By: Jacob Riederer

Impunity Watch News Staff Writer

GUATEMALA – The Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACHR) issued a ruling on October 23, 2023, requiring Guatemalan authorities to take action to prevent the adoption of two proposed bills that would provide immunity to those alleged to have committed human rights atrocities.

Between, 2002 and 2018 the IACHR ruled on 14 cases alleging forced disappearances, executions, torture, war crimes, genocide and other issues that took place during Guatemala’s civil war. These rulings resulted in investigations, trials, and sentences for those responsible for these heinous actions. 

Bill 5377, introduced in the Guatemalan Legislature in 2019, threatened to invalidate these rulings. If passed, the bill would have halted investigations and provided amnesty to those convicted in the 14 cases. Proponents of the bill and ones like it argue that it would allow the nation to heal divisions from the civil war. Others assert that it’s unfair to hold those accountable since these crimes were not specifically codified into law at the time. 

In 2019, the IACHR issued ruling requiring that Guatemala “guarantee the right to access to justice for the victims” of the 14 cases and to take action to prevent the passage of Bill 5377. The Government of Guatemala complied with the ruling and Bill 5377 was tabled and not passed into law. 

Recently, however, two new Bills, 5920 and 6099, were introduced to the Guatemalan Congress that would give amnesty to the perpetrators of human rights abuses during the Guatemalan Civil War. Notably, these bills not only immediately free those convicted of crimes but punish prosecutors, judges, and courts that attempt to review or dispute this law.

In response, representatives of victims of crimes perpetrated during conflict asked the court to “suspend and correspondingly definitively table” the bills, arguing that that the newly proposed laws violate IACHR’s previous ruling and have the same purpose as the previously invalidated 5377 bill in erasing liability for those convicted of serious human rights atrocities.

The Government of Guatemala maintains that they are in compliance with the court’s previous resolution, asserting that the ruling to table legislation only applied to Bill 5377. It further argues that Guatemala already has legislative and judicial “mechanisms to guarantee constitutionality and compatibility with conventional norms” with respect to these two bills.

The court sided with representatives of victims noting that both bills “seek to declare the extinction of criminal responsibility and absolute amnesty regarding all crimes committed during the internal armed confrontation.” Because of this, they are in violation of the court’s 2019 ruling which forbade Guatemala to put forth claims “excluding responsibility that prevent the investigation of the violations of serious human rights.”

Further, the court rejected the government’s argument that there are already national measures in place to ensure checks on the legal and constitutional validity of the laws, arguing that “there is a high risk that judicial control cannot be carried out internally.” This is because the bills would require the immediate release of those convicted before a review process may be able to take place. 

Additionally, the provisions in the bill mandate criminal punishments for prosecutors, judges and courts officials seeking to review the law and hold the offending parties accountable.   The court also notes the potential for harassment, intimidation, and threats to Guatemalan judicial officials in this situation based on past accounts of this in these cases.  The courts, therefore, see these laws as harmful because of their potential to eliminate judicial independence, review and safety.

In the resolution, the court also required the Guatemalan government to present a report on how it’s complying with the ruling no later than December 4, 2023 and to continue sharing updated compliance reports every three months thereafter.

For further information, please see:

Amnesty International, Guatemala – Bill Could Grant Amnesty For Grave Crimes: Bill 5377 – January 29, 2019

Epicentro – Guatemala, FADS – Iniciativas de ley para «reconciliación» son inconstitucionales – 14 Sept 2022

Epicentro-Guatmala – Iniciativas Legislativas Para Amnistiar Graves Violaciones a Los Derechos Humanos, Reincidencia del Estado de Guatemala – 26 OCT 2023

IACHR, Resolución de la Corte Interamericana de Derechos Humanos:  Caso De Los Miembros De La Andrea Chichupac Y Comunidades Vecinas Del Municipio de Rabinal. Caso Molina Theissen Y Otros 12 Casis Contra Guatemala – 20 OCT 2023

IACHR – Resolución de La Corte Interamericana De Derecho Humanos: Caso de Los Miembros De La Aldea Chichupac Y Comunidades Vecinas Del Municipio de Rabinal Caso Molina Theiseen Y Otros 12 Casos Contra Guatemala -12 MAR 2019

International Justice Monitor – In Defiance of Court Rulings, Guatemalan Congressional Leaders Push Amnesty Bill – 5 SEPT 2019

Prensa Libre – Tercer Intento Para Motivar a La Aprobación de Una Ley de Amnistía – 6 AUG 2022

Prensa Libre – Congreso Envía Nueva Consulta a La CC Sobre Iniciativa que Busca Aprobar Una Amnistía Para Los Delitos del Conflicto Armado Interno – 23 OCT 2023

By: Molly Osinoff 

Impunity Watch News Staff Writer 

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti – On October 3, 2023, the Office of the Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression (RELE) of the Inter-American Commission of Human Rights (IACHR) published a statement condemning the increasing violence against journalists and media outlets in Haiti. The statement further urged Haitian authorities to “investigate in a thorough, effective, and impartial manner what happened, to prosecute and punish those responsible…”  

Haitian journalists have faced increasing violence in Haiti. Numerous journalists have been the victims of threats, abuse, and murder. In September 2022, while reporting in an area in the capital controlled by gangs, two reporters were fatally shot, and their bodies were set on fire. In August 2023, gunmen set fire to journalist Arnold Junior Pierre’s home. He had, weeks earlier, been assaulted by a group of unidentified people. In September 2023, at least twelve journalists fled their homes in the Carrefour Feuilles district, which is home to many journalists, in the wake of increased violence by gangs controlling the area. Media facilities have also been subject to attack. Gang members allegedly set a radio station facility on fire in July 2023. 

Haiti’s Constitution specifically addresses the right to freedom of expression. Article 28 of the Haitian Constitution protects the right to express one’s opinion freely by any means. Furthermore, the Constitution also addresses journalists. Article 28-1 states: “Journalists shall freely exercise their profession within the framework of the law. Such exercise may not be subject to any authorization or censorship, except in the case of war.” To further support journalists, the Constitution states that offenses involving the press and abuses of freedom of expression are to be considered under the code of criminal law.  

The violence journalists face is part of the rising gang violence that has been overwhelming Haiti since the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse in 2021. Since then, no leader has been elected. Armed gangs have taken control of up to 90 percent of Port-au-Prince, Haiti’s capital, engaging in widespread public killing, rape, and displacement. Between January 2023 and early August 2023, according to the United Nations, more than 2,400 people in Haiti were reported killed, and more than 950 people in Haiti were kidnapped. Over 200,000 people have fled their homes. Because journalists cover the extent of gang violence, they are often the victims of brutal attacks or murders by armed gangs seeking to maintain their power. 

As RELE emphasizes, violence against journalists violates the fundamental rights of individuals and freedom of expression. Violence affects more than the journalists themselves and their family members. Instead, the violence against journalists affects society as a whole by preventing citizens from being informed about issues that truly affect their lives and poses a threat to freedom of expression. 

For more information, please see: 

AP News – 2 Journalists Killed in Haiti While Reporting on Violence – 13, Sept. 2022. 

AP News – Witnesses: Journalist Killed After Police in Haiti Open Fire – 30, Oct. 2022. 

Constitution of Haiti (1987). 

Inter-American Commission on Human Rights – RELE Condemns the Escalation of Violence Against Journalists in Haiti and Calls for Comprehensive Solutions with the Accompaniment of the International Community – 3, Oct. 2023. 

New York Times – Kenyan-Led Security Mission in Haiti: What to Know – 2, Oct. 2023. 

Reuters – Americas Rights Court Condemns Violence Against Haiti Journalists – 3, Oct. 2023. 

Washington Post – U.S. Embassy in Haiti Tells Americans to Leave “As Soon As Possible” – 31, Aug. 2023.  

By: Shane Kelly

Impunity Watch Staff Writer

LIMA, Peru – Earlier this month, hearings resumed against former president Alberto Fujimori for the hundreds of thousands of women forcibly sterilized under his tenure in the 1990s.

The judicial process began last Monday against Alberto Fujimori, the former president of Peru. The trial focused on his participation in the Peruvian government’s role in the sterilization of over 270,000 indigenous women without consent in the 1990s. Those women brought this case against Fujimori, not only for the blatant offenses against female autonomy but also for the long-lasting effects from infections.

The prosecutor in the case brings charges specifically on behalf of the families of five dead women, and 1,301 others who allege being sterilized against their will. Currently, the 82-year-old Fujimori is serving a 25-year prison sentence for various murder charges of his own citizens by his military.

Peruvian women—victimized by Fujimori with his sterilization policies in the 1990s—are now demanding justice. They allege these sterilizations were part of Fujimori’s “family planning” policy—a euphemism for what he considered a solution to overpopulation he referred to as the “Indian problem.”

In one particular situation, Mrs. Magna Morales was denied the right to sue the government because of her agreement to the procedure, having been incentivized with gifts of food and clothing. In this instance, Mrs. Morales died of complications from the surgery.

Fujimori’s defense is that, because when he was extradited from Chile in 2007 sterilization charges were not included, he should not be judged on those crimes now. He later boasted his program as reducing the birth rate of Peru in comparison to China’s one-child policy.

The case was reopened in 2011 when the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights pressured Peru to investigate. In 2014, more than 2,000 cases were closed for insufficient evidence. The indigenous women persisted, pushing for the current trial and maintaining an online database called “Quipu” to track those subjected to this forced sterilization policy.

Hearings resumed this month, giving hope to thousands of women that they will receive some semblance of justice.

For further information, please see:

ABCNews – In Peru, Sterilization Case Against Fujimori Goes to Court – 1 Mar. 2021

New York Times – Using Gifts as Bait, Peru Sterilizes Poor Women – 15 Feb. 1998

Yahoo! – Forcibly Sterilized During Fujimori Dictatorship, Thousands of Peruvian Women Demand Justice – 3 Mar. 2021