme Court of Justice (CJC) and the Attorney General of Guatemala against judges, lawyers and independent prosecutors who investigate or prosecute criminal structures linked to high-ranking government officials and business owners.
In 2022 PBI provided accompaniment to 13 organisations and social processes (240 people, 145 men, 94 women and 1 of plural corporality). However, the joy of the year was the release of Bernardo Caal Xol from prison. On March 24, PBI received an unexpected call informing that Bernardo, a human rights defender imprisoned for more than four years, would be released that night. That same afternoon PBI accompanied Juanita Perez, one of the Human Rights Law Firm (BDH) lawyers who represent Bernardo, to the capital’s penitentiary centre to take the necessary steps prior to his release. PBI is currently accompanying Bernardo in a second criminalisation process against him known as the “teacher case”, in which he is accused of having received 20 months of his teacher’s salary without working.
PBI has been raising awareness of the deterioration of the human rights situation in Guatemala, calling for decisive action to protect human rights defenders. This has been done before the Human Rights Council, special mechanisms of the United Nations, European Union, as well as permanent representation in Brussels and Geneva, and through dialogue between the national groups and their Ministries of Foreign Affairs.
While 2021 was dominated by virtual modalities, training and capacity-building spaces were held in person once more during 2022 as a result of the progressive elimination of the restrictions in response to the pandemic. PBI held five community security workshops, with the total participation of 151 people (39 women and 112 men) from 5 organisations accompanied by PBI. In addition, PBI held a workshop with several of the organisations present in Alta Verapaz to analyse the context and the security situation. A total of 14 people (seven women and seven men) participated in this workshop.
PBI UK has been supportive of the work in Guatemala by organising speaker tours and legal delegations:-
Community journalist Carlos Choc visited the UK on November 17-18 to join PBI in London to call for better protection and an end to criminalisation. Through his visit, PBI brought attention to the injustices faced by environmental defenders due to their legitimate human rights work. PBI also called on the UK government to take action to protect environmental rights defenders in Guatemala by strengthening its policy on human rights defenders and adopting the Business, Human Rights and Environment Act.
In March, an expert group of international lawyers travelled to Guatemala after becoming concerned at UN and civil society reports regarding human rights violations associated with the agrarian conflict. The delegation observed first-hand the deteriorating human rights situation in relation to evictions of rural communities in the Alta Verapaz region.
