Adivima
Encyclopedia
ADIVIMA is a non-profit Human rights
organization in Guatemala
that works to find solutions to the social, economic, political, cultural, and educational problems that resulted from the Guatemalan Civil War
. The organization is based in Rabinal
, Baja Verapaz
and concentrates its work in the surrounding communities that were some of those most affected by the violence of the internal conflict.
Carlos Chen, Jesus Tecu Osorio
and Pedrina Burrero Lopez expanded their community group for orphans, widows, widowers, displaced persons and survivors of the internal conflict to form an official organization. The initial project of ADIVIMA was to work to get exhumations from the Rio Negro massacres and prosecute those responsible for the human rights violations. Jesus Tecu Osorio was essential in leading this project, and through his efforts and those of ADIVIMA, some of the mass grave
s of the Rio Negro massacre were exhumed and nine of those responsible were prosecuted and convicted. In 1996, Jesus Tecu Osorio won the Reebok Human Rights Award
for his work in the case.
, Socioeconomic Development
, and Community Organization.
.
The legal and penal processes of the cases in which ADIVIMA has accompanied have lasted more than thirteen years with some positive results, although there are many difficulties that exist that do not allow the goals and objectives of these cases to be completely met. Some of these difficulties include the use of resources by the defense teams to prolong trials and outlast the lesser resources of ADIVIMA, as well as the delay of the release of legal resolutions by the Constitutional Court, which can take up to two years.
In the case of the massacre that occurred in community of Río Negro
on March 13, 1982, which killed 107 children and 70 women, the work of ADIVIMA, along with other individuals and organizations, has sent to prison 9 PAC members responsible for the massacres, three of which were sentences to 50 years in prison. In 2006, during a public forum, an order was issued to capture three more PAC members responsible for the massacres. Although the motion was presented before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights
, the state has shown little will to capture or punish the three PAC patrol men. The case against the military detachment responsible in this situation is another circumstance that qualifies under this paradigm. They have also been denounced by ADIVIMA before the Public Minister for their crimes against humanity.
This long process is important in the documentation of the events that occurred during the internal conflict as well as to allow the families of the victims to bury the deceased in legal cemeteries. ADIVIMA has worked on more than 250 investigations and denunciations of clandestine cemeteries in Baja Verapaz and more than 25 in Alta Verapaz. ADIVIMA has provided legal accompaniment in 59 of the exhumations executed in Baja Verapaz and 6 in Alta Verapaz. In 2006 alone, ADIVIMA provided accompaniment and support in more than 14 exhumations of clandestine graves.
program to help provide small funds for survivors to have the opportunities to become small entrepreneurs to supplement their incomes. ADIVIMA is currently in the process of developing a scholarship program for young girls from communities affected by the internal conflict to be able to pursue an education. These awards will cover tuition, room and board, transportation, and health expenses for those selected to enter the program.
have never been fully justly compensated for their loses.[1] ADIVIMA is one of the participating organizations in the COCAHICH (Coordinating Committee of Communities Affected by the Construction of the Chixoy Dam), which is a committee of indigenous Maya Achí communities that are fighting for reparations in the Rio Negro Massacre case. An official report by the Center for Political ecology
, which was peer reviewed by both the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the American Anthropological Association, found that the creation of the dam caused social, cultural, and economic damage to the affected communities and was in violation of international law.[2] COCAHICH holds the Guatemalan government, the National Institute of Electricity (INDE), the World Bank, and the Inter-American Development Bank responsible for the massacres and to make reparations to those affected by the construction of the dam.
In 2004, ADIVIMA, as a member of COCAHICH, participated in a peaceful protest of more than 2000 people from the affected communities at the site of the dam in order to petition for the creation of a Damages Verification Committee to analyze the damages and possible reparations in regards to the construction of the Chixoy Dam.[3] The next day authorities met with the protestors and signed an official document for the creation of a Damages Verification Committee.[4] After the protest, the INDE filed a formal complaint to the Public Prosecutor’s Office stating that the leaders of the protest were charged with threatening the internal security of the nation, causing bodily harm, and making threats against the INDE.[5] Warrants for the arrest of COCAHICH leaders were issued, and among them were ADIVIMA founder Carlos Chen Osorio and executive director Juan de Dios Garcia.[4] All but of the charges were later dropped after lawyers from the Environmental Defender Law Center in the United States intervened, but experts consider this move by the INDE to be an attempt to intimidate those working to obtain reparations.[5] The Damages Verifications Committee was finally convened for the first time in December 2005.[6] The World Bank has accepted the invitation of the commission to join, and the Inter-American Development Bank is considering the offer. While the process has finally begun, still more than twenty years after the massacres no one has been compensated for their losses. ADIVIMA, along with other organizations is continuing to work for reparations for those affected by the creation of the Chixoy Dam.
Human rights
Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...
organization in Guatemala
Guatemala
Guatemala is a country in Central America bordered by Mexico to the north and west, the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, Belize to the northeast, the Caribbean to the east, and Honduras and El Salvador to the southeast...
that works to find solutions to the social, economic, political, cultural, and educational problems that resulted from the Guatemalan Civil War
Guatemalan Civil War
The Guatemalan Civil War ran from 1960-1996. The thirty-six-year civil war began as a grassroots, popular response to the rightist and military usurpation of civil government , and the President's disrespect for the human and civil rights of the majority of the population...
. The organization is based in Rabinal
Rabinal
Rabinal is a small town located in the Guatemalan department of Baja Verapaz, at . It serves as the administrative seat for the surrounding municipality of the same name. The municipality covers 504 km² and, in 2004, had a population of around 36,000...
, Baja Verapaz
Baja Verapaz
Baja Verapaz is a department in Guatemala. The capital is Salamá.Baja Verapaz houses the Mario Dary Biotope Preserve, preserving the native flora and fauna of the region, especially the endangered national bird of Guatemala, the Resplendent Quetzal....
and concentrates its work in the surrounding communities that were some of those most affected by the violence of the internal conflict.
History
ADIVIMA was officially formed in 1994 when three survivors of the Rio Negro MassacreRío Negro Massacre
In 1978, in the face of civil war, the Guatemalan government proceeded with its economic development program, including the construction of the Chixoy hydroelectric dam. Financed in large part by the World Bank and Inter-American Development Bank, the Chixoy Dam was built in Rabinal, a region of...
Carlos Chen, Jesus Tecu Osorio
Jesús Tecú Osorio
Jesús Tecú Osorio is a Guatemalan social activist, worker for human rights, and advocate for the Achi Maya....
and Pedrina Burrero Lopez expanded their community group for orphans, widows, widowers, displaced persons and survivors of the internal conflict to form an official organization. The initial project of ADIVIMA was to work to get exhumations from the Rio Negro massacres and prosecute those responsible for the human rights violations. Jesus Tecu Osorio was essential in leading this project, and through his efforts and those of ADIVIMA, some of the mass grave
Mass grave
A mass grave is a grave containing multiple number of human corpses, which may or may not be identified prior to burial. There is no strict definition of the minimum number of bodies required to constitute a mass grave, although the United Nations defines a mass grave as a burial site which...
s of the Rio Negro massacre were exhumed and nine of those responsible were prosecuted and convicted. In 1996, Jesus Tecu Osorio won the Reebok Human Rights Award
Reebok Human Rights Award
The Reebok Human Rights Award honours activists under the age of 30 who fight for human rights through non-violent means. Each year, the award is given to four or five individuals. Each receives a grant of US$50,000 that must be used to support their human rights work. The awards are underwritten...
for his work in the case.
Organizational structure
ADIVIMA's work to assist survivors falls into three main categories: Human RightsHuman rights
Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...
, Socioeconomic Development
Socioeconomic development
Socio-economic development is the process of social and economic development in a society.Socio-economic development is measured with indicators, such as GDP, life expectancy, literacy and levels of employment...
, and Community Organization.
Human Rights Legal Support
During the past 13 years ADIVIMA has accompanied and supported survivors in many different human rights legal cases that the victims of the internal conflict have brought against the government. These include the cases of the numerous massacres and acts of genocide that occurred in the Maya Achí communities due to the active participation and action of the Guatemalan National Army and Civil Defense Patrol (PAC) squads as a part of the strategies of the governments of Lucas García, Benedicto Lucas y Efraín Ríos MonttEfraín Ríos Montt
José Efraín Ríos Montt is a former de facto President of Guatemala, dictator, army general, and former president of Congress. In the 2003 presidential elections, he unsuccessfully ran as the candidate of the ruling Guatemalan Republican Front .Huehuetenango-born Ríos Montt remains one of the most...
.
The legal and penal processes of the cases in which ADIVIMA has accompanied have lasted more than thirteen years with some positive results, although there are many difficulties that exist that do not allow the goals and objectives of these cases to be completely met. Some of these difficulties include the use of resources by the defense teams to prolong trials and outlast the lesser resources of ADIVIMA, as well as the delay of the release of legal resolutions by the Constitutional Court, which can take up to two years.
In the case of the massacre that occurred in community of Río Negro
Río Negro, Guatemala
Río Negro is a city in Guatemala....
on March 13, 1982, which killed 107 children and 70 women, the work of ADIVIMA, along with other individuals and organizations, has sent to prison 9 PAC members responsible for the massacres, three of which were sentences to 50 years in prison. In 2006, during a public forum, an order was issued to capture three more PAC members responsible for the massacres. Although the motion was presented before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights
Inter-American Commission on Human Rights
The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights is an autonomous organ of the Organization of American States .Along with the...
, the state has shown little will to capture or punish the three PAC patrol men. The case against the military detachment responsible in this situation is another circumstance that qualifies under this paradigm. They have also been denounced by ADIVIMA before the Public Minister for their crimes against humanity.
Legal and Psychosocial Accompaniment To Exhumations
Undertaking exhumations is a lengthy and complex process that can last anywhere from several months to several years. ADIVIMA works to facilitate and coordinate this process so as to make it as simple as possible for the families of the victims. This process involves identifying sites of clandestine Mass graves, gathering testimony from eyewitness survivors, planning traditional Mayan ceremonies before the exhumations, coordinating the efforts of the forensic anthropologists at the FAFG to exhume the graves, creating a petition from information from the forensic anthropologists, presenting the cases before the Public Ministry, and coordinating proper funerals and burial ceremonies with families of the victims.This long process is important in the documentation of the events that occurred during the internal conflict as well as to allow the families of the victims to bury the deceased in legal cemeteries. ADIVIMA has worked on more than 250 investigations and denunciations of clandestine cemeteries in Baja Verapaz and more than 25 in Alta Verapaz. ADIVIMA has provided legal accompaniment in 59 of the exhumations executed in Baja Verapaz and 6 in Alta Verapaz. In 2006 alone, ADIVIMA provided accompaniment and support in more than 14 exhumations of clandestine graves.
Socioeconomic Development
Part of ADIVIMA's work focuses on the socioeconomic development of the survivors of the massacres in the areas surrounding Rabinal. Their main project is a rotating microcreditMicrocredit
Microcredit is the extension of very small loans to those in poverty designed to spur entrepreneurship. These individuals lack collateral, steady employment and a verifiable credit history and therefore cannot meet even the most minimal qualifications to gain access to traditional credit...
program to help provide small funds for survivors to have the opportunities to become small entrepreneurs to supplement their incomes. ADIVIMA is currently in the process of developing a scholarship program for young girls from communities affected by the internal conflict to be able to pursue an education. These awards will cover tuition, room and board, transportation, and health expenses for those selected to enter the program.
Community Organization
ADIVIMA works with leaders from the surrounding rural communities to encourage participation in local and national government. ADIVIMA sponsors workshops to train male, female, and youth community leaders in how to affectively assert their rights and work with the larger government structure.Rio Negro Massacre Reparations
While some individuals that were responsible for some of the Rio Negro massacres that killed over 440 people have been sent to prison, the survivors affected by the building of the Chixoy DamChixoy hydroelectric dam
The Chixoy Hydroelectric Dam is a reinforced concrete dam and power plant spanning the Chixoy River between the Departments of Baja Verapaz, El Quiché and Alta Verapaz, Guatemala...
have never been fully justly compensated for their loses.[1] ADIVIMA is one of the participating organizations in the COCAHICH (Coordinating Committee of Communities Affected by the Construction of the Chixoy Dam), which is a committee of indigenous Maya Achí communities that are fighting for reparations in the Rio Negro Massacre case. An official report by the Center for Political ecology
Political ecology
Political ecology is the study of the relationships between political, economic and social factors with environmental issues and changes. Political ecology differs from apolitical ecological studies by politicizing environmental issues and phenomena....
, which was peer reviewed by both the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the American Anthropological Association, found that the creation of the dam caused social, cultural, and economic damage to the affected communities and was in violation of international law.[2] COCAHICH holds the Guatemalan government, the National Institute of Electricity (INDE), the World Bank, and the Inter-American Development Bank responsible for the massacres and to make reparations to those affected by the construction of the dam.
In 2004, ADIVIMA, as a member of COCAHICH, participated in a peaceful protest of more than 2000 people from the affected communities at the site of the dam in order to petition for the creation of a Damages Verification Committee to analyze the damages and possible reparations in regards to the construction of the Chixoy Dam.[3] The next day authorities met with the protestors and signed an official document for the creation of a Damages Verification Committee.[4] After the protest, the INDE filed a formal complaint to the Public Prosecutor’s Office stating that the leaders of the protest were charged with threatening the internal security of the nation, causing bodily harm, and making threats against the INDE.[5] Warrants for the arrest of COCAHICH leaders were issued, and among them were ADIVIMA founder Carlos Chen Osorio and executive director Juan de Dios Garcia.[4] All but of the charges were later dropped after lawyers from the Environmental Defender Law Center in the United States intervened, but experts consider this move by the INDE to be an attempt to intimidate those working to obtain reparations.[5] The Damages Verifications Committee was finally convened for the first time in December 2005.[6] The World Bank has accepted the invitation of the commission to join, and the Inter-American Development Bank is considering the offer. While the process has finally begun, still more than twenty years after the massacres no one has been compensated for their losses. ADIVIMA, along with other organizations is continuing to work for reparations for those affected by the creation of the Chixoy Dam.