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When the Mountains Tremble (clip)

War on Democracy - Guate cut

Bilingual education in Guatemala

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View Article  Supporting Parliamentary Democracy

We just spotted the following Westminster Hall debate on the Inter-Parliamentary Union and a mention of Guatemala:

Photo of Christine Russell Christine Russell (PPS (Rt Hon Beverley Hughes, Minister of State), Department for Children, Schools and Families, Chester, City of, Labour) | Hansard source

"My first involvement in an IPU (Inter-Parliamentary Union) activity was back in 1998, I think, when, as a new girl, I took part in a delegation to Guatemala, which was only just emerging from many years of civil war. The delegation was concerned that it would have to ask probing questions—sensitively—about continuing human rights abuses, which it did. We met some very brave politicians, not in formal meetings but by allowing them entry through the back door of our hotel at 6 am so that we could hear first hand about the abuses still being perpetrated on parliamentarians.

My hon. Friend the Member for Islington, North (Jeremy Corbyn)
made a very important point: when we return from such outward delegations, we have a responsibility to stay in touch and follow them up. In fact, I am still in touch with one of those brave female politicians whom I met 10 years ago. I recently sent her a dossier on the improvements to our legislation on domestic violence."


Jeremy Corbyn MP describes the origin of the IPU (early in the same debate) as: "When the IPU was founded in the period of the 19th century when the idea of holding unaccountable executives to account was fairly new. The idea of a strong Parliament did not really develop anywhere in the world until well into the 19th century, and one must say that those who founded the IPU were visionaries in many ways. It was initially small, because most of the world was made up of colonies of European nations. It started in European nations and has been an important element in promoting democracy and accountable government in Europe. It has been a huge influence in the anti-colonial movement around the world and in a whole lot of things that were spawned from that. We would do well to record our thanks for what the people involved did."
View Article  Lack of Current UK Government Funding

Photo of Mike Hancock Mike Hancock (Portsmouth South, Liberal Democrat) | Hansard source

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what support his Department has given to non-governmental organisation offices working with street children in Guatemala in the last 12 months.

Photo of Gareth Thomas Gareth Thomas (Parliamentary Under-Secretary, Department for International Development) | Hansard source

DFID has given no funding to non-governmental organisations' offices working with street children in Guatemala in the last 12 months.

View Article  British Ambassador meets with Alvaro Colom

Photo of Mike Hancock Mike Hancock (Portsmouth South, Liberal Democrat) | Hansard source

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent representations he has made to the government of Guatemala on the level of violence against street children in that country.

Photo of Meg Munn Meg Munn (Parliamentary Under-Secretary, Foreign & Commonwealth Office) | Hansard source

Our embassy in Guatemala City, along with EU colleagues, regularly raises human rights issues with the Government of Guatemala. We continue to urge Guatemala to improve security and health provision for the most vulnerable sectors of society, including street children.

On 15 October the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) hosted a meeting between Guatemalan Vice President Eduardo Stein and Minister of Foreign Affairs Gert Rosenthal and several non-governmental organisations, including Christian Aid, Amnesty International and Casa Alianza. The non-governmental organisations were able to put their concerns directly to the delegation. Child rights and the problems faced by street children including the alarming number of murders were discussed. On 30 October, FCO officials in London held a discussion forum with a number of international child rights non-governmental organisations to identify further opportunities for intervention.

On 25 September our Ambassador in Guatemala City, in partnership with EU ambassadors, met with Alvaro Colom (since elected as the next President of Guatemala). They discussed a range of human rights issues. Our ambassador emphasised the importance of improving the protection and rights of children and undertook to develop this dialogue further with the new administration. The FCO also sponsored a project earlier this year in which 800 Guatemalan police officers were trained in the rights of street children.

 

Welcome, Guatemala Solidarity Network (GSN) based in the United Kingdom supports the people of Guatemala who continue to struggle for change after centuries of oppression, violence, racism and exploitation.

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