6/14/2023 0 Comments Freedom news radio internationalIt further urges the State to adopt the necessary measures to comply with the ruling of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights in the case of the Maya Kaqchikel Indigenous Peoples of Sumpango et al. It also urges the State party to adopt the necessary measures to prevent the arbitrary use of criminal law to criminalize Indigenous community radio operators. "The Committee urges the State party, with the participation of the indigenous peoples, to adopt a community media legal framework that respects their right to participate in cultural life. It issued the following recommendation to the State of Guatemala: "The Committee is concerned about the constant persecution to which Indigenous community radio stations have been subjected in the State party, which has significantly limited their rights to freedom of expression and their cultural rights.” Regarding our recommendation, the Committee included the following observation in its report: It also fails to comply with the ruling issued by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights on October 6, 2021, which declared the State of Guatemala internationally responsible for violating the rights to freedom of expression, equality before the law, and to participate in the cultural life of the Indigenous Peoples of Guatemala, and demanded the State to adapt its internal regulations in consultation with Indigenous Peoples to redress these violations. 169 (Article 30), and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (Articles 1, 2, 19, 26 and 27). Through these actions, the State of Guatemala violates the 1996 Peace Agreements as well as the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (Articles 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 16, and 38), International Labor Organization No. Indigenous Peoples who do manage to broadcast through their community radio stations are criminalized through raids, seizure of their equipment, and prosecution of radio staff and volunteers. Operating licenses are granted to the highest bidder, which tend to be corporate controlled interests. As we stated in our report, Guatemala's domestic regulations exclude Indigenous Peoples from legally guaranteed access to the radio spectrum and criminalize the operation of their community radio stations. One of our major concerns is the lack of freedom of expression and ability to exercise cultural rights faced by Indigenous Peoples in Guatemala due to the persecution of Indigenous community radio stations. Cultural Survival is pleased to report that several of our recommendations were included in the Concluding Observations. On October 14, 2022, it adopted its Concluding Observations after the country’s review, taking into account all the reports that had been submitted to evaluate Guatemala’s human rights record. The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights met in early October to examine the information that was submitted on Guatemala. This report evaluates the progress of the State of Guatemala related to its commitments to uphold the rights of Indigenous Peoples enshrined in the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and provides recommendations to the State to improve its compliance with these rights. In September 2022, Cultural Survival and our partner Asociación Sobrevivencia Cultural submitted an alternative report for the 72nd session of the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR).
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