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The Inter-American Court of Human Rights condemned the Guatemalan state Wednesday over the forced disappearances of 22 people and for its failure to investigate the massacre of Indigenous communities carried out during the civil war from 1981-1986, among other war crimes.
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“The lack of investigation into extrajudicial executions, forced displacements, torture, sexual violence and forced labor, among others, which occurred between August 1981 and August 1986 in the context of the armed conflict, consisted in a failure of state duties,” stated the judges.
The 22 victims were under arrest before they disappeared. The court also found that the state failed to implement measures to guarantee a safe and dignified return to the victims of forced displacement — whether a new home or a financial compensation.
More than a lack of action, the court condemned the state's "clear determination” to have “total impunity” prevail, agreeing with the Inter-American Commission of Human Rights that submitted the case to the court. In a document, the commission reported that the facts occurred within the context of “a state policy grounded on the national security doctrine and the concept of an internal enemy, aimed to eliminate the so-called social basis of rebel groups at the time.”
The international court requested the Guatemalan state re-open the investigations and put the culprits on trial while providing medical and psychological support to the victims, as well as financial compensation of US$55,000 for the 183 victims of forced displacement.
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