Guatemala
12.02.01
Urgent Interventions
Rape of two street girls by two uniformed members of the Guatemalan National Civil Police.
Case GTM 120201.CC/VAW
CHILD CONCERN/VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN
The International Secretariat of OMCT requests your URGENT intervention in the following situation in Guatemala.
Brief description of the Situation
The International Secretariat of OMCT has been informed by Casa Alianza, a member of the OMCT network, of the rape of two street girls by two uniformed members of the Guatemalan National Civil Police, on 30 January 2001, in Guatemala City.
According to the information received, on 30 January 2001 at approximately 9:00 a.m., approximately 6 street girls from the ages of 12 and up, were staying in an abandoned house in Zone 11 of Guatemala City. Eight uniformed agents, members of the special police, arrived and entered into the house. They did not produce any search warrant and this was not the first time the agents had been there to harass the young homeless girls.
The same source reports that the agents ordered the girls to stand against the wall and then started to fondle the girls against their will, touching them all over their bodies. One of the 13 year old girls shouted that the police did not have the right to touch them.
While some of the police agents were ordered to leave the house, one of them, described as being fat, stayed in and allegedly threatened the girls with bringing them into a detention centre unless they would have sex with him.
According to the information, another policeman with two gold crowns on his teeth, who was outside in the patio, ordered to a 14 year old street girl to "show him the house". Once inside, he ordered her to take off her clothes and bend over and he sexually assaulted her. The policeman threatened her and told her to say nothing. The police left the building and the girls stayed scared inside the house for most of the day.
It is reported that the same group of policemen returned to the abandoned building at approximately 9:40 p.m. of the same day, and brought food and drinks for the girls. During that second visit, the same police agent described as being fat, grabbed a 17 year old girl by her hand and took her to a dark room where he fondled her against her will and finally raped her. The police then left.
The International Secretariat of OMCT expresses its grave concern about the situation of street children, and particularly over the physical and psychological safety and integrity of all street girls in Guatemala City.
Action requested
Please write to the authorities of Guatemala urging them to :
i. guarantee the security and the physical and psychological integrity of the above-mentioned street girls victims of sexual abuse and harassment and ensure them the right to adequate reparation;
ii. carry out an impartial and exhaustive inquiry into the rape and sexual harassment of these street girls, bring those responsible before a competent and impartial tribunal and apply the penal, civil and administrative sanctions provided by law;
iii. guarantee that the above-mentioned girls get access to specialised programmes of medical assistance and rehabilitation;
iv. adopt immediate measures to put an end to the cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment of all street children of Guatemala, in particular to the sexual harassment and abuse of street girls;
v. guarantee the respect of human rights and the fundamental freedoms of all children throughout the country in accordance with national laws and international human rights standards, in particularly the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
Addresses
S.E. Alfonso Antonio Portillo Cabrera, Presidente de la República de Guatemala, Palacio Nacional, Guatemala, Guatemala. Fax : + 502 221 44 23 or 334 16 15 or 230-1508 E-mail : secgralp@infovia.com.gt
Sr. Guillermo Ruiz Wong, Ministro de Gobernación, Ministerio de Gobernación, Palacio Nacional, 6 Calle y 7 Avenida, Guatemala, Guatemala. Fax : + 502 362 02 39
Lic. Julio Eduardo Arango Escobar , Procurador de Derechos Humanos, Procuraduria de los Derechos Humanos, 12 Avenida 12-72, Zona 1, Guatemala 01001, GUATEMALA, Fax: + 502 238 1734 or 2535712 or E-mail: opdhg@guatenet.net.gt
Lic. Adolfo González Rodas, Fiscal General de la Nación, Ministerio Público, 6 Av 3-11, Zona 4, Guatemala. Guatemala. Fax : + 502 331 4336
Sr. Victor Hugo Monroy, Director of the Guatemalan Government's Human Rights Office, fax +502-334-1615 or E-mail : copredeh@guate.net
Geneva, 12 February 2001
Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this appeal in your reply.
CHILD CONCERN/VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN
The International Secretariat of OMCT requests your URGENT intervention in the following situation in Guatemala.
Brief description of the Situation
The International Secretariat of OMCT has been informed by Casa Alianza, a member of the OMCT network, of the rape of two street girls by two uniformed members of the Guatemalan National Civil Police, on 30 January 2001, in Guatemala City.
According to the information received, on 30 January 2001 at approximately 9:00 a.m., approximately 6 street girls from the ages of 12 and up, were staying in an abandoned house in Zone 11 of Guatemala City. Eight uniformed agents, members of the special police, arrived and entered into the house. They did not produce any search warrant and this was not the first time the agents had been there to harass the young homeless girls.
The same source reports that the agents ordered the girls to stand against the wall and then started to fondle the girls against their will, touching them all over their bodies. One of the 13 year old girls shouted that the police did not have the right to touch them.
While some of the police agents were ordered to leave the house, one of them, described as being fat, stayed in and allegedly threatened the girls with bringing them into a detention centre unless they would have sex with him.
According to the information, another policeman with two gold crowns on his teeth, who was outside in the patio, ordered to a 14 year old street girl to "show him the house". Once inside, he ordered her to take off her clothes and bend over and he sexually assaulted her. The policeman threatened her and told her to say nothing. The police left the building and the girls stayed scared inside the house for most of the day.
It is reported that the same group of policemen returned to the abandoned building at approximately 9:40 p.m. of the same day, and brought food and drinks for the girls. During that second visit, the same police agent described as being fat, grabbed a 17 year old girl by her hand and took her to a dark room where he fondled her against her will and finally raped her. The police then left.
The International Secretariat of OMCT expresses its grave concern about the situation of street children, and particularly over the physical and psychological safety and integrity of all street girls in Guatemala City.
Action requested
Please write to the authorities of Guatemala urging them to :
i. guarantee the security and the physical and psychological integrity of the above-mentioned street girls victims of sexual abuse and harassment and ensure them the right to adequate reparation;
ii. carry out an impartial and exhaustive inquiry into the rape and sexual harassment of these street girls, bring those responsible before a competent and impartial tribunal and apply the penal, civil and administrative sanctions provided by law;
iii. guarantee that the above-mentioned girls get access to specialised programmes of medical assistance and rehabilitation;
iv. adopt immediate measures to put an end to the cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment of all street children of Guatemala, in particular to the sexual harassment and abuse of street girls;
v. guarantee the respect of human rights and the fundamental freedoms of all children throughout the country in accordance with national laws and international human rights standards, in particularly the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
Addresses
S.E. Alfonso Antonio Portillo Cabrera, Presidente de la República de Guatemala, Palacio Nacional, Guatemala, Guatemala. Fax : + 502 221 44 23 or 334 16 15 or 230-1508 E-mail : secgralp@infovia.com.gt
Sr. Guillermo Ruiz Wong, Ministro de Gobernación, Ministerio de Gobernación, Palacio Nacional, 6 Calle y 7 Avenida, Guatemala, Guatemala. Fax : + 502 362 02 39
Lic. Julio Eduardo Arango Escobar , Procurador de Derechos Humanos, Procuraduria de los Derechos Humanos, 12 Avenida 12-72, Zona 1, Guatemala 01001, GUATEMALA, Fax: + 502 238 1734 or 2535712 or E-mail: opdhg@guatenet.net.gt
Lic. Adolfo González Rodas, Fiscal General de la Nación, Ministerio Público, 6 Av 3-11, Zona 4, Guatemala. Guatemala. Fax : + 502 331 4336
Sr. Victor Hugo Monroy, Director of the Guatemalan Government's Human Rights Office, fax +502-334-1615 or E-mail : copredeh@guate.net
Geneva, 12 February 2001
Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this appeal in your reply.