Rights Action
Overview
Grahame Russell, Testimonio co-editor, founded Rights Action in 1995 along with Annie Bird. It was born out of the work of Guatemala Partners and its predecessors – GHRSP and PEACE for Guatemala – that during the 1980s and early 90s provided funding and support for the huge number Guatemalans (a majority being Mayan) violently displaced from their homes and communities by the U.S.-backed repression, many forced to flee into exile. Grahame and Annie built and ran Rights Action until 2014, and Grahame continues as director of Rights Action today.
Rights Action works (mainly) in Honduras and Guatemala in support of justice struggles for war crimes and human rights violations; in support of land, environment and human rights defense struggles, resisting harms and often deadly violence caused by different sectors of the unjust global economy: mining and hydro-electric dams; for-export production of African palm, sugarcane and bananas; tourism and ‘sweatshop’ garment factories.
Struggles Highlighted in Testimonio
Since 1995, Rights Action provides funds and other support for community defense struggles (land and environmental defense struggles, human rights & justice struggles) in response to how different sectors of the global economy actually operate in Guatemala: Sugar cane, African palm, Dams, Mining, etc.
As part of this work, since 2004 Rights Action has funded and supported for Indigenous & non-Indigenous people and their organizations resisting systemic and widespread harms & violences, corruption & impunity related to mining companies. Since 2004 the struggles against Goldcorp Inc., and Hudbay Minerals/Skye Resources. Since 2012, the struggles against Tahoe Resources/Panamerican Silver, and Radius Gold/Kappes Cassaday & Associates.