A Statement of Support Calling for Justice for Victims of Enforced Disappearances in Guatemala

The International League of Peoples Struggles Commission 3 (On Political Prisoners and Human Rights) expresses its solidarity to the families of victims of enforced disappearance in Guatemala in seeking justice for their disappeared, and holding the perpetrators of enforced disappearance accountable for all their crimes against the Guatemalan people.

Enforced disappearance remains one of the worst human rights violations against persons and peoples of the world. Fascist regimes, military dictatorship and authoritarian rulers, even populist regimes that have unleashed their terror against the people, have used enforced disappearance to silence the struggling people and perpetuate in power.  

We see as a positive development and partial victory in attaining justice the arrest of 10 alleged perpetrators of enforced disappearances in Guatemala. This is a ray of light for the families of victims of enforced disappearance who have relentlessly fought for justice for their loved ones for more than 30 years since they disappeared in the hands of Guatemalan security forces under then president Oscar Humberto Mejia Victores.

We support the call for justice to be served soonest, and fervently hope that any hurdle in achieving this be overcome. While there is undeniable proof and evidence that the Guatemalan state is accountable for the thousands of enforced disappearance in the country, as proven by the military dossier named Diario Militar as well as forensic evidence on the remains of the victims buried in a military detachment turned mass graves, those who enjoy impunity for the longest time will do everything they can to distort and deny the truth, and mock the pain of the families who have searched and waited for justice for too long.  

Beyond knowing and understanding the pain and suffering of those whose loved ones were disappeared, we need to raise our voices as defenders of human rights in every corner of the world. We join and stand with them in the pursuit for justice, however long it may be. We were taught by the people of Guatemala that for as long as families and friends muster all the courage to stand for their missing loved ones, justice is attainable. We hope and aspire for the same with the rest of the victims of enforced disappearances throughout the world.

As we commemorate the International Week for the Disappeared, we demand to hold the perpetrators accountable in the enforced disappearances in Guatemala. We will keep vigil with the families of the victims in their quest for justice.

Ultimately, as we remember all the disappeared in our respective countries, we vow to an end to enforced disappearance and carry on with the fight for justice, together with the rest of the struggling people of the world. #