Impunity – a threat to human rights defenders

- Do you think it'll be alright to go to the laundry service at this time of day, or do you think it is better if I wait until tomorrow?

We have just finished a day of education and preparation in our new home and office in Guatemala City. It is 7.10 pm and already dark outside.

There is really no time of the day that is safe to wander the streets of the city, and after nightfall we are recommended to call a taxi if we need to go anywhere. Even if we just need to go a few blocks from home. Planning ahead is a necessity.

The civil war of Guatemala ended in 1996, but the violence has not ceased. According to figures from 2010, 6000 homicides were committed in Guatemala with a level of impunity of 97 per cent. During the civil war, approximately 45 000 forced disappearances occurred, whereas there have only been verdicts for four of the cases. In other words, Guatemala has a long tradition of impunity.

People who strive to defend their human rights as well as the rights of others are increasingly exposed to different types of assaults, according to a report from Front Line Defenders and UDEFEGUA (see http://www.frontlinedefenders.org/files/front_line_defenders_and_udefegua_upr_submission_-_guatemala.pdf). The most common type of assault are death threats and other types of intimidation, but the report also notes that 55 human rights defenders have been murdered from 2008 to 2011. Female human rights defenders, labour union activists, indigenous rights defenders as well as people who work to prosecute those responsible for violations during the civil war are particularly vulnerable.