GUATEMALA: The OIAD alerts the Guatemalan Bar Association about the situation of human rights lawyers in the country

15 October 2024

The International Observatory for Lawyers at Risk sent a letter on 11 October 2024 to the representatives of the Guatemalan Bar Association and Notaries, requesting a position in support of the persecuted Guatemalan legal profession.

This communication refers to the unfortunate news coming from Guatemala regarding the systematic persecution of legal professionals, particularly those who defend the rights of human rights defenders. The Observatory has witnessed with concern a systematic pattern of persecution and unfounded criminalisation of lawyers and other justice operators in retaliation for the legitimate exercise of their profession.

In this regard, we call on the Guatemalan Bar Association, as the highest institutional representative of the Guatemalan legal profession, to promote the practice of law that fights for the respect of human rights in Guatemala, as well as to adopt measures within the framework of its competences to support these lawyers.