Washington, D.C.) Kerry Kennedy and Santiago A. Canton, on behalf of the Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights (Robert F. Kennedy Center), strongly condemn the denial of genocide expressed in Guatemalan Congressional Resolution 3-2014. The resolution ignores the unequivocal conclusion by the United Nations (UN) Historical Clarification Commission that genocide was committed against the indigenous population during Guatemala's decades-long internal armed conflict. The UN and multiple other institutions have found that violent acts including massacres, scorched earth operations, forced disappearances, and executions were perpetrated with the intent to destroy the indigenous population.

"The Guatemalan Congress' denial of genocide is an outrageous attempt to rewrite the past and impede accountability for atrocities," said Kerry Kennedy, President of the Robert F. Kennedy Center. "The historical record clearly demonstrates that hundreds of thousands of men, women, and children were targeted because of their ethnicity by state agents and paramilitaries. Denying this genocidal reality only deepens the divisions in Guatemalan society, while further marginalizing the indigenous community and promoting a culture of impunity."

The Congressional genocide denial follows several recent events that indicate deterioration in the rule of law in Guatemala. Last year, the historic conviction of dictator Efraín Ríos Montt for genocide and crimes against humanity was vacated on dubious procedural grounds, reinvigorating the efforts of powerful sectors allied with the military to prevent further genocide trials. As a consequence, the Attorney General who led the Ríos Montt prosecution, Claudia Paz y Paz, was arbitrarily removed from her post. Moreover, the Judge who presided over the Ríos Montt genocide trial, Yassmin Barrios, was suspended by the Guatemalan Bar Association in a ruling widely held to be illegitimate and in violation of the principle against double jeopardy.

"The outrageous declaration that genocide did not occur in Guatemala cannot be accepted by the international community," said Santiago A. Canton, Director of Robert F. Kennedy Partners for Human Rights. "Moreover, the Congressional resolution threatens the separation of powers by urging the Guatemalan judiciary to accept the false premise that genocide prosecutions are incompatible with peace. The government must reject this resolution and comply with its binding obligations under international human rights law to investigate, prosecute, and punish perpetrators of the grave crime of genocide."

ESP

Washington, D.C.) Kerry Kennedy y Santiago A. Canton, en representación del Centro Robert F. Kennedy para la Justicia y los Derechos Humanos (Centro Robert F. Kennedy), condenan la negación de la existencia de genocidio aprobada en la Resolución 3-2014 del Congreso de Guatemala. La resolución ignora la inequívoca conclusión a la que llegó la Comisión para el Esclarecimiento Histórico de las Naciones Unidas en el sentido de que en el curso del conflicto armado interno que duró varias décadas, se cometió genocidio contra las poblaciones indígenas. Tanto las Naciones Unidas como muchas otras instituciones llegaron a la conclusión de que entre los actos de violencia perpetrados en contra de la población indígena, se deben incluir masacres, la aplicación de operaciones de "tierra quemada", desapariciones forzadas y ejecuciones extrajudiciales, todo ello con la intención de destruir a dicha población indígena. 

El Congreso guatemalteco niega vergonzosamente la existencia de genocidio