Information on the Human Rights Commission [GTM21421.E]

Please find attached several documents that refer to three Guatemalan Human Rights Commissions. One of the Commissions is affiliated to the Congress of Guatemala; another is a non-governmental organization that went into exile and, based in Mexico, had branch offices in Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Spain and Montreal; the other Commission is also non-governmental and is based in Washington, DC. The attached sections of a Human Rights Internet directory provide information on the three Commissions. The attached back-page of a GHRC publication provides details on the latter commission's mandate and other information (GHRC Update 28 July 1995)

The Mexico-based Commission reportedly relocated in Guatemala earlier in 1995 (ibid., 3). One of its members received a telephone threat and was warned he was being kept under surveillance (ibid.). Please consult the cited and attached document for additional details. Information on the current address and effectiveness of this Commission's activities could not be found among the sources consulted by the DIRB.

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the DIRB within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum.

Reference


Guatemala Human Rights Update. 28 July 1995. Washington, DC: Guatemala Human Rights Commission/USA.

Attachments

Barry, Tom. 1992. Guatemala: A Country Guide. Albuquerque, N. Mex.: The Inter-Hemispheric Education Resource Center, pp. 38-40, 306-07.

Guatemala Human Rights Update. 28 July 1995. Washington, DC: Guatemala Human Rights Commission/USA (GHRC), pp. 3, back-page.

Human Rights Internet Reporter-Special Issue: Human Rights Directory: Latin America and the Caribbean. January 1990. Laurie S. Wiseberg et al. Massachussets/Santiago: Human Rights Internet/Programa de Derechos Humanos de la Academia de Humanismo Cristiano, pp. 304-05, 312-13, 316.