The government of Guatemala is in a race to safeguard approximately 60,000 testimonies written in files by victims of the country’s internal armed conflict from 1960 to 1996. These victims sought reparations for the abuses endured. The efforts are targeted to conclude before the progressive governance of Bernardo Arévalo ends in January 2028.
The National Reparations Program (PNR) collected these files over a decade, starting in 2003 after the Peace Accords of 1996, which marked the end of the war. Besides economic reparations, the program aimed to provide projects to victims. However, during the previous administrations of Jimmy Morales (2016-2020) and Alejandro Giammattei (2020-2024), the program was immobilized and abandoned, leading to a decision to liquidate without preserving the affidavits.
“Wet boxes, piled up, incomplete and torn files,” remarked Erick Briones, an archive assistant, describing the neglected state of the archived files.
A UNESCO-funded project currently focuses on salvaging the PNR archive with plans eventually to recognize it as global documentary heritage, making it accessible for anyone interested in learning about the historical period in Guatemala. Among the archive is the file of Manuel Botom Uz, part of over 100 missing children’s records. Family reports state Manuel was four years old when he vanished in 1982, with his siblings attacked by army members and civil defense patrols enforcing control and surveillance in their communities in Quiché. Botom Uz was missing till twenty years later when his remains were uncovered and identified in a clandestine grave before being finally laid to rest by his family.
Elvin Díaz, the presidential commissioner of human rights, explained that the former administrations under Morales and Giammattei intended to erase collective memory and destroy a heritage constructed over years based on victim testimonies. Díaz highlighted the importance of preserving this memory and the testimonies which form the living memory of the country. According to Díaz, while the aim of PNR was humanitarian aid and compensation, “there is significant information relevant for criminal investigation.”
An initiative to digitize the archive intends to make it universally accessible. Blue plastic boxes sorted by department contain thousands of testimonies detailing extrajudicial executions, murders, sexual abuse, forced disappearances, and compulsory recruitment of men, women, and children during the war between the army and guerrilla groups. Reports from memory accounts estimate around 200,000 people were killed and nearly 45,000 disappeared.
Next steps will involve integrating testimonies within the recently announced Plan for Victim Reparations and Dignification by President Arévalo. The plan aims to consolidate and centralize dispersed information from various public institutions and civil society organizations in a move to proceed with victim reparations. In cases where victims remain missing, they will be incorporated within the Humanitarian Search Mechanism for individuals disappeared during Guatemala’s internal armed conflict.
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