Thousands of people were detained for breaching the curfew ordered in March by the government to contain the spread of COVID-19. Health workers faced difficult working conditions during the pandemic, often lacking personal protective equipment and in some cases work contracts or wages. Attacks on...

This document contains suggested recommendations to be made to the states under review at the 42nd session of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) in January/February 2023. The countries covered are Czech Republic, Argentina, Gabon, Ghana, Peru, Guatemala, Benin, Republic of Korea, Switzerland,...

Amnesty International report to the Working Group of the 42nd Session of the UN Universal Periodic Review, January 2023

Case poster for Bernardo Caal’s Write for Rights case

Case card for Bernardo Caal’s Write for Rights case

Amnesty International shares with the Attorney General of Guatemala that 27957 people worldwide have signed a message demanding to take all the steps needed to immediately release Bernardo Caal Xol and to investigate those who handled Bernardo’s case leading to his unjust imprisonment.

The Alliance for Inclusive Mobility in the Pandemic calls on the Mexican government, in order to abide by its international human rights obligations, to temporarily suspend, for the duration of the COVID-19 pandemic, deportations to El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras, where people’s lives and...

Amnesty International and several international organizations remind the President of the Republic, Alejandro Giammattei, of the State’s obligation to adopt without delay a Public Policy for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, in accordance with the 2014 judgment of the Inter-American Court...

Bernardo Caal Xol has been wrongfully imprisoned for almost two and a half years for defending the rights of the Qeqchi’ Maya communities affected by the construction of a hydroelectric project on the sacred Cahabón River in the department of Alta Verapaz, Guatemala. On 16 July 2020, Amnesty...

Health and essential workers have played an extraordinary role in the global response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Across countries, they have put their health and wellbeing at risk, often in very difficult circumstances and with very little support, to ensure that people are able to access the...

In the context of concerning setbacks and risks for the justice system and human rights in Guatemala, Amnesty International addresses the Attorney General and calls on her to assume her responsibility for continuing the efforts and progress made in the fight against impunity in the country.

The Guatemalan authorities at the highest level have adopted a series of measures since August 2017 — including ending the mandate of the International Commission against Impunity (CICIG) — that are in imminent danger of undermining the efforts over more than a decade to strengthen the criminal...

Millions across the Americas are fleeing human rights violations in their countries, seeking protection. Refugees are people who find themselves with no choice other than to leave their lives behind hoping for safety. Many arrive in hostile environments but stepping back home could put their lives...