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GIVING A VOICE TO WOMEN SURVIVORS IN GUATEMALA

September 8^th, 2016

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GIVING A VOICE TO WOMEN SURVIVORS IN GUATEMALA

“We couldn’t stand the hunger, we were homeless, and everything had been destroyed. We were desperate, and so my mother decided to give herself up to the squadron … But instead of welcoming us, they hurt us,“ recalls Elena de Paz, who was raped by soldiers in 1982. She was only 12 years old.

More than 30 years after she saw her family and community torn apart by Guatemala’s decades-long civil war, Elena decided to tell her story. She was one of the 97 witnesses who testified during a trial for genocide and crimes against humanity in 2013.

“It is vital for there to be justice because I do not want my children to go through such a terrible ordeal. I do not want such things to happen to anybody ever again.”

Armed conflict and violence can have a devastating impact on a country’s development. It stunts economic growth, but also creates long-standing grievances among and between communities that can last for generations. It’s the unaccounted crimes of sexual violence, torture, and exploitation that often get buried at the expense of reaching a political solution; leaving victims and survivors – always the most vulnerable – to live with the consequences.

Around 20,000 relatives of victims have received legal and psychosocial support each year during the process of searching for the remains of their loved ones.

The project also supports prosecutors and judges with specialized experts and training courses on international law. This helps coordination between prosecutors, civil society organizations, forensic anthropologists, UN agencies such as OHCHR and UN WOMEN, as well as other international organizations.

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Goal 16 aims to significantly reduce all forms of violence, and to help communities with access to justice and lasting solutions. Strengthening the rule of law and promoting human rights is key to this process, as well as fostering sustainable development.

UNDP supports state institutions and civil society to fully exercise the right to truth, justice and reparations for victims, and promotes measures to ensure that these violations of human rights do not happen again.