Preliminary conclusions of the International Mission of Jurists for Guatemala
Guatemala, 29 October 2025 – For several years, international organisations, independent missions and civil society organisations have been warning about the progressive deterioration of the rule of law in Guatemala. Six months ago, the UN Special Rapporteur on the Independence of Judges and Lawyers made an official visit to Guatemala and warned of serious risks to judicial independence and the legal profession.
The International Mission of Jurists for Guatemala, made up of the International Observatory for Lawyer at Risk (OIAD), Lawyers for Lawyers, the Association of Human Rights Lawyers, Judges and Prosecutors of Latin America and the Caribbean (AJUFIDH), the Association of Judges for Democracy (JJpD), and the Spanish Association for Human Rights (ADPHE), visited the country with the aim of observing, documenting, and impartially evaluating the situation of judicial independence and the practice of law.
During our visit, we conducted interviews with current and former justice officials, lawyers, persons deprived of liberty, civil society organisations, embassies, academics and relevant legal and political institutions, such as the Constitutional Court, the Bar Association and Notaries of Guatemala, the Ministry of the Interior and universities. The Attorney General’s Office declined the invitation to participate in these interviews.
Main conclusions: structural patterns that threaten the rule of law
The preliminary conclusions are quite alarming: patterns of intimidation, criminalisation and persecution against judges, prosecutors, independent lawyers, as well as human rights defenders, indigenous leaders, journalists and civil society representatives, have not only become entrenched, but reveal a structural framework that uses criminal law as a tool to control state institutions, further limiting the exercise of fundamental rights, such as freedom of association, social protest and freedom of expression.
Guatemala is going through a period in which power is being contested in the courts. The signing of the Peace agreements in 1996 brought an end to an authoritarian regime condemned for genocide that dominated all institutions and judicial bodies. However, the democratic transition was marked by the persistence of patterns of domination by de facto powers, which consolidated a network of influence designed to guarantee impunity and protect economic and political interests. Today, persecution is no longer carried out with bullets, but with the criminal justice and prison systems; voices are no longer silenced by force, but by nd endless criminal proceedings and the unjustified use of preventive detention, all under a cloak of apparent legality.
In our interviews, we have identified a systematic pattern of persecution that often culminates in criminalisation. This pattern includes physical intimidation, such as surveillance and stalking, and online harassment, manifested in campaigns of stigmatisation, defamation and attacks on social media. In most cases, defamation campaigns serve as a precursor to criminal prosecution, even publicly identifying who will be the next to be prosecuted. Such actions usually originate from the accounts of political operators or anonymous profiles linked to net centres, creating the perception that certain actors have advance access to confidential information about criminal proceedings, even before the accused are formally summoned.
The Public Prosecutor’s Office, in collusion with some judges and magistrates, has become a central actor in this selective criminalisation, frequently resorting to broad criminal charges and superfluous investigations. Criminalisation operates as a tool to intimidate and silence critical voices and justice operators who have brought cases of corruption and serious human rights violations. It also serves to influence electoral processes by criminalising or threatening members of nomination committees and candidates, thereby consolidating institutional control.
These judicial processes involve systematic violations of due process, particularly through the violation of reasonable time limits and the abusive use of secrecy, turning proceedings into anticipatory punishment. This creates prolonged uncertainty and, together with forced exile, constitutes a veritable civil death, affecting victims’ access to work, reputation and social participation. Once again, this exclusion extends to electoral processes, preventing criminalised or exiled individuals from exercising their right to vote or be elected.
The climate of fear extends to all institutions and sectors of society, fuelling a spiral of institutional control and co-optation. This dynamic is particularly worrying in the run-up to the upcoming elections, when, for the first time in 60 years, the processes to renew the Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE), the Constitutional Court (CC) and the Attorney General’s Office, head of the Public Prosecutor’s Office (MP), coincide.
Lawyers and justice operators: a line of defence for human rights
Lawyers and justice operators play an essential role in defending human rights and maintaining democratic balance. However, precisely because they fulfil this role, they have become the target of systematic attacks that are a symptom of a deep crisis in the rule of law. Below, the Mission elaborates on some of the most relevant observations related to their situation.
The co-opting of the judicial system and its structural roots
The Mission identifies a sophisticated apparatus of judicial co-optation that cuts across various processes, from the selection of judges to internal control mechanisms.
The system for appointing magistrates, through the Nominating Commissions, allows for the influence of powerful groups, which finance candidacies and generate commitments that affect judicial independence. Added to this is the concentration of jurisdictional, administrative, and disciplinary powers in the Supreme Court, which facilitates the transfer and removal of judges who, in applying the law, do not align themselves with the interests of power.
This network is reinforced by criminalisation mechanisms that threaten not only the regular performance of justice operators but also the transparency of electoral processes. The lack of effective containment mechanisms on the part of other institutions is evidence of both institutional co-optation and the fear of some bodies to act.
Taken together, these practices constitute a model in which the basic principles of justice are subverted, allowing for:
- The proliferation of cases of criminalisation against independent judicial operators, human rights defenders, indigenous leaders and lawyers committed to justice. And, in turn,
- The obstruction of the prosecution of perpetrators of other crimes that are not of interest to the co-optation structure or that affect its own members, such as corruption, drug trafficking, crimes committed during the armed conflict, gender-based violence, and human trafficking. In particular, there is evidence of inaction in response to complaints filed against justice operators for illegitimate criminalisation practices.
Advocacy under pressure
The climate of terror has had a deterrent effect on the legal profession, especially among those who defend human rights. Self-censorship, limitations on taking on cases, and adjustments in litigation strategies, which are geared towards more cautious or defensive approaches, have been documented. In interviews, lawyers reported feeling powerless. Their legal knowledge is no longer sufficient to guarantee justice for their clients, because applying the law does not ensure results in the face of a co-opted judicial system.
For those who practise law in this context, every professional decision can have serious consequences, making their work a high-risk and constantly vigilant task. In addition, we have observed attacks on social media, surveillance, information theft, and the inclusion of lawyers representing certain clients on “blacklists.” These pressures not only erode the work of the defence, but also restrict society’s access to and trust in justice.
Unequal justice: structural racism and criminalisation of indigenous communities
During meetings with legal assistance teams accompanying indigenous peoples, the Mission noted the persistence of structural racism that hinders access to justice and conditions judicial proceedings. This pattern is particularly serious in the criminalisation of ancestral indigenous organisations, which are arbitrarily equated with organised crime and charged with serious offences such as sedition, unlawful association or terrorism for defending their territory or their right to peaceful protest.
The practice of indigenous law is particularly affected by a range of violence both inside and outside the courts. Indigenous communities and their representatives face unfounded accusations, harassment, public defamation and discriminatory treatment. During hearings, there have been documented cases of restrictions on their right to speak, delegitimisation of their cultural identity and unequal treatment compared to other judicial actors. These practices violate not only the individual rights of those who represent the communities, but also the collective right of peoples to access intercultural and equitable justice.
Double persecution: women lawyers facing professional and gender harassment
Women lawyers and justice operators face double persecution, both for their professional work and for being women. During our visit, we identified a particular viciousness in the persecution of women who have exercised judicial functions, investigated cases of corruption, or documented serious human rights violations, with the persecution extending to the exposure of personal information that is not evident in their male counterparts.
In the courts, many suffer derogatory and sexist treatment, with attempts to invalidate their word, constant interruptions, and limitations on their participation. This violence transcends the courtroom, manifesting itself in digital harassment, threats, and attacks that put both their physical and professional integrity at risk. The intensity of these attacks far exceeds that faced by their male colleagues, evidencing a systematic dynamic of gender-based discrimination and harassment against those female lawyers who pursue cases from this perspective and in defence of girls, adolescents and women.
Urgent call: protect judicial independence and strengthen the rule of law
The climate of fear we have described is deeply concerning. However, during our visit we also identified signs that suggest that the rule of law in Guatemala remains an achievable goal. In particular, we found a legal profession committed to defending the constitutional order and providing technical representation to people who have been unjustly criminalised, as well as judges and prosecutors who, despite pressure, continue to perform their duties in accordance with the law, ensuring compliance with procedural rules and fundamental principles of justice.
The findings presented today are preliminary, and we recognise their limitations. A comprehensive analysis will be conducted in the coming months, delving deeper into the information gathered and incorporating additional interviews with justice operators and human rights defenders in exile. Based on this work, the International Mission of Jurists for Guatemala intends to carry out advocacy actions and will publish a detailed report on these issues, including concrete recommendations.
Despite their preliminary nature, the findings highlight the urgent need for immediate measures to protect judicial independence and the work of the legal profession in Guatemala. We therefore call on various actors:
- To the national authorities, including the Judiciary and the Public Prosecutor’s Office:
To guarantee a safe and threat-free environment for judges, prosecutors, and lawyers by immediately abandoning intimidating practices so that they can carry out their duties without fear, pressure, or reprisals.
To urgently issue public policy and operational protocols for the protection of human rights defenders, including justice operators, ensuring legal assistance, physical protection and support in the face of selective criminalisation.
Ensure the integrity of electoral processes by adopting preventive measures such as cross-cutting transparency from the formation of nomination committees and the development of suitable criteria and profiles, to the election of individuals to form part of the three institutions subject to renewal next year.
- To justice operators and lawyers: Remain steadfast in the defence of human rights and legality, strengthening your work with ethics and professional commitment, avoiding any deviation that could weaken justice or be used as a tool by those who seek to co-opt the system.
- To the international community: We request active support and coordination to protect those who defend justice, ensuring support for those who have had to leave the country because of their professional work.
- To international human rights protection systems: issue swift decisions in cases brought to their attention, strongly urging the executive branch and other branches of government to bring their actions into line with the law, and promote the implementation of extraordinary internal mechanisms to review criminalisation procedures.
- To civil society and the media: We invite you to raise awareness of these risks and contribute to the construction of a rule of law that guarantees justice and equity for all.
In short, we urgently call on all actors to intervene with determination and protect those who uphold justice and democracy in the country, guaranteeing a safe, transparent and fair environment for judges, prosecutors and lawyers, as well as dignified conditions for those who have been exiled for defending justice. This is an unavoidable responsibility in order to strengthen democracy in Guatemala and ensure that the law ceases to be an instrument of control and returns to being a tool for the protection of all people.
Finally, all the members of this mission reiterate our deep commitment to the task undertaken, taking this activity as a starting point for future work such as follow-up, monitoring, raising awareness and accompanying all sectors involved in defending the rule of law and life in democracy.
