26
separating children from their families after the massacres, and their illegal abduction and
retention, all perpetrated by the military forces and illegal armed groups. In many cases, this
practice involved changing their names and denying them their identity. 69 The separation of
children from their families led, in some cases, to the illegal adoption or sale of the children, who
were also denied the right to know their culture. 70In other cases, the children were subjected to
conditions of servitude by members of the State security forces. 71
80. All these events had – and still have- significant cultural effects on the Maya peoples. The
human rights violations that occurred during the internal armed conflict in Guatemala also meant
the loss of their cultural and religious values and practices, as well as their social, economic and
political institutions.72 In particular, forced disappearances, the use of torture and arbitrary
executions 73 affected the indigenous structures of authority and leadership, destroying the social
fabric and traditional social relationships within the communities. 74 Of special relevance was the
violence perpetrated against the elders, regarded as the ancestral authorities and “backbone of
the culture of the Maya peoples,” who were among the first targets of the persecution. 75 In this
regard, the CEH indicated that with the disappearance of these people “the technical-modern
and traditional knowledge accumulated over the years was also lost, together with the possibility
of transmitting it naturally to the new generations; [thus] it is possible to understand the
magnitude of the long-term impact.” 76
81. The Court will analyze the facts alleged in this case, not in isolation, but taking into account
the existence of a systematic context of gross and massive human rights violations in Guatemala,
in order to facilitate an understanding of the evidence and the timely determination of the facts
and their legal effects. Likewise, this context will also be taken into consideration, where
appropriate, when ordering reparation measures, and specifically the obligation to investigate
and the guarantees of non-repetition.
B.
Chichupac village and neighboring communities of the Municipality of Rabinal
82. During the proceedings before the Court it was argued that acts occurred to the detriment
of the Maya Achí indigenous inhabitants of the village of Chichupac and neighboring communities
of Xeabaj, Chijom, Coyojá, El Tablón, Toloxcoc, Chirrum, El Chol and El Apazote, in the
municipality of Rabinal, Department of Baja Verapaz, Guatemala. These acts include, inter alia,
alleged massacres, extrajudicial executions and forced disappearances. It is also alleged that a
large number of the alleged victims were accused of belonging to the guerrillas and were tortured
prior to their disappearance or execution. It is important to clarify that, according to the
evidence, during the period in which these violations allegedly occurred and in the places
mentioned, additional acts attributed to State security agents also occurred to the detriment of
various persons, which were not brought to the Court’s attention in the instant case. The Court
will proceed to establish strictly the facts of the case that have been submitted to it in order to
fully understand them. In addition, the Court emphasizes that the information on the alleged
victims contained in the evidence sometimes varies with respect to their names, ages and the
dates of their death or disappearance, for which reason it has proceeded to point out those data
Cf. Case of the Dos Erres Massacre v. Guatemala, paras. 177, 178, 170 and 199, and Case of the Río Negro
Massacres v. Guatemala, para. 60.
70
Cf. Case of the Río Negro Massacres v. Guatemala, para. 60.
71
Cf. Case of the Dos Erres Massacre v. Guatemala, para. 171, and Case of the Río Negro Massacres v. Guatemala,
para. 60.
72
Cf. Case of the Plan de Sánchez Massacre v. Guatemala. Merits, para. 42.7, and Case of the Río Negro Massacres
v. Guatemala, para. 61.
73
Cf. Case of Chitay Nech et al. v. Guatemala, paras. 66 to 67, and 69, and Case of the Río Negro Massacres v.
Guatemala, para. 61.
74
Cf. Case of the Río Negro Massacres v. Guatemala, para. 61.
75
Cf. Case of the Río Negro Massacres v. Guatemala, para. 61, and footnote 57.
76
Cf. Case of the Río Negro Massacres v. Guatemala, para. 61.
69