GENEVA (October 12, 2012) – A group of independent experts from the United Nations urged the Government of Guatemala to clarify the acts of violence that occurred on Thursday, October 4, in the town of Cumbre de Alaska, in the municipality of Santa Catarina Ixtahuacán , Sololá, which resulted in the death of 6 indigenous people, as well as 33 injuries from indigenous communities and 13 injuries among members of the army.
"We urge the Government of Guatemala to continue impartially investigating the events that occurred, in order to determine not only the responsibility of those who participated in the commission of the crimes, but also that which derives from the chain of command," they said. the UN Special Rapporteurs on the rights of indigenous peoples, James Anaya, on the situation of human rights defenders, Margaret Sekaggya, on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, Christof Heyns, and on the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and association, Maina Kiai.
On October 4, the 48 Cantons of Totonicapán blocked five points of the highways that connect the capital of Totonicapán in protest against the high price of electricity, the reform of the teaching career and constitutional reform proposals presented by the Government of Guatemala.
The UN experts also urged the Guatemalan authorities to guarantee the exercise of the legitimate right of indigenous peoples to participate in peaceful protests, in addition to taking the necessary measures to prevent the actions of the public force in maintaining order from resulting in violations of the right to life and physical integrity of the demonstrators.
In this regard, the rapporteurs expressed their concern about the serious risk involved in using the National Army in public security functions, particularly in situations arising from social conflict. Furthermore, they indicated that law enforcement officials should use non-violent means to the extent possible before resorting to the use of force and firearms.
The Special Rapporteurs welcomed the prompt results obtained in investigations by the Public Ministry, through the issuance of arrest warrants for several members of the army for completed extrajudicial execution and attempted extrajudicial execution.
"We urge the Government of Guatemala to resolve the substantive issues that led to these acts of protest through a process of constructive dialogue with the representatives of the 48 cantons of Totonicapán," they said.
The UN Special Rapporteurs will continue to monitor this situation and the measures adopted by the Guatemalan Government to investigate these events and prevent the repetition of any act that violates the rights of members of indigenous peoples to carry out legitimate acts of social protest. in vindication of their rights.
For more information, visit:
Indigenous Peoples: http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/IPeoples/SRIndigenousPeoples/Pages/SRIPeoplesIndex.aspx or www.unsr.jamesanaya.org
Human Rights Defenders: http:// www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/SRHRDefenders/Pages/SRHRDefendersIndex.aspx
Extrajudicial executions: http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/Executions/Pages/SRExecutionsIndex.aspx
Peaceful assembly and association: http:// www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/AssemblyAssociation/Pages/SRFreedomAssemblyAssociationIndex.aspx
UN Human Rights – Guatemala: http://www.ohchr.org/SP/Countries/LACRegion/Pages/GTIndex.aspx
For more information and media requests , please contact Maia Campbell (+ 41 22 917 9314 / mcampbell@ohchr.org ) or write to indigenous@ohchr.org .
For press inquiries about other UN independent experts:
Xabier Celaya, UN Human Rights – Media Unit (+ 41 22 917 9383 / xcelaya@ohchr.org )
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