Urgent Action Update: Women Human Rights Defender Killed (Guatemala: UA 97.18)

Human rights defender Juana Raymundo went missing on the night of 27 July in the Quiché department in northwest Guatemala and her dead body was discovered the next day. She was 25 years old, and a member of the Campesino Development Committee (Comité de Desarrollo Campesino, CODECA). She is the 8th human rights defender killed in Guatemala in less than three months.

1) TAKE ACTION
Write a letter, send an email, call, fax or tweet:

Demanding authorities to initiate a prompt, impartial and thorough investigation on the killings of Florencio Pérez, Alejandro Hernández from CODECA and other human rights defenders from CCDA. The investigation should include the theory of the attack being a possible retaliation for their legitimate activities as human rights defenders, as mentioned in the recently adopted General Instruction to investigate against human rights defenders from Guatemala’s Attorney General;
Urging them to take all appropriate measures to guarantee the safety of all CODECA and CCDA members at risk in accordance with their wishes;
Calling on them to condemn these wave of killings, to publicly recognize the important and legitimate work of all human rights defenders in Guatemala and refrain from using language that discredits, stigmatizes, abuses, disparages or discriminates them.

Contact these two officials by 12 September, 2018:
Attorney General
María Consuelo Porras
Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @MPGuatemala, #JusticiaParaCODECA (Justice For CODECA)
Salutation: Dear Attorney General

Ambassador Manuel Espina,
Embassy of Guatemala
2220 R St. NW,
Washington, DC 20008
Phone: 202 745 4952
Fax: 202 745 1908
Contact Form: http://guatemalaembassyusa.org/la-embajada/contacta-con-nosotros/
Email: [email protected]
Salutation: Dear Ambassador

2) LET US KNOW YOU TOOK ACTION
Click here to let us know if you took action on this case! This is Urgent Action 97.18
Here’s why it is so important to report your actions: we record the actions taken on each case—letters, emails, calls and tweets—and use that information in our advocacy.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES