APG urges the Canadian government to make a public declaration of support for work of the Human Rights Ombudsperson in Guatemala

.Photo : KAIROS Canada

February 17, 2021  

 The Honourable Marc Garneau, P.C., M.P.  

Minister of Foreign Affairs  

House of Commons  

Ottawa, On K1A 0A2  

Dear Minister Garneau:  

We write you on behalf of the Americas Policy Group (APG) to express our concern regarding  efforts of the government of Guatemala to undermine the Human Rights Ombudperson’s  office (PDH), an arms-length institution of the Guatemalan State.  

The APG, a coalition of Canadian civil society organizations that work closely with partners in  Latin America, has observed with dismay the progressive undermining in recent years of  Guatemalan institutions whose mandate is to combat corruption and impunity in the country.  

We are particularly concerned with efforts by the National Congress and the administration of  President Alejandro Giammattei to undermine the office of the Human Rights Ombudsperson,  one of the last arms-length state institutions that still actively monitors human rights in the  country.  

The Government’s measures against the PDH include efforts to cut the institution’s budget and  public declarations aimed at discrediting Ombudsperson Jordán Rodas Andrade. These actions  take place in a context where rights violations in Guatemala are on the rise again. The Unit to  Protect Human Rights Defenders in Guatemala (UDEFEGUA), documented 1,004 attacks in  2020, including 15 assassinations and 22 assassination attempts against human rights  defenders .  

In January 2020, as the Giammattei government assumed office, the United Nations High  Commissioner for Human Rights referred to “a challenging human rights context, with  persisting high levels of inequality, discrimination, insecurity and impunity. The year 2019 was  marked by significant setbacks and actions aimed at obstructing the advancement of human  rights, the rule of law, and the fight against corruption and impunity.” 

We urge the Canadian government to make a public declaration of support for the work of the  Human Rights Ombudsperson, and to explore with other countries of the “Grupo Filtro,” ways  to provide supplementary funding to the PDH.  

Representatives of the Americas Policy Group would be very much interested in meeting with  Canada’s ambassador to Guatemala to discuss steps to prevent the further erosion of  institutions that combat corruption and impunity in Guatemala.  

We thank you for your attention to this matter.  

Sincerely,  

Laura Ramirez ( Co-Chair) Robin Buyers  (Co-Chair)

Americas Policy Group Americas Policy Group  

cc: Rita Rudaitis-Renaud  

Ambassador of Canada to Guatemala and High Commissioner of Canada to Belize Rita.Rudaitis-Renaud@international.gc.ca