Request to support the indigenous peoples threatened with imminent and serious harm by the Santa Rita Hydroelectric Dam in Guatemala

The document is a formal request to the UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples to address serious human rights abuses linked to the Santa Rita hydroelectric dam in Guatemala. The authors argue that the project, registered under the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) in June 2014, has been imposed without the free, prior, and informed consent of the Q’eqchí and Poqomchí indigenous communities. They report a pattern of violence, including the deaths of seven people, including two children, and state-sponsored repression involving the deployment of 1,500 police officers in August 2014. The document calls for the Government of Guatemala to provide information on its plans and for the CDM Board to investigate and potentially withdraw the project's registration due to non-compliance with consultation standards.

• The Santa Rita hydroelectric dam project has been linked to severe human rights violations and violence against the Q’eqchí and Poqomchí indigenous communities, including the deaths of seven people, two of whom were children aged 11 and 13.
• Between 14 and 16 August 2014, the Guatemalan Ministry of Interior conducted a repressive operation in Cobán, Chisec, and Raxruhá involving over 1,500 police officers, resulting in illegal captures, assaults with tear gas on women and children, and the occupation of communal lands.
• The Executive Board of the UN’s Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) approved the project in June 2014 despite evidence of consultation violations, basing its decision solely on correspondence with project officials and the Guatemalan government without independent investigation.

APA

Carbon Market Watch (2014). Request to support the indigenous peoples threatened with imminent and serious harm by the Santa Rita Hydroelectric Dam in Guatemala. https://carbonmarketwatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/Letter-to-UN-Special-Rapporteur-on-the-Rights-of-Indigenous-Peoples_SantaRita.pdf

Chicago

Carbon Market Watch. Request to support the indigenous peoples threatened with imminent and serious harm by the Santa Rita Hydroelectric Dam in Guatemala. 2014. https://carbonmarketwatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/Letter-to-UN-Special-Rapporteur-on-the-Rights-of-Indigenous-Peoples_SantaRita.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |author=Carbon Market Watch |title=Request to support the indigenous peoples threatened with imminent and serious harm by the Santa Rita Hydroelectric Dam in Guatemala |date=10 October 2014 |url=https://carbonmarketwatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/Letter-to-UN-Special-Rapporteur-on-the-Rights-of-Indigenous-Peoples_SantaRita.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{carbonmarketwatch2014request, author = {{Carbon Market Watch}}, title = {{Request to support the indigenous peoples threatened with imminent and serious harm by the Santa Rita Hydroelectric Dam in Guatemala}}, publisher = {Carbon Market Watch}, year = {2014}, month = oct, url = {https://carbonmarketwatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/Letter-to-UN-Special-Rapporteur-on-the-Rights-of-Indigenous-Peoples_SantaRita.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }