Maya Q’eqchi’ Land and Resource Rights

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Maya Q’eqchi’ Leaders Seek International Support

 


Top (left to right):  Manuel Xo Cu, Coordinator of Defensoria’s Legal Department; Carlos Pop, a Maya Q’eqchi’ attorney and local counsel for Agua Caliente; Rodrigo Tot, the President of Agua Caliente; and Romel Reyes, Executive Director of the Center’s partner organization AEPDI/Defensoria Q’eqchi’.

Bottom:  Meeting with the U.S. Congress’ Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission.

Leaders meet with U.S. officials to gain support to stop a nickel mine.

A delegation of leaders from Agua Caliente, a Maya Q’eqchi’ community in Guatemala, worked with the Center’s Washington, D.C. office in March to raise international awareness about a nickel mine that threatens to destroy their homelands. Because of the rich deposits of nickel beneath their territories, Q’eqchi’ communities are facing efforts by government agencies and the mining company to evict them from their lands. The communities’ cultural and spiritual beliefs are deeply rooted to their lands; their home territory is critical for their physical, economic, and cultural survival.

The delegation included Rodrigo Tot, the President of Agua Caliente; Carlos Pop, a Maya Q’eqchi’ attorney and local counsel for Agua Caliente; Romel Reyes, Executive Director of the Center’s partner organization AEPDI/Defensoria Q’eqchi’; and Manuel Xo Cu, Coordinator of Defensoria’s Legal Department.

The Center planned a series of meetings for the delegation with the Inter-American Commission Human Rights (Commission), U.S. government officials, and civil society organizations to raise awareness of Guatemala’s failure to enforce the Constitutional Court’s February 2011 ruling recognizing the Agua Caliente community’s land rights and of the escalating violence and threats against the community, including the murder of one of Rodrigo Tot’s sons last October. The murder prompted the Commission to grant precautionary measures to protect Rodrigo, Carlos Pop, and their families. A working meeting with the Commission and the State of Guatemala to discuss the implementation of the needed safeguards was a focal point of the delegation’s week in Washington, D.C.

The meeting with the Commission was an important opportunity to again ask the Commission to grant collective precautionary measures to protect the entire community of Agua Caliente. The Center made concrete suggestions on how such measures could reasonably be implemented by the State of Guatemala. These discussions are on-going, but the Center and community leaders are optimistic that the Commission will eventually agree that collective measures to protect the entire community are needed.

The Q’eqchi’ leaders also met with the U.S. Congress’ Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission and Congressman Eni Faleomavaega from American Samoa. In addition to the Agua Caliente case, the delegation also discussed the escalating violence against indigenous peoples throughout Guatemala. The Center and the Q’eqchi’ delegation were encouraged by the Congressman’s and Lantos Commission’s great interest and their willingness to help bring the particular situation of the Agua Caliente community to the attention of the highest levels of United States government.

The Center will keep these various entities informed and provide additional information about the Agua Caliente case and human rights violations facing other indigenous nations in Guatemala.

We are also thankful to Indian Country Today for covering the Maya Q’eqchi’ delegation’s visit, you can view the story here.

, 04/10/2013 - 7:04am
Maya Q'eqchi' bring mining fight to Washington, D.C.

Leaders seeking international intervention to protect their lands and communities.

, 03/08/2013 - 4:26pm
The high cost of fighting for indigenous human rights

 

Armstrong Wiggins visits President Rodrigo Tot and the Agua Caliente community in August 2012.

Mining in indigenous territories is a heated topic, even deadly, in Guatemala. For more than seven years, the Center has been supporting the efforts of the Maya Q’eqchi’ community of Agua Caliente to protect their land and resource rights and bring a halt to plans for mining in their lands and territory.  Under the leadership of President Rodrigo Tot, the Agua Caliente community has achieved great success by securing a decision from the Constitutional Court of Guatemala – the country’s highest court – in their favor and against mining interests. But this, however, has come at a great cost.

In early October, Edin Tot, Rodrigo’s eldest son was murdered and his second son was seriously injured during what appeared to be a staged robbery. The murder and repeated threats against community representatives led the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights to grant the Center’s request for precautionary measures protecting leaders of the Agua Caliente community. The measures ask the government of Guatemala to immediately investigate, identify, and punish those responsible for the murder.

This tragic incident is not an isolated event. In October, the government of Guatemala was heavily criticized by the international human rights community for deploying military forces in response to a peaceful protest in Totonicapán that resulted in the deaths of eight indigenous people and 30 more protesters injured. Guatemala’s violent history towards indigenous peoples must not be allowed to continue. 

Regardless of the violence, the Center is encouraged by the strength and spirit of the indigenous peoples across Guatemala who continue to fight for their human rights.

We will continue to work with the Inter-American Commission to protect Rodrigo, his family, and Agua Caliente community. While the Commission’s protection order for Agua Caliente’s leaders is a positive step; increased violence throughout Guatemala remains a serious concern. The Center strongly believes that raising the profile of the leaders we work with at the international level is one of the most effective ways to protect their human rights and security. We are moving forward with plans to bring Rodrigo, Carlos Pop, local counsel in the case, and a representative from our partner organization, Defensoria Q’eqchi’, to Washington, D.C., in March, 2013. We will arrange meetings with the Commission, U.S. government officials, human rights organizations, and others to create awareness about their daily struggles to protect their rights and environment.

We will stand behind them, and we ask you to as well. As this year comes to a close, please make a contribution to support these important efforts to protect not only the indigenous peoples of Guatemala but all of our efforts throughout the Americas. Join us in the journey to bring peace to and protect those most in need.

Yamni sut ra,

Armstrong Wiggins

, 12/04/2012 - 4:14pm
Center secures protection for leaders in Guatemala case

Inter-American Commission on Human Rights grants precautionary measures in wake of violence against Agua Caliente community members

, 10/24/2012 - 2:04pm
El Centro condena la violencia en Totonicapán, Guatemala

Guatemala debe abstenerse de revivir memorias de la violenta historia de opresión y violencia estatal en la cual se vieron sumergidos los pueblos indígenas. (AP Photo)

, 10/17/2012 - 9:30am
Center condemns violence in Totonicapan, Guatemala

Guatemala must not revisit its history of oppression and violence against indigenous peoples. (AP Photo)

, 10/17/2012 - 9:23am
Maya Q’eqchi’ seek help to gain justice in Guatemala

Agua Caliente files petition with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. 

, 08/17/2011 - 2:43pm
Guatemala Court’s Landmark Ruling Best Kept Secret

Constitutional Court of Guatemala issues ruling affirming the collective rights of Community to its land. 

, 07/08/2011 - 12:13pm
Guatemala Court Makes Landmark Ruling In Indigenous Rights Case

Washington, D.C.— The highest court in Guatemala has made a precedent setting decision in favor of the community of Agua Caliente, a small Maya Q’eqchi’ indigenous community of 385 people in El Estor, in the country’s Izabal province.  The community has been fighting for formal recognition of its land rights and for justice against plans to mine nickel on the community’s lands. 

, 03/25/2011 - 9:09am
Q & A: The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights

 

On February 7, 2011, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights granted Precautionary Measures for the Rapa Nui Nation on Rapa Nui Island (also known as “Easter Island”).  This article provides some background information on the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (Commission) and precautionary measures granted by the Commission.

, 03/22/2011 - 10:30am
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