Searching for Justice in Guatemala
Meeting with the Canadian Embassy
Luz Mendez
Our final meeting in Guatemala is with the Canadian Ambassador and the Canadian Head of Development. Alison, Samantha, Christina, and I are joined by Luz Mendez and Claudia Paz. Luz is an iconic figure in Guatemala; she was one of the few women to participate in the table of peace negotiations, where she promoted the inclusion of women's issues in the peace accords. Today she coordinates Advocates for Change, a coalition that provides psychosocial support and women's rights training to women victim of sexual violence during the armed conflict – a pioneer experience in Guatemala. I am equally impressed by Claudia, a lawyer who was a researcher with the UN Truth Commission. Claudia now directs the Institute for Studies in Comparative Criminal Sciences (ICCPG), which has produced ground-breaking research on crime patterns of sexual violence.
Poster for PCS' sexual violence program
ICCPG and Advocates for Change are integral participants in a regional program PCS has built with Inter Pares, which addresses sexual violence against women during armed conflict in three Latin American countries – Guatemala, Peru, and Colombia. It is a holistic program, with four goals:
- empowering women affected by sexual violence through healing processes;
- exploring legal avenues for prosecuting cases of sexual violence committed during the armed conflicts;
- raising awareness about sexual violence as a crime, not just with the general public, but also with state institutions, human rights groups, and with policy-makers; and
- strengthening the capacity of women survivors to influence reparations plans so that they incorporate women's interests, needs and perspectives, including addressing the effects of sexual violence on women's day-to-day lives.
Claudia Paz
In the places where we work, Inter Pares nurtures a relationship between our counterparts and the Canadian Embassy. Our twin goals are to provide the Embassy with access to our counterparts' information and analyses, and to ensure that our counterparts can call on the Embassy for international attention when required. Today, we are meeting with the Ambassador and the Canadian Head of Development to introduce them to Claudia and Luz, and to explain the various aspects of the program. We affirm during this meeting the importance of the Canadian government's political and financial support to this sensitive and important work.
Samantha McGavin and Flory Yax
Afterwards, as we hug goodbye in the hallway, I remind Luz and Claudia that our Canadian supporters too are there with them in their struggles. As we wave goodbye, I am buoyed by the wonderful feeling of being a kind of ambassador myself – of the solidarity and encouragement of thousands of people who may live far away, but today are close in spirit.
| Reviewed July 31, 2009 |  |
Publishing Policies |
