Judicial Independence in Central America
Hearing Notice
Please join the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission for a hearing on judicial independence in Central America.
Judicial independence — the ability of investigators, prosecutors, courts and judges to perform their duties free of improper influence or control by other branches of government or other private or partisan actors — is widely understood to be a key pillar of rule of law and necessary to ensure fair and impartial justice for victims of crime, including human rights violations and corruption, in any society. U.S. policymakers have sought to support judicial independence and strengthen investigatory and prosecutorial capacity as part of efforts to fight entrenched impunity and corruption in many parts of the world, including in Central America. However, recent events in several Central American countries suggest a deep erosion of judicial and prosecutorial independence and have raised alarm about the consequences for human rights and anti-corruption efforts in the countries in question and region-wide.
Witnesses will analyze recent trends and offer policy recommendations for consideration by Congress.
This hearing will be open to Members of Congress, congressional staff, the interested public, and the media. The hearing will be livestreamed via the Commission website and will also be available for viewing on the House Digital Channel service. For any questions, please contact Kimberly Stanton (for Co-Chair McGovern) or Piero Tozzi (for Co-Chair Smith).
Hosted by:
| James P. McGovern Member of Congress Co-Chair, TLHRC | Christopher H. Smith Member of Congress Co-Chair, TLHRC |
Opening Remarks
- Rep. James P. McGovern, Co-Chair, TLHRC
Written remarks - Rep. Christopher H. Smith, Co-Chair, TLHRC
Written remarks
Witnesses
Panel 1
- Eric L. Olson, Director of Policy and Strategic Initiatives, Seattle International Foundation
Written testimony - Claudia Paz y Paz, Director for Central America and Mexico, Center for Justice and International Law, CEJIL
Written testimony - Mark Schneider, Senior Advisor, Center for Strategic and International Studies, CSIS
Written testimony - Dr. José Luis González Dubón, Constitutional Attorney and Former Professor of Constitutional Law, Francisco Marroquín University
Written testimony - Irina Bitkova, Alleged Russian victim of miscarriage of justice in Guatemala
Written testimony - Brittany Benowitz, Chief Counsel, Center for Human Rights, American Bar Association
Written testimony
Submitted for the Record
- Jared Genser, Attorney for Félix Maradiaga, Presidential Candidate, Statement for the Record
- Nicaraguans for Security and Prosperity, Statement for the Record
- John Lough, Letter to TLHRC Co-Chairs
- Soazig Amanda Santizo Calderon, Statement for the Record
- Steve Hecht, Statement for the Record
- Guatemalan Human Rights Commission, "Have US Congressional offices become pawns of Guatemalan state sponsored mafias? CICIG loses funding for prosecuting human trafficking rings amid outlandish accusations of infiltration by the Kremlin," May 7, 2021
- Due Process of Law Foundation, Recommendations to Promote the Rule of Law and Combat Corruption, May 2021
- Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, Guarantees for the Independence of Justice Operators, General Observations, 2013
- Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, Guarantees for the Independence of Justice Operators, Recommendations, 2013
- Colum Lynch, "Corrupt Guatemalans' GOP Lifeline," Foreign Policy, February 5, 2019
- Will Freeman and Adriana Beltrán, "In Central America, Rule of Law Is Under Attack. El Salvador Is the Latest Victim," Foreign Policy, May 12, 2021
- Inter-American Commission for Human Rights and Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, "IACHR and OHCHR Categorically Condemn Criminal Prosecution of Presidential Precandidates and Urge State of Nicaragua to Release Them Immediately," June 9, 2021
- Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, "Press briefing notes on Nicaragua," May 28, 2021
- Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, "Nicaragua: UN expert deplores spate of attacks and arrests of human rights defenders," June 3, 2021
- Inter-American Commission for Human Rights, "The IACHR condemns the removal of judges of the Constitutional Chamber of the Supreme Court of Justice without respect for due process and urges El Salvador to preserve the rule of law," May 3, 2021
- Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, "UN expert tells El Salvador not to use courts as political weapon," November 5, 2020
- Jo-Marie Burt and Paulo Estrada, "The Future of War Crimes Prosecutions in Guatemala," International Justice Monitor, December 14, 2020
- UN General Assembly, Human Rights Council, "Report of the Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers on his visit to Honduras," June 2, 2020
- Adriana Beltrán, Eric Olson, Mark Schneider, Lisa Haugaard, "Principles to Guide Diplomacy and Assistance to Central America"
- Adriana Beltrán, Vicki Gass, Eric Olson, Mark Schneider, Lisa Haugaard, Leonor Arteaga, Ursula Indacochea, "Central America Benchmarks"
- Iván Velásquez, "Opinion: Iván Velásquez: I was proud to lead the CICIG. Now Guatemalans must carry on the fight against corruption," New York Times, September 2, 2019
- "Press Release Attorney General Guatemala and CICIG: Migration Case," March 29, 2018
- "Bitkov Family: Legal Proceedings and Convictions in Guatemala," updated through July 30, 2021.
- Dunia Ramirez Moino, Ex-official of CICIG, Statement for the Record
- Claudia Gonzalez Orellana, Ex-official of CICIG, Statement for the Record
- Astrid Odete Escobedo Barrondo, Ex-official of CICIG, Statement for the Record
- ABA Center for Human Rights, Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice & Human Rights and the Human Rights Institute at Georgetown Law, Tilted Scales: Social Conflict and Criminal Justice in Guatemala, Executive Summary, Recommendations, and Conclusions
- The Economist, The Americas, Justice in Guatemala: A corruption spat in Russia endangers crime-fighters in Central America, The curious case of Igor and Irina Bitkov goes to Washington, April 28, 2018
- Naomi Roht-Arriaza, "To Combat Central America's Bad Governance, Biden Can't Just Throw Money at the Problem," Just Security, March 29,2021
- Mary O'Grady, "Kamala Harris Goes to Guatemala," Wall Street Journal, June 6, 2021