Events of 2015

During 2015, the International Commission against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG) and the Attorney's Office uncovered several high-profile cases of corruption involving former high-level public officials and those who were in power at the time. These scandals ultimately led to the resignation of President Otto Pérez Molina and Vice-President Roxana Baldetti, who are currently being prosecuted. The subsequent presidential elections were marked by violence between different political factions before the eventual victory of the National Convergence Front, led by Jimmy Morales, a former comedian with only a few years of political experience. Against this political backdrop, the country's indigenous and Garifuna communities continue to suffer widespread discrimination and human rights abuses. Political participation is also limited, with only 21 (13.3 per cent) of the 158 congressional deputies elected in 2015 having an indigenous background, although not all of these self-identify as indigenous. Official figures indicate that around 40 per cent of Guatemalans are indigenous – though some estimates are significantly higher. Only 2 of those 21 deputies are women. Minority Rights Group International understands that not a single deputy from the Garifuna community, who make up around 1 per cent of the population, was elected.

While poverty and exclusion characterize the lives of many Guatemalans, the challenges are often especially acute for its minority and indigenous communities. For instance, while the country's health system struggles with lack of resources and under-staffing, which undermines the ability of all citizens to secure adequate care, poor health outcomes disproportionately affect the indigenous population. For example, while only 59 per cent of children between the ages of 12 and 24 months were vaccinated at a national level, levels were even lower in departments that are predominantly indigenous, such as Huehuetenango (38 per cent) and Quiché (44 per cent). As in other public services, the limited availability of culturally appropriate medical care is a barrier. Nevertheless, indigenous traditions continue to play an important role in health care, with 79 per cent of births in predominantly indigenous areas attended by traditional midwives. A public policy on traditional midwives was approved in 2015 and will seek to strengthen their relationship with the public health system, disseminate their knowledge and support the delivery of more culturally appropriate health care.

While the 2003 Languages Law mandates the protection of Garifuna, Mayan and Xinca languages in all areas of public life, including the stipulation that education and other services are to be provided in the predominant language of each community, in practice bilingual options may lack resources or capacity. This serves to further entrench educational inequalities that have left Garifuna, for example, with illiteracy levels as high as 97 per cent. Indigenous language instruction is also limited and, as a result, some languages such as Ch´orti´, Sakapulteko, Chalchiteco, Mopán, Tektiteko and Uspanteco are at risk of disappearance.

Guatemala's justice system is another area where Garifuna and indigenous communities are still marginalized. In May, the UN Committee for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination reported that the country still lacked a law acknowledging legal pluralism. Despite this lack of support, communities have maintained their traditional justice systems, with around 40 per cent of legal conflicts resolved through these systems – an important service when the formal justice system regularly fails to deliver. While a welcome development in March was the creation of a specialized unit dealing with discrimination complaints within the prosecution system, the unit reportedly had only five staff members and has yet to prove its effectiveness. By the end of the year, of the 98 complaints of discrimination it received, not a single case had yet been brought before a judge.

The failures of Guatemala's justice system have contributed to a persistent climate of impunity for perpetrators of human rights abuses, particularly those targeting Garifuna and indigenous communities. The most high-profile example is former president Ríos Montt, responsible for the killing of 1,700 Ixil Mayans in the early 1980s. While a court found Montt guilty in 2013, his 80-year sentence was withdrawn shortly afterwards and subsequent legal proceedings against him have been marred by delays and procedural irregularities. In January 2016, his retrial was again suspended before a new trial was opened in March 2016. Nevertheless, the problem of targeted violence against indigenous communities remains pervasive. In 2015, the Observatory of the human rights organization UDEFEGUA reported 493 attacks against human rights defenders, 252 of whom were activists or leaders defending indigenous rights and the environment. Much of this violence is related to the development of energy and extractive projects on indigenous or Garifuna land. While public institutions often side with corporations and private investors by criminalizing protesters, violence and intimidation against communities frequently goes unpunished.

Palm oil production has caused severe environmental degradation over the years in many indigenous areas. As much as 30 per cent of the country's production is located in Sayaxte, where nearly three-quarters of the population is indigenous. In September, a judge ordered the temporary closure of a palm oil plantation in the Petén region, where the majority of the population are indigenous, following the death of thousands of fish due to contamination of the nearby La Pasión River. Energy and extractive concessions have also affected many communities. In the north of Huehuetango, several hydroelectric and mining projects have been undertaken, despite the opposition of the Mayan inhabitants in these areas. During the year, various confrontations between these communities and local authorities took place. In January, the community radio of the Q'anjob'al population, Snuq Jolom Knonb', in Santa Eulalia, was closed by the municipal mayor and some broadcasters were threatened. Rigoberto Juárez, Domingo Baltazar and Bernando Ermitaño López Reyes, three human rights defenders from these communities, were arrested and detained without due process. All three were involved in protests against mega-projects, specifically hydroelectric dams; by July, a total of nine indigenous and community activists had been detained. Besides causing environmental degradation, these development projects have often been situated in sacred spaces with unique spiritual value for local communities.

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