The All-Party Parliamentary Human Rights Group (PHRG) hosted this meeting to hear about the situation of human rights defenders in Guatemala. Omar Jeronimo is a member of the community organisation, Central Campesina Ch’ortí Nuevo Día (CCCND) which works on land rights in the Chiquimula region.

The key points raised by Mr Jeronimo:

• The area of Chiquimula is one of the poorest and most violent regions in Central America. Across Guatemala, organised crime and drug trafficking are pervasive and there are concerns about corruption and lack of independence of the judiciary.
• With increasing company investments (particularly in hydroelectric projects) in indigenous territories, death threats and aggression against indigenous leaders have increased.
• Human rights defenders are totally unprotected. Threats made against them have been increasing in recent months.
• A human rights defender from the region, Carlos Hernandez, was murdered in 2013, a crime which has so far remained in impunity.
• There is evidence that British companies are involved in certain investment projects in the region. Parliamentarians are asked to question the UK Government about its role in ensuring that UK businesses are not involved in human rights abuses in Guatemala.

The PHRG will work with our partners to monitor Mr Jeronimo’s situation closely and raise it with the relevant interlocutors. We will also continue to follow the situation of human rights defenders in Guatemala more broadly.