Guatemala.

Peace Accords in 1996 brought to an official close the Civil War in Guatemala, the longest-running conflict in the Americas that caused the deaths of some 200,000 people. Furthermore, the official truth commission into the conflict mandated by the Peace Accords found that acts of genocide were committed by the Guatemalan Army against the indigenous Mayan population. The Peace Accords have successfully ended the fighting, but Guatemala is still struggling to implement the changes necessary to build a sustainable peace; many of the causes of the conflict identified by the commission remain strongly present today, including high levels of inequality and poverty, racism against the Maya population, and impunity for human rights violations remain. As a result, levels of violence remain extremely high, with over 6,500 murders in 2009 for a country with a population of 14 million people – more than twice the murder rate of Mexico, and one of the highest in the world. The violent death rate is actually currently higher that for much of the period of the armed conflict.

Civil society was active in Guatemala even throughout the conflict, and played an important role in the build up to the Peace Accords. In particular, Mayan groups have a strong record of organising themselves. Peacebuilding groups in Guatemala are at the centre of the struggle to achieve the sustainable and just peace that the Peace Accords have so far failed to deliver.

Peacebuilding Organisations in Guatemala

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Asociación de Desarrollo Integral Nueva Vida (ADENVI)

ADENVI strives to establish new ways of co-existence and to restore the social fabric for victims and families of Guatemala's conflict, promoting the development of communities.

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Asociación de Movimiento de Victimas para el Desarrollo Integral en el Norte del Quiché (ASOMOVIDINQ)

ASOMOVIDINQ implements comprehensive projects that aim to heal the psychological trauma, poor conditions and devastating effects of the internal armed conflict in the Ixil Region of Guatemala.

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Asociación Integral de Desarrollo - Efraín Bámaca

Asociación Integral de Desarrollo 'Efraín Bámaca' addresses the needs of families and former guerrillas affected by the conflict in Guatemala.

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Asociación Maya de Desarrollo

Asociación Maya de Desarrollo is a weaving co-operative that provides economic and leadership opportunities for women in post-conflict communities.

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Asociación Q’anil Maya Kaqchikel (ASOQ’ANIL) Víctimas de Chimaltenango

Asociación Q’anil Maya Kaqchikel (ASOQ’ANIL) Víctimas de Chimaltenango compensates the families of victims physically and economically by exhuming their relatives' remains and providing proper burial ceremonies.

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Centro de Estudios y Documentacion de la Frontera Occidental de Guatemala (CEDFOG)

CEDFOG is a public space that gathers, documents and provides access to information about economic, political, social and cultural development in Guatemala.

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Centro Para la Accion Legal en Derechos Humanos (CALDH)

Guatemala's best known human rights organisation that consciously recognises the historical implications of the Guatemalan civil war and trains partner organisations to act out against the impunity and injustices in the country.

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Defensoria Indigena Tzolojya

The Defensoria Indigena Tzolojya takes a pro-active approach to resolving conflicts in Guatemala through training of community leaders, conflict resolution and human rights promotion.

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Desarrollo Para La Paz (ADEPAZ)

ADEPAZ originally provided basic support for those in immediate need from Guatemala's Civil War. Today they offer a variety of resources for development in post-conflict regions.

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Movimiento de Desarraigados para el Desarrollo Integral del Norte del Quiché (MDNQ)

MDNQ responds to the needs of communities affected by the impact of Guatemala's war by offering programmes in areas such as socio-legal support for the relatives of disappeared persons and assistance with exhumations of victims.

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Oxlajuj Ajpop

Oxlajuj Ajpop works to provide legal and psychological support for families needing to exhume their loved ones killed during Guatemala's Civil War. Furthermore they work to reform and strengthen the Mayan culture.

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Procuradoria de los Derechos Humanos

Procuradoria de los Derechos Humanos is a peacebuilding and human rights focused organisation in Guatemala.

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Tierra Nueva

Tierra Nueva facilitates the reconstruction of the indigenous communities of Huehuetenango, Guatemala, aiding victims of violence and those who have lost family members during the war.

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Soluciones Comunitarias

Information on peacebuilding organisations in Guatemala is provided by Soluciones Comunitarias, a socially-driven organisation, focused on combating socioeconomic problems in rural areas.  They now operate in over ten departments of Guatemala, offering affordable products that improve health conditions in rural communities. Working within the model of ‘Microconsignment’, Soluciones Comunitarias uses local ideas and local Guatemalans to provide products and services to reach the final mile – where no other organisations have been before. Soluciones Comunitarias is an organisation that was established with the support from the US non-profit, Community Enterprise Solutions. Currently, the two support each other to strive to make positive, sustainable impact.

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