| Title | Guatemala: Rights Abuses Escalate as Elections Near |
| Publisher | Human Rights Watch |
| Publication Date | 8 November 1990 |
| Country | Guatemala |
| Topics | Armed groups / Militias / Paramilitary forces / Resistance movements | Children's rights | Disappeared persons | Elections | Extrajudicial executions | Freedom of expression | Housing, land and property rights (HLP) | Human rights activists | Persecution based on political opinion | Security forces |
| Cite as | Human Rights Watch, Guatemala: Rights Abuses Escalate as Elections Near, 8 November 1990, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/45cc7f1f2.html [accessed 5 June 2023] |
| Comments | As Guatemala prepares for presidential elections scheduled for November 11, 1990, the nation is in the grips of the worst human rights crisis since the military turned over government to civilians in 1986. Targeted assassinations of political figures, human rights activists, journalists, students and trade unionists are on the rise as are murders of individuals apparently selected at random to sow terror. A campaign of violence against street children continues and appears increasingly to be targeting those who seek to defend them as well. The impunity of the security forces and death squads which carry out these activities remains intact, although some low-ranking members of the army and police are under arrest in connection with the killing of an American rancher and the murder of several street children and a former Covenant House worker. |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |