The United Nations Special Rapporteur on the right to adequate housing, Balakrishnan Rajagopal, called on the Guatemalan government on Friday to halt the “inhuman” evictions of Indigenous people and poor farmers.
Indigenous peoples make up 42% of Guatemala’s population, and the vast majority live in poverty. Indigenous families are frequently evicted by police from ancestral lands under court orders, as the land is legally owned by others.
The rapporteur urged an end “to the widespread practice of violent and inhuman forced evictions and criminalization, particularly targeting Indigenous peoples and farming communities.”
Evictions have resulted in people “being injured or even killed in some cases,” he added in a statement at the end of a 12-day visit to the country, invited by President Bernardo Arévalo. “During the evictions, homes are often burned, along with crops and the belongings of people living in extreme poverty,” Rajagopal said.
He noted that he heard “countless stories from communities subjected to ruthless evictions, with no chance to present land ownership evidence, no prior notice, and no opportunity to save their crops or belongings.”
According to official data, 59% of the population lives in poverty in Guatemala, which also faces a housing deficit of 2.5 million units. The country also sees “extrajudicial” evictions carried out by private security guards working for landowners.
The rapporteur stated that there is “a clear pattern of criminalization and intimidation” against those who oppose the evictions, noting that human rights defenders, lawyers, community leaders, and even entire communities have been arrested.
“Many of them are convicted or held in pretrial detention on false charges. Thousands live in hiding for fear of arrest warrants,” he said, adding that this has led to “a complete breakdown of the rule of law in some parts of the country.”
