Finally, from sentence to action. The Public Policy for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders (HRDs) is the vital instrument with which Guatemala is beginning to settle a historic debt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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The origin: A case of impunity<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n On 20 December 2004, Florent\u00edn Gudiel, a courageous human rights defender, was murdered. Unfortunately, the authorities did not do enough to find those responsible. As a result, the landmark case \u2018Human Rights Defender and Others v. Guatemala\u2019 reached the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACHR), which ordered the Guatemalan State to create a public policy for the protection of human rights defenders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Inter-American Court has been building an important body of jurisprudence\u2014and associated documentation\u2014on public policies, mechanisms, and protocols for the protection of human rights defenders and their collectives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Among the most relevant rulings are Human Rights Defender and Others v. Guatemala (2014), Luna L\u00f3pez v. Honduras (2013, with CEJIL) and Yarce and Others v. Colombia (2016). In all three cases, key contributions on public policies for the protection of HRDs were incorporated, based on expert reports by Protection International prepared by Enrique Eguren, an expert in HRD protection, at the request of the accompanying organisations (CEJIL, UDEFEGUA and the IACHR, respectively).<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n A policy is finally a reality!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The State of Guatemala finally presented the public policy on 13 November 2025<\/strong>. The existence of the Public Policy is not optional, but rather is the direct result of the condemnation imposed by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACHR) together with Guatemalan civil society, the country’s communities of defenders, and the international community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2018Human rights defenders are not adversaries, they are allies of democracy.\u2019 Minister of the Interior at the policy presentation ceremony<\/p>\n\n\n\n Since 2015, Protection International (PI) has been actively involved in monitoring and participating in the public policy processes in Guatemala <\/strong>as a member of the International Forum of Non-Governmental Organisations (FONGI). In addition, PI’s Protection Desk in Guatemala has promoted key discussions to ensure that the public policy responds to the needs of the most affected communities, including rural indigenous communities and the country\u2019s diverse group of HRDs.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n The main pillars of the public policy for human rights defenders are:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Despite this advancement in structural protection measures, journalists in Guatemala have not yet received the same level of protection. A State mechanism intended to protect journalists has been pending since 2012. Following the approval of the Public Policy for Human Rights Defenders, the Guatemalan government authorities reaffirmed their commitment to promote the creation of a specific protection plan for Guatemala\u2019s journalists.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n