Children and teenagers

First Guatemalan femicide case reaches Inter-American Court of Human Rights

The María Isabel Véliz Franco case is an emblematic example of the impunity surrounding femicide in Guatemala

Guatemala City and San José, 7 May, 2012. On May 3, the Washington-based Interamerican Commission of Human Rights (IACHR) submitted the María Isabel Véliz Franco femicide case to the jurisdiction of the Interamerican Court of Human Rights, whose headquarters are in Costa Rica. The case, relating to the murder of a young girl in Guatemala in 2001, will be heard by the Interamerican Court in due course.

María Isabel and her relatives are represented by the Red de la No Violencia contra las Mujeres en Guatemala (REDNOVI –No Violence against Women in Guatemala Network) and the Centre for Justice and International Law (CEJIL). In 2004, the Guatemalan authorities were denounced before the IACHR by both these organizations, for their failure to investigate the murder in a diligent, exhaustive and serious way. The inquiry has been plagued by unlawful delays, loss of evidence and the omission of lines of relevant investigation.

Thu, 05/10/2012

Guatemala City and San José, 7 May, 2012. On May 3, the Washington-based Interamerican Commission of Human Rights (IACHR) submitted the María Isabel Véliz Franco femicide case to the jurisdiction of the Interamerican Court of Human Rights, whose headquarters are in Costa Rica. The case, relating to the murder of a young girl in Guatemala in 2001, will be heard by the Interamerican Court in due course.

María Isabel and her relatives are represented by the Red de la No Violencia contra las Mujeres en Guatemala (REDNOVI –No Violence against Women in Guatemala Network) and the Centre for Justice and International Law (CEJIL). In 2004, the Guatemalan authorities were denounced before the IACHR by both these organizations, for their failure to investigate the murder in a diligent, exhaustive and serious way. The inquiry has been plagued by unlawful delays, loss of evidence and the omission of lines of relevant investigation.  In addition, the victim and her family have been repeatedly stigmatized by the authorities throughout the process.

Guatemala registers an alarmingly high instance of cases of violence against women. This, coupled with the lack of protection offered to both victims and survivors and the widespread levels of impunity, favors the repetition of similar tragedies.

Official statistics compiled by the Grupo Guatemalteco de Mujeres (Guatemalan Women’s Group) suggest that between 2000 and 2011, 6,638 women suffered violent deaths in Guatemala. In 2011 alone, 710 women died in violent circumstances. According to the Public Prosecutor’s Office and the Judiciary, violence against women represents the third most reported crime within the nation. Of the cases of this nature admitted, only 1% obtains sentencing, resulting in impunity for the crimes and those responsible in 99% of cases.

The latest report from the Guatemalan Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, published last January, suggests that: “the cruelty with which some of these crimes were perpetrated reflects the grave extent to which patterns of discrimination are rooted within society, and reveals the lack of institutional measures in place to stop them.”

REDNOVI and CEJIL welcome the presentation of this case before the Interamerican Court, the highest tribunal in the Americas. It represents an opportunity for specific measures to be granted for combatting both the disturbingly high rates of violence against women in Guatemala and the ongoing impunity.

Over 10 years have passed since the crime, and the victim and her family have not yet been granted justice. As such, Guatemala has a responsibility to investigate, process, and sanction those responsible for the crimes committed against María Isabel Véliz Franco. Similarly, the State has an obligation to implement all political and financial measures necessary to strengthen existing institutions and their ability to prevent, detect, investigate and punish instances of violence against women in Guatemala.

Case facts

On December 16, 2001, Rosa Franco filed a complaint before the Guatemalan authorities for the disappearance of her 15-year-old daughter, María Isabel Véliz Franco. However, State institutions have made no attempt to locate her whereabouts. On December 18, her body was discovered bearing various signs of abuse. Since the occurrence of the crime, Rosa Franco has appealed for the events to be investigated and for those responsible to be punished, to no avail.

Human Rights Day

More Information

Mon, 12/10/2012 (All day)
Globally
Globally

Hearings before the Inter-American Court of Human Rights

Mon, 02/20/2012 (All day) - Fri, 03/02/2012 (All day)
Inter-American Commission of Human Rights
San Jose

CEJIL Activities Report - 20 years

Since its foundation in 1991 the Center for Justice and International Law (CEJIL) has contributed significantly to the enjoyment of rights in the region. The present report outlines some of CEJIL’s milestones, achievements, and challenges over these two decades. It attempts to illustrate some notable actions in order to document the efforts of the work of that period.


Type of publication:Activities report
Full version available in:
Year: 2011
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CEJIL is awarded the Thomas J.Dodd Prize in international justice and human rights

The ceremony was presided over by the Honorable Christopher J. Dodd

Washington D.C, October 3, 2011.- Today, the Center for Justice and International Law (CEJIL) was awarded the  fifth annual Thomas J. Dodd Prize in International Justice and Human Rights. The Ceremony took place at 4pm at the University of Connecticut and was presided over by UConn President Susan Herbst as well as the Honorable Christopher J. Dodd.

Mon, 10/03/2011

 

Washington D.C, October 3, 2011.- Today, the Center for Justice and International Law (CEJIL) was awarded the  fifth annual Thomas J. Dodd Prize in International Justice and Human Rights. The Ceremony took place at 4pm at the University of Connecticut and was presided over by UConn President Susan Herbst as well as the Honorable Christopher J. Dodd.

 

The Dodd Prize commemorates the distinguished career in public service of Thomas J. Dodd, who served as Executive Trial Counsel at the Nuremberg Trials, U.S. Representative from 1953 to 1957, and Connecticut Senator from 1959 to 1971.  Thomas Dodd dedicated his entire public life to fighting against infringement and suppression of human rights in the United States and abroad.

 

Upon receiving the prize, Viviana Krsticevic, Executive Director of CEJIL said: “The work of CEJIL stands on the legacy of the Nuremberg trials and the work of Thomas J. Dodd. Focusing our efforts on the Americas, a region notorious for its setbacks in human rights and the rule of law, we stand firmly in our beliefs in the dignity of all, the importance of honoring all human beings, and the need to strengthen and apply the rule of law to ensure the rights of all individuals”.

Krsticevic concluded: “On behalf of everyone at CEJIL, thank you very much for this wonderful honor. This award will encourage us to continue the fight for justice and equality. It will give us the hope necessary to create many more success stories in the Americas and reminds us of the importance of preserving the legacy and principles of Nuremberg.”

 

The award will be invested in CEJIL’s strategic litigation in the Western Hemisphere, advocacy before the Inter-American System of Human Rights and training of human rights defenders throughout the region.

 

For more information:

Milli  Legrain

Communications coordinator

mlegrain@cejil.org

202 319 3000

Inter-American Court of Human Rights - Case law on children's rights

Corte IDH - Jurisprudencia sobre el Derecho de los Niños

Este volumen es un compilado de la jurisprudencia emanada de la Corte Interamericana de Derechos Humanos en relación a los derechos de los niños, niñas y adolescentes. Aunque el mismo no ha sido publicado en papel, aquí puede consultarse la versión digital.


Type of publication:Compilation of jurisprudence
Full version available in:
Year: 2006
Your opinion is very important and let us keep up to date ours tools. If you had the chance to use this publication please complete the evaluation form. Thanks in advance.

United Nations recommends El Salvador to investigate the whereabouts of the Serrano Cruz sisters

Demand search for Children disappearances during the war

On 3 February, the Committee on the Rights of the Child of United Nations issued its concluding observations on the third and fourth report from El Salvador in meeting its obligations as a party to the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Fri, 02/05/2010

San Salvador, El Salvador, February 5, 2010

On February 3, the Committee on the Rights of the Child of United Nations made public its concluding observations on the third and fourth report from El Salvador in meeting its obligations as a party to the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

In them, he referred specifically to the Salvadoran state's obligation to comply with the ruling of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights in the case of the Serrano Cruz Sisters. In this regard, although recognized as a progress for the adoption of a presidential decree to create a Commission to Search for Missing Children, during the Salvadoran armed conflict, it established that the state should provide it with human and financial resources which are suitable for operating according to standards set by the Court.

Likewise, it established that the state should adpot necessary measures to investigate the disappearance of girls Erlinda and Ernestina Serrano Cruz, as well as the disappearance of other children during the armed conflict.

It is important to point out that on January 28th, a hearing was held to monitor compliance of the sentence mentioned, at the headquarters of the Inter-American Court. In it, the Association for Children Search Missing (Pro-Búsqueda) and the Center for Justice and International Law (CEJIL), in their capacity as representatives of the victims, made the same accusations that are now taken up by the Child Rights Committee.

In this sense, both organizations stressed their concern that the recently adopted decree states that the Search Committee will work with resources from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which can threaten the independence of its operation, and accessibility of it to the people.

They also indicated that the greatest desire of the members of the Serrano Cruz family is to know the truth of what happened to Erlinda and Ernestina, which has not been possible to date. Although five years have passed since the issuance of the decision of the IACHR, the State has not conducted any due diligence on their own initiative to find their whereabouts. What is more serious, is that the judicial process in progress for the disappearance of this girls, remains in the hands of the same judge whose actions have not condemned El Salvador. This, despite the fact that the Inter-American Court established "that public officials and individuals who interfere[d], deviate[d], or expand[ed] improper investigations to clarify the truth of the facts, should be punished, applying thereon with the greatest rigor, forecasts of domestic legislation"

CEJIL and Pro Búsqueda urge the Salvadoran state to comply as soon as possible the recommendations of the Child Rights Committee, and take into account external comments by our organizations at the hearing cited in order to ensure that the Search Committee for Missing Boys and Girls function properly and ensures that members of the Serrano Cruz family may know the whereabouts of Ernestina and Erlinda, and hundreds of families whose children disappeared during the armed conflict.

 


Contact Information


In El Salvador
 Pro Búsqueda
Leonor Arteaga
(503) 22351039/22351041
incidencia.probusqueda @ gmail.com

In Costa Rica
CEJIL
Nancy Marin
(506) 2280-7473
nmarin@cejil.org


Child advocates met the functions of the Inter-American system on Human Rights

Workshop in Washington D.C.
Bajada: 

CEJIL, with the support of Save the Children, organized a workshop with the objective of strengthening advocacy skills for defenders of children across the entire continent before the Organization of American States, held in Washington DC from November 10 through the 12.
The 30 participants attended presentations, talks and meetings at the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) and in organs of the Organization of American States (OAS), such as the Permanent Council and Inter-American Juridical Committee, among other activities. The workshops were supported by the Department of International Affairs of the OAS.
Human Rights defenders of Children’s rights met the operation and procedures of the Inter-American human rights system, shared experiences and reinforced their corporation relations.
Before the commissioner and reporter on the rights of children in the IACHR, Paulo Sergio Pinheiro, participants expressed concern about the vulnerability of the children in the region. Defenders of children reported that violence, trafficking and sexual exploitation are some of the most worrying problems.
The representative of the Permanent Mission of Canada to the OAS and Chairman of the Committee on Hemispheric Security, Graeme C. Clarke, raised concerns about the proliferation of repressive policies to deal with youth gangs in the region and the director of the department of international affairs for the OAS, Irene Klinger, provided an overview of the structure and functioning of the organization.
One of the most important issues during the workshop was the participation of civil society and its impact on decision making. The director of the Summits of the Americas, David Morris, shared his experience with the organizations of civil society and explained the rules for the participation of these groups in OAS activities.
In various activities, the participants shared their experiences and reaffirmed the need to create hemispheric partnerships to influence political Inter-American organs with more efficiency to boost changes. They agreed on the difficulties there are in influencing political organs of the OAS and the limited opportunities for participation that they receive.
The representatives of organizations formed a cooperative and strengthening alliance to influence more strongly and organization before the Inter-American system. As a goal in the short and medium term, they proposed requesting thematic hearings before the IACHR about the human rights violations faced by children.
Organization from Nicaragua, Panama, Honduras, El Salvador, Costa Rice, Guatemala, Mexico, argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay and brazil participated in the workshop.

CEJIL, con el apoyo de Save the Children, organizó un taller con el objetivo de fortalecer las capacidades de incidencia politica ante la Organizacion de Estados Americanos, de defensores y defensoras de la infancia de todo el continente, que se llevó a cabo en Washington D.C. entre el 10 y el 12 de noviembre.

Fecha: 
Mon, 11/16/2009
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