source: Guatemala Human Rights Commission USA
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Guatemala Human Rights Commission/USA (GHRC) & the Office of Public Witness of the Presbyterian Church (USA) invite you to join us for a WEBINAR.
Guatemala: Prospects for Change
This spring, three pivotal institutional selection processes are underway: the selection of Constitutional Court judges, magistrates of the Supreme Electoral Tribunal, and a new Attorney General. The outcome of these elections will shape Guatemala’s future, determining whether the country will move toward a reconsolidation of the rule of law and respect for human rights–or deeper into corruption and impunity.
Our panel will explain the factors driving corruption and how it directly affects the daily lives of Guatemala’s Indigenous communities, as well as the United States’ role in the country’s ongoing struggle for its future. The speakers will address topics relevant to this struggle:
-- The impact of extractive industries on forced migration
-- The current situation of Guatemalan migrants and political exiles in the United States
-- The ongoing repression and arrests of Indigenous leaders defending their territories and rights
-- Recent progress and obstacles in the push for justice, including in the current elections processes.
PANEL
Benito Juárez has worked for decades as an advocate for human rights in Guatemala and for the immigrant community in the United States A Guatemalan in exile himself, he serves as Director of Immigrant and Refugee Affairs for the city of Houston and president of the Guatemala Peace and Development Network (GPDN/RPDG)
Carmela Curup Chajon is the Executive Director of the Indigenous People’s Law Firm. A prominent Guatemalan Indigenous lawyer and human rights defender, she also serves as the representative for the Association of Mayan Lawyers and Notaries of Guatemala. Her work focuses on land defense, corporate exploitation, and Indigenous rights.
Judge Miguel Ángel Gálvez Aguilar is a renowned Guatemalan judge with over 25 years of experience on the bench. He has presided over many of Guatemala’s biggest criminal cases, from high-profile charges against drug traffickers to war crimes cases, including the genocide against former army general and president Efraín Ríos Montt. He was named global jurist of the year in 2023 by Northwestern University and currently works as a fellow with GHRC
