Digitizing the “Council of Ethnic Communities ‘We are all Equal’" Legacy

This project will digitize the Historical Archive of the Council of Ethnic Communities "We are all Equal" (CERJ), a human rights organization founded in 1988 in the immediate aftermath of the genocide carried out by the Guatemalan state army against non-combatant Mayan communities. Founded by the teacher Amílcar Mendez, CERJ played a pivotal role in defending human rights, particularly against forced recruitment into Civil Self-Defense Patrols. The CERJ archive includes printed documents and other materials that document the indigenous resistance process, legal proceedings related to human rights violations, and efforts to locate disappeared persons. The archive also reflects the significant social and political changes during this pivotal period.