National Documentation Packages (NDPs) are lists of public documents that provide information on country conditions. Updates occur on a regular basis. NDPs are updated cyclically based on publicly available information. In periods of rapid change and/or uncertainty, updates may be delayed to allow sufficient time to build a body of relevant information.
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Jurisprudential Guides Notes
Jurisprudential Guides Notes
On
July 28, 2022, the Chairperson identified the following Refugee Appeal Division decision as being a
Jurisprudential Guide:
-
Decision TC1 05038 – The proper interpretation of the ‘generalized risk’ exception to protection found at subparagraph 97(1)(b)(ii) of the Act, in claims for protection involving allegations of gang-targeting or other acts of criminality.
On
December 22, 2020, the Chairperson identified the following Refugee Appeal Division decision as being a
Jurisprudential Guide.
-
Decision MB8-00025 – This Jurisprudential Guide addresses, in applying Article 1E of the Refugee Convention, whether members should consider allegations of risk in a country of residence if they conclude that a refugee claimant has the rights and obligations which are attached to the possession of nationality in that country.
On
July 6, 2018, the Chairperson identified the following Refugee Appeal Division decision as being a
Jurisprudential Guide.
-
Decision TB7-19851 – Nigeria – This Jurisprudential Guide addresses internal flight alternatives in major cities in south and central Nigeria for claimants fleeing non-state actors.
Revoked
The country documentation referenced in each of these decisions has been included in s.16 of the updated National Documentation Packages published on July 10, 2018.
On
July 20, 2017, the Chairperson identified the following Refugee Appeal Division decision as being
Jurisprudential Guides.
-
Decision TB7-01837 – Pakistan – Whether the treatment experienced by Ahmadis in Pakistan amounts to persecution, whether state protection is available and whether there is a viable internal flight alternative.
-
Decision MB6-01059/60 – India – Availability of an internal flight alternative in India for claimants from Punjab.
Revoked
-
Decision TB6-11632 – China – Analysis of the efficacy of the Chinese national computer network known as the Golden Shield Project and its impact on whether a person wanted by the authorities can exit China via an airport using a genuine passport.
Revoked
The country documentation referenced in each of these decisions has been included in s.16 of the updated National Documentation Packages published on July 20, 2017.
Back
31 May 2024
GUATEMALA
List of Documents
1.
General Information and Maps
Source:
United Nations. Cartographic Section.
Date of Document:
May 2004
Accessed Date:
16 November 2012
Title:
Belize - Guatemala. L'Encyclopédie en ligne.
Accessed Date:
16 November 2012
Title:
Guatemala. The World Factbook.
Source:
United States. Central Intelligence Agency.
Date of Document:
14 November 2023
Accessed Date:
23 November 2023
Title:
Eligibility Guidelines for Assessing the International Protection Needs of Asylum-Seekers from Guatemala
Source:
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
Date of Document:
January 2018
Accessed Date:
9 April 2018
Title:
Guatemala. BTI 2022 Country Report.
Date of Document:
February 2022
Accessed Date:
27 October 2022
Title:
Guatemala. L'aménagement linguistique dans le monde.
Source:
L'aménagement linguistique dans le monde
Date of Document:
30 April 2023
Accessed Date:
6 November 2023
Title:
Guatemala. Social Security Programs Throughout the World: The Americas, 2019.
Source:
United States. Social Security Administration.
Date of Document:
March 2020
Accessed Date:
20 November 2020
Title:
Présentation du Guatémala
Source:
France. Ministère des Affaires étrangères.
Date of Document:
19 October 2023
Accessed Date:
16 November 2023
Date of Document:
28 February 2021
Accessed Date:
4 November 2021
Title:
Fourth periodic report submitted by Guatemala under articles 16 and 17 of the Covenant, due in 2019
Date of Document:
14 May 2020
Accessed Date:
3 November 2022
Title:
Replies of Guatemala to the list of issues in relation to its fourth periodic report
Date of Document:
16 May 2022
Accessed Date:
3 November 2022
Title:
Guatemala. Civic Freedom Monitor.
Source:
International Center for Not-for-Profit Law
Date of Document:
10 August 2023
Accessed Date:
6 November 2023
Title:
Guatemala. Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2023.
Source:
United States. Department of State.
Date of Document:
22 April 2024
Accessed Date:
15 May 2024
Title:
Guatemala. Amnesty International Report 2022/23: The State of the World's Human Rights.
Source:
Amnesty International
Date of Document:
27 March 2023
Accessed Date:
6 November 2023
Title:
Guatemala. World Report 2023: Events of 2022.
Source:
Human Rights Watch
Date of Document:
January 2023
Accessed Date:
6 November 2023
Title:
Information received from Guatemala on follow-up to the concluding observations on its fourth periodic report
Source:
United Nations. Human Rights Committee.
Date of Document:
30 April 2020
Accessed Date:
20 November 2020
Title:
Guatemala. Freedom in the World 2023.
Accessed Date:
6 November 2023
Title:
Guatemala. Chapter IV.B: Human Rights Development in the Region. Annual Report 2022.
Source:
Organization of American States. Inter-American Commission on Human Rights.
Date of Document:
1 April 2023
Accessed Date:
6 November 2023
Title:
Concluding observations on the fourth periodic report of Guatemala
Source:
United Nations. Human Rights Committee.
Date of Document:
7 May 2018
Accessed Date:
10 April 2019
Title:
National report submitted pursuant to Human Rights Council resolutions 5/1 and 16/2: Guatemala
Code:
A/HRC/WG.6/42/GTM/1
Date of Document:
21 October 2022
Accessed Date:
6 November 2023
Title:
Report on follow-up to the concluding observations on the fourth periodic report of Guatemala. Addendum 2.
Source:
United Nations. Human Rights Committee.
Date of Document:
20 May 2022
Accessed Date:
3 November 2022
Title:
Situation of human rights in Guatemala
Source:
Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights
Date of Document:
22 March 2022
Accessed Date:
3 November 2022
Title:
Situation of Human Rights in Guatemala
Source:
Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights
Date of Document:
26 January 2023
Accessed Date:
6 November 2023
Title:
Guatemala: Compilation of information
Code:
A/HRC/WG.6/42/GTM/2
Source:
Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights
Date of Document:
21 November 2022
Accessed Date:
6 November 2023
Title:
Summary of stakeholders' submissions on Guatemala
Code:
A/HRC/WG.6/42/GTM/3
Source:
Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights
Date of Document:
31 October 2022
Accessed Date:
6 November 2023
Title:
Guatemala. The Impact of Violence on the Right to Health for Displaced Persons in the North of Central America and Mexico.
Source:
Norwegian Refugee Council
Date of Document:
June 2020
Accessed Date:
20 November 2020
Title:
Human Rights Protections in Guatemala: Evaluating State Capacity to Protect and Promote Human Rights
Source:
Washington Office on Latin America; Myrna Mack Foundation
Date of Document:
December 2019
Accessed Date:
20 November 2020
Title:
Chapter V: Follow-up of recommendations issued by the IACHR in its country or thematic reports. Third report on follow-up on recommendations issued by the IACHR on the situation of human rights in Guatemala.
Source:
Organization of American States. Inter-American Commission on Human Rights.
Date of Document:
30 March 2021
Accessed Date:
4 November 2021
Title:
Concerns about Democratic Backsliding Grow as elPeriódico's President and Financial Manager Arrested
Date of Document:
6 September 2022
Accessed Date:
3 November 2022
Title:
Guatemala: Peaceful protestors face inminent risks
Source:
Amnesty International
Date of Document:
12 October 2023
Accessed Date:
16 November 2023
3.
Identification Documents and Citizenship
Title:
Guatemala. U.S. Visa: Reciprocity and Civil Documents by Country.
Source:
United States. Department of State.
Accessed Date:
23 November 2023
Title:
Rights and obligations of permanent residents in Guatemala; reasons why a permanent resident may lose their status; whether it is possible to resume it and the procedures to do so
Source:
Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada
Date of Document:
13 September 2012
Accessed Date:
28 May 2014
Title:
Requirements and procedures to obtain Guatemalan citizenship through marriage, including whether Guatemala allows for dual citizenship with Colombia (2009-January 2011)
Source:
Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada
Date of Document:
14 February 2011
Accessed Date:
16 November 2012
Title:
Report on Citizenship Law: Guatemala
Source:
European University Institute. Global Citizenship Observatory.
Date of Document:
March 2020
Author:
Juan Carlos Sarazua
Accessed Date:
4 November 2021
Title:
Snapshot of civil registration and vital statistics systems of Guatemala
Source:
International Development Research Centre. Centre of Excellence for Civil Registration and Vital Statistics Systems.; Organization of American States
Accessed Date:
3 November 2022
4.
Political Activities and Organizations
Title:
About parliament; Election Results. Guatemala: Chamber.
Source:
Inter-Parliamentary Union. Parline.
Accessed Date:
6 November 2023
Title:
Republic of Guatemala. Election for President of 25 June 2023 (Round 1).
Source:
International Foundation for Electoral Systems. Election Guide.
Accessed Date:
6 November 2023
Title:
Republic of Guatemala. Election for President of 20 August 2023 (Round 2).
Source:
International Foundation for Electoral Systems. Election Guide.
Accessed Date:
6 November 2023
Title:
Guatemala Presidential Elections - 2023: How Political Power Blocs Have Been Reconfigured, Secured Impunity, and Armed Themselves for the Campaign
Date of Document:
June 2023
Author:
Steven Dudley et al.
Editor:
Ana Isabel Rico et al.
Accessed Date:
6 November 2023
Title:
Guatemala: 2023 Elections and U.S. Interests
Source:
United States. Congressional Research Service
Date of Document:
28 July 2023
Accessed Date:
6 November 2023
5.
Gender, Domestic Violence and Children
Title:
Concluding observations on the combined eighth and ninth periodic reports of Guatemala
Source:
United Nations. Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women.
Date of Document:
22 November 2017
Accessed Date:
10 April 2019
Title:
USAID/Guatemala Gender Analysis 2018. Final Report
Date of Document:
14 September 2018
Author:
Ana Landa Ugarte et al.
Accessed Date:
24 April 2019
Title:
Guatemala Sex Traffickers Earn Millions Through Deception
Date of Document:
10 August 2022
Accessed Date:
7 November 2022
Title:
Tenth periodic report submitted by Guatemala under article 18 of the Convention, due in 2021
Date of Document:
29 December 2021
Accessed Date:
3 November 2022
Title:
Analysis and proposals of women in the legal sector to promote gender equality in Guatemala: Final Report
Date of Document:
22 March 2022
Accessed Date:
7 November 2022
Title:
Guatemala. 2022 Findings on the Worst Forms of Child Labor.
Source:
United States. Department of Labor.
Date of Document:
29 September 2023
Accessed Date:
6 November 2023
Title:
Information received from Guatemala on follow-up to the concluding observations on its combined eighth and ninth periodic reports
Code:
CEDAW/C/GTM/FCO/8-9
Source:
United Nations. Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women.
Date of Document:
19 February 2020
Accessed Date:
20 November 2020
Title:
Human Rights Watch Submission to the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women. Review of Guatemala. 85th Pre-Session.
Source:
Human Rights Watch
Date of Document:
October 2022
Accessed Date:
6 November 2023
Title:
Criminalization is Not the Only Way: Guatemala's Law Against Femicide and Other Forms of Violence Against Women and the Rates of Femicide in Guatemala
Source:
Washington International Law Journal
Accessed Date:
7 November 2022
Title:
Human Rights Violations Against Transgender Women in Guatemala
Source:
Organización Trans Reinas de la Noche et al.
Date of Document:
February 2018
Accessed Date:
24 April 2019
Title:
Country of Origin Report: Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity and Expression in Guatemala
Source:
Organization for Refuge, Asylum and Migration; University of Minnesota Law School
Date of Document:
July 2021
Accessed Date:
4 November 2021
Title:
“It's What Happens When You Look Like This”: Violence and Discrimination Against LGBT People in Guatemala
Source:
Human Rights Watch
Date of Document:
3 March 2021
Accessed Date:
4 November 2021
Title:
Guatemala. “Every Day I Live in Fear”: Violence and Discrimination Against LGBT People in El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras, and Obstacles to Asylum in the United States.
Source:
Human Rights Watch
Date of Document:
7 October 2020
Accessed Date:
15 November 2021
Title:
Guatemala: 3 Killings of LGBT People in a Week
Source:
Human Rights Watch
Date of Document:
22 June 2021
Accessed Date:
7 November 2022
Title:
Discriminatory law puts lives and rights at risk
Source:
Amnesty International
Date of Document:
11 March 2022
Accessed Date:
7 November 2022
7.
Criminality and Corruption
Title:
OSAC Country Security Report. Guatemala.
Source:
United States. Overseas Security Advisory Council.
Date of Document:
15 August 2022
Accessed Date:
7 November 2022
Title:
Guatemala: Tier 2. Trafficking in Persons Report 2023.
Source:
United States. Department of State.
Date of Document:
June 2023
Accessed Date:
6 November 2023
Title:
Guatemala. International Narcotics Control Strategy Report 2023, Volume I: Drug and Chemical Control.
Source:
United States. Department of State.
Date of Document:
March 2023
Accessed Date:
6 November 2023
Title:
Crime and Insecurity in Guatemala. Evaluating State Capacity to Reduce Violence and Combat Organized Crime
Source:
Washington Office on Latin America
Date of Document:
July 2020
Accessed Date:
6 November 2023
Title:
Curtain Falls on Guatemala's International Commission against impunity
Source:
International Crisis Group
Date of Document:
3 September 2019
Accessed Date:
7 November 2022
Title:
A Highly Respected UN Legacy to Fight Corruption Crumbles in Guatemala
Date of Document:
25 August 2021
Author:
Maurizio Guerrero
Accessed Date:
7 November 2022
Title:
Mafia of the Poor: Gang Violence and Extortion in Central America. Latin America Report N°62.
Source:
International Crisis Group
Date of Document:
6 April 2017
Accessed Date:
24 April 2017
Title:
Gangs in Central America
Source:
United States. Congressional Research Service.
Date of Document:
29 August 2016
Author:
Clare Ribando Seelke
Accessed Date:
15 November 2021
Title:
Home Sweet Home? Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador's role in a Deepening Refugee Crisis
Source:
Amnesty International
Date of Document:
14 October 2016
Accessed Date:
24 April 2019
Title:
Guatemala Elites and Organized Crime
Date of Document:
1 September 2016
Author:
Edgar Gutiérrez; Steven Dudley
Accessed Date:
3 March 2017
Title:
Easy Prey: Criminal Violence and Central American Migration. Latin American Report N°57.
Source:
International Crisis Group
Date of Document:
28 July 2016
Accessed Date:
3 March 2017
Title:
Homicides in Guatemala: Analyzing the Data
Date of Document:
20 April 2017
Accessed Date:
9 April 2018
Title:
US Sanctions Up Ante in Hunt for Guatemala's Huistas
Date of Document:
23 March 2022
Author:
Alex Papadovassilakis
Accessed Date:
7 November 2022
Title:
Guatemala Ex-Colonel Says Military Helped CJNG Run Drugs
Date of Document:
24 May 2023
Accessed Date:
6 November 2023
Title:
Cause or Consequence? Reframing violence and displacement in Guatemala.
Source:
Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre
Date of Document:
September 2018
Author:
Ananda S. Millard; Gloria Lara-Florian
Editor:
Jeremy Lennard; Rory O'Keeffe
Accessed Date:
24 April 2019
Title:
Gang Presence in Guatemala City
Date of Document:
26 April 2019
Accessed Date:
20 November 2020
Title:
Jalisco Cartel Sets Off Alarm Bells Along Mexico-Guatemala Border
Date of Document:
23 September 2021
Accessed Date:
4 November 2021
Title:
A Mayor and a Wave of Narco Violence on Guatemala's Pacific. Tri-Border Areas: Crime and Corruption.
Date of Document:
29 January 2021
Author:
Alex Papadovassilakis; Héctor Silva Àvalos
Accessed Date:
4 November 2021
Title:
Guatemala. Global Organized Crime Index 2023
Source:
Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime
Accessed Date:
6 November 2023
Title:
Extortion and Civic Engagement among Guatemalan Deportees
Date of Document:
26 April 2022
Author:
Elaine Kathryn Denny et al.
Accessed Date:
7 November 2022
Title:
The Jalisco Cartel's Quiet Expansion in Guatemala
Date of Document:
18 May 2022
Author:
Alex Papadovassilakis
Accessed Date:
15 November 2022
Title:
Guatemala Ex-President Pleads Guilty in Graft Case Amid Shifting Corruption Climate
Date of Document:
8 September 2023
Accessed Date:
6 November 2023
Date of Document:
22 September 2021
Accessed Date:
16 November 2023
Date of Document:
8 September 2021
Accessed Date:
16 November 2023
8.
Military Service - (No items in this section)
9.
Judiciary, Legal and Penal Systems
Title:
ILAC Rule of Law Assessment Report: Guatemala
Source:
International Legal Assistance Consortium
Date of Document:
29 May 2018
Accessed Date:
24 April 2019
Title:
Guatemala: Last Chance for Justice: Dangerous setbacks for human rights and the fight against impunity in Guatemala
Source:
Amnesty International
Date of Document:
9 July 2019
Accessed Date:
7 November 2022
Title:
Guatemala's Justice System: Evaluating Capacity Building and Judicial Independence
Source:
Washington Office on Latin America et al.
Date of Document:
June 2019
Accessed Date:
7 November 2022
Title:
Eighth periodic report submitted by Guatemala under article 19 of the Convention pursuant to the simplified reporting procedure, due in 2022
Source:
United Nations. Committee against Torture.
Date of Document:
9 June 2023
Accessed Date:
6 November 2023
Title:
The Distortion of Justice in Guatemala
Source:
Washington Office on Latin America
Date of Document:
30 November 2022
Author:
Jo-Marie Burt; Paulo Estrada
Accessed Date:
6 November 2023
10.
Police and Security Forces
Title:
Requirements and procedures for lodging a report with the police; avenues of recourse for filing complaints against the police for corruption or misconduct; requirements and procedures to obtain a copy of the police report (2013-March 2015)
Source:
Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada
Date of Document:
14 April 2015
Accessed Date:
21 April 2016
Title:
The Role of the Armed Forces in Public Security in Guatemala. Assessing the Limitation of the Role of the Armed Forces in Public Security Activities
Source:
Washington Office on Latin America
Date of Document:
September 2020
Accessed Date:
6 November 2023
Title:
The National Civilian Police in Guatemala. Evaluating the Professionalization of the Civilian Police Force
Source:
Washington Office on Latin America
Date of Document:
September 2020
Accessed Date:
6 November 2023
Title:
Guatemala. Annual Report of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights 2022. Volume II: Annual Report of the Office of the Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression.
Source:
Organization of American States. Inter-American Commission on Human Rights.
Date of Document:
6 March 2023
Accessed Date:
8 November 2023
Title:
Guatemala: Free Press Under Attack
Source:
Human Rights Watch
Date of Document:
18 February 2021
Accessed Date:
4 November 2021
Title:
Meet the journalists defying a widening crackdown on press freedom in Guatemala
Source:
Reuters Institute
Date of Document:
25 May 2023
Accessed Date:
8 November 2023
Title:
Guatemala. International Religious Freedom Report for 2022.
Source:
United States. Department of State.
Date of Document:
15 May 2023
Accessed Date:
8 November 2023
13.
Nationality, Ethnicity and Race
Title:
Guatemala. The Indigenous World 2023.
Source:
International Work Group for Indigenous Affairs
Date of Document:
April 2023
Accessed Date:
8 November 2023
Title:
Report of the Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples on her visit to Guatemala
Source:
United Nations. Human Rights Council.
Date of Document:
10 August 2018
Accessed Date:
24 April 2019
Title:
Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights Alternative Report Submission: Violations of Indigenous Peoples ‘Rights in Guatemala
Source:
Cultural Survival
Date of Document:
1 September 2022
Accessed Date:
7 November 2022
Title:
Repression of Indigenous Community Leaders Continues in El Estor, Guatemala
Source:
Cultural Survival
Date of Document:
16 June 2022
Accessed Date:
7 November 2022
Title:
Rapport valant dix-huitième à vingtième rapports périodiques soumis par le Guatemala en application de l'article 9 de la convention, attendu en 2022
Date of Document:
22 March 2022
Accessed Date:
7 November 2022
14.
Exit/Entry and Freedom of Movement
Title:
Deportation with a Layover: Failure of Protection under the US-Guatemala Asylum Cooperative Agreement
Source:
Human Rights Watch
Date of Document:
19 May 2020
Accessed Date:
4 November 2021
Title:
Safe Third Country Agreements with Northern Triangle countries: Background and Legal Issues. Legal Sidebar.
Source:
United States. Congressional Research Service.
Date of Document:
30 January 2020
Accessed Date:
4 November 2021
Title:
Issues Related to Immigration Detention: Submission to the UN Committee against Torture: 72nd Session
Source:
Global Detention Project
Date of Document:
June 2021
Accessed Date:
7 November 2022
Title:
Central America. Complex crises and migration in El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua
Source:
Assessment Capacities Project
Accessed Date:
8 November 2023
15.
Labour, Employment and Unions
Title:
Concluding observations on the second periodic report of Guatemala
Source:
United Nations. Committee on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families.
Date of Document:
2 May 2019
Accessed Date:
4 November 2021
Title:
Information received from Guatemala on follow up to the concluding observations on its second periodic report
Date of Document:
14 January 2022
Accessed Date:
7 November 2022
Title:
Circumstances under which victims of domestic violence and gang violence are granted protection; protection offered to claimants who do not meet Refugee Convention grounds, but instead claim a risk to their life or a risk of torture, or cruel and unusual treatment (2016-August 2018)
Source:
Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada
Date of Document:
18 October 2018
Accessed Date:
13 March 2019
Title:
Removal proceedings pursuant to Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) Sec. 237(a)(1)(A) of an accepted refugee and permanent resident, due to a finding of misrepresenting a material fact in an asylum claim; whether a decision to find someone...
Source:
Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada
Date of Document:
23 January 2019
Accessed Date:
13 March 2019
The following changes have been made to the previous package dated 30 November 2023:
Title:
Guatemala. Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2022.
Source:
United States. Department of State.
Date of Document:
20 March 2023
URL:
https://www.state.gov/reports/2022-country-reports-on-human-rights-practices/guatemala
Accessed Date:
3 August 2023
Disclaimer
National Documentation Packages (NDPs) include country-of-origin information that is publicly accessible at the time of publication and available within time constraints. While the Research Directorate strives to maintain the
NDP with current information, the research is not exhaustive and country conditions can change rapidly. Members of the public are invited to
suggest documents they feel are relevant to the
NDP.
NDPs are not, and do not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim for refugee protection. Rather, they are intended to support the refugee determination process. The assessment and weight to be given to the information in the
NDPs are the responsibility of independent
IRB members (decision-makers) after considering the evidence and arguments presented by the parties.
All sources are fully cited, including a hyperlink, to facilitate the location of the information. The
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NDP. It cannot guarantee or be responsible for:
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The information presented in
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IRB or the Government of Canada.