US embassy cable - 03GUATEMALA1125

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 GUATEMALA 001125 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR DANIKA WALTERS AND ROB JACKSON DRL/PHD 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PHUM, PREL, PGOV, EAID, KDEM, KSEP, GT 
SUBJECT: VICTIMS' ASSISTANCE CENTER: GUATEMALA'S HRDF GRANT 
SUBMISSION 
 
REF: A. SECSTATE 79965 
 
     B. GUATEMALA 548 
 
1. (U) Embassy Guatemala appreciates the opportunity to 
propose an HRDF grant to help implement our human rights 
strategy.(Ref A)  We believe that the Human Rights Victims' 
Assistance Center project outlined below offers an excellent 
opportunity to increase the Human Rights Ombudsman's Office 
capacity to help human rights defenders and victims recover 
from threats and attacks they have suffered.  End Summary. 
 
Background 
---------- 
2. (U) Guatemala is a fledgling democracy that emerged from a 
36-year civil war in 1996, that left approximately 200,000 
people dead or disappeared.  The internal conflict left a 
legacy of disrespect for human rights and a lack of 
confidence in the state's capacity to promote and protect 
human rights.  The 1985 Constitution established the Human 
Right's Ombudsman's office to operate as an independent 
entity responsible for verification and protection of human 
rights work. 
 
3. (U) One of the USG's main objectives in Guatemala is 
supporting the work of human rights organizations and 
strengthening the domestic institutions that deal with the 
same issues.  While some progress has been made during the 
post-war era, violence continues to threaten the lives of 
many Guatemalans, especially human rights workers.  This 
project will help to better protect and counsel those who 
have been harassed, as well as develop a domestic capacity to 
respond to human rights emergencies. 
 
Objective 
--------- 
4. (U) The objective of the $50,000 HRDF grant would be to 
provide funding for a new Victim's Assistance Center 
established by the Human Rights Ombudsman's Office to provide 
counseling and refuge for victims of recent and past human 
rights abuses.  USAID supports the work of the Human Rights 
Ombudsman's office and its links to civil society through 
their human rights programs, but does not fund this 
particular project.  The project does not duplicate existing 
efforts; rather, it expands upon our current efforts to 
strengthen the Human Rights Ombudsman's Office and to support 
a more congenial environment for the defense of human rights. 
 
Method 
------ 
5. (U) The Human Rights Ombudsman's Office has established a 
Victim's Center but lacks sufficient resources to carry out 
its work effectively.  With our support, the Center (located 
in the war-torn department of Chimaltenango) would provide 
mental and physical health services, shelter, and legal 
counseling to victims of human rights crimes. 
 
Results 
------- 
6. (U) The goal of the Victim's Center project would be to 
firmly establish the center, with operations support to be 
assumed by the Ombudsman's Office in the future.  The 
Ombudsman's Office has already obtained the building and the 
basic infrastructure for the Center.  Our financial support 
would allow the Ombudsman's Office to hire professionals, 
purchase administrative and medical supplies for the center, 
and begin assisting victims.  Based on the 100-plus cases the 
Ombudsman's Office has addressed over the past year, they 
anticipate providing inpatient services to approximately ten 
people per month. 
 
Implementing Organization 
------------------------- 
7. (U) The Human Right's Ombudsman's Office will implement 
the project.  The Ombudsman's Office is an independent, 
autonomous government entity charged with human rights 
verification and protection.  It receives a limited budget 
annually from Congress. 
 
Budget 
------ 
8. (U) We are asking for up to $50,000 for the project to be 
spent on the following items over an eight-month period: 
 
Staff Salaries: 
Paramedics (2) : $7,100 
Center Coordinator (1) : $6,000 
Psychologist (1) : $12,150 
Psychologist's Assistant (1) : $6,075 
Security (2) : $5,060 
Cook (1) : $1,520 
Maintenance (2) : $2,530 
 
Administrative Supplies: $5,060 
Medicine : $4,505 
HAMILTON