Amnesty International Maastricht Students

The Guatemala subgroup is the only AIMS subgroup which is occupied with an “official” Amnesty International case. Since summer 2005, we are one of the few groups in the Netherlands working on this CASA (Central American Special Action). It is called Guatemala. No protection, no justice: Killings of Women in Guatemala and operates within the framework of the AI Stop Violence Against Women campaign.

Motivation

We actually decided to apply for this CASA because we wanted to get in depth with one particular case in order to really see the work mechanisms of AI, take over more responsibility, trigger reactions and trace the results of our actions. Another motivational factor is the interest of many members in Central and South America. Beside of that, it is a good opportunity to improve the Spanish language skills by writing Spanish letters and reading Spanish reports. Nevertheless, it is not a precondition to speak Spanish due to existing translations.

The Problem

During the last 4 years, the brutal killings of women drastically increased. Of utmost concern is the bestiality and sexual abuse involved into the violence against women. Some of the victims had their throats cut, or had been beaten, shot or stabbed to death. Some bodies were mutilated and many women were abducted and sometimes held for several days before being murdered. Instead of taking concerted action to stop the brutal murders and bring the perpetrators to justice, the reality almost resembles impunity. The investigations prove serious and persistent shortcomings in every stage: insufficient efforts and delays by the police to locate women who have been reported missing, unsatisfactory collection of evidence, discrimination of relatives of the victims, or lack of execution of arrest warrants. Many cases never cross the hurdle of the first investigation phase. Moreover, there is an almost total invisibility of gender-based human rights violations in official reports and analyses which prevents authorities from improving the situation.

What we do

Therefore, we are supporting the aims of the action and appeal in letters to Guatemalan authorities (President, Minister of Interior, President of Women’s Commission in Congress etc.) to

• Concretely improve the investigations of the killings of women and girls
• make an end to impunity of violence against women and girls
• introduce a gender perspective in the analysis of violence against women in political and judicial institutions
• improve public and human safety
• establish legislative measures and institutions to promote and protect women’s rights
• bring national legislation into line with international standards and remove discriminatory legal provisions

Writing letters to authorities is only one field of action. Moreover, we send as well letters and cards of support to relatives of victims and women’s rights organizations to show our solidarity. Another main aim is to raise awareness here by collecting signatures, making information posters used at AIMS actions, organizing information stands and photo actions or collecting handprints on big sheets etc. Other plans included organizing a discussion evening, a movie night, a lecture or an exhibition, but could not be realized yet.

Results

Until today, we received two personal reactions from Guatemala: one letter from the President of the Women’s Commission in Parliament and an email from the women’s rights organization in Guatemala Myrna Mack. They expressed their gratitude and appreciation of our support and solidarity.

All in all, according to the update report of June 2006, the campaign did not reach any effective legal or practical changes, although it received a lot of public and political attention here and in Guatemala. Nevertheless, it was pushed on the political agenda and future improvements can be hopefully expected.

Read more and visit the Stop Violence Against Women Campaign on the Amnesty International website.