The Association of Relatives of Detained-Disappeared of Guatemala (FAMDEGUA) has been a leading human rights organization in Guatemala since 1991. They have worked tirelessly to denounce human rights violations and determine the whereabouts of the many thousands of people disappeared during the civil war, which ended formally in 1996. They have been instrumental in pressing for the exhumation of clandestine cemeteries, accompanying the relatives of the disappeared and helping prepare for bringing cases to the judicial system.

This year, FAMDEGUA will receive support from the Martín-Baró Fund for a series of workshops for Maya women relatives of disappeared people in the Alta Verapaz region, in order to create a climate of trust, solidarity, and cooperation individually and collectively. Alta Verapaz is where some of the largest mass graves have been uncovered to date in Guatemala, on a former military base (now called CREOMPAZ). FAMDEGUA has been a key plaintiff in this and many other cases for transitional justice in recent years. Helping the relatives achieve a “psycho-emotional equilibrium” in order to prepare for possibly giving testimony in a court of law is an additional objective of this project, especially given the historic lack of confidence in the legal authorities.