Leading Organizations

Formed in 1984, GAM is a civil society organization created by relatives of persons illegally detained and forcibly disappeared in Guatemala during the internal armed conflict. Their areas of work include transitional justice, psychosocial support for victims, and combating corruption through monitoring of the security and justice institutions.

COFAVIC is an independent non-governmental organization dedicated to the protection and promotion of human rights in Venezuela. It offers comprehensive assistance to victims of human rights violations and their families, as well as monitors and documents the situation concerning civil and political rights.

Group of families of dissapeared persons, seeking truth and justice as to the whereabouts and causes of the death of dissapeared persons through demonstrations, petitions and changes to the law.

Civil Association working to promote the rights of lesbian women in Mexico through coordination efforts of different organizations and the promotion of those rights at the national level.

Founded in 1983, and named after the indigenous Aymara leader, the Center works to protect women's rights and provides access to justice through legal and psychological assistance. It also offers workshops and training for economic empowerment, and encourages women's political participation by supporting local initiatives and grassroots organizations.

CIEN is an action research center that is committed to the development of Guatemala and the region. Their areas of work include economic freedom, social development, citizen security, and institutional strengthening.

It provides legal defense for the environment and the biodiversity of Panama. It encourages citizen participation through the dissemination of knowledge and the creation of networks to influence relevant decisions and policies concerning environmental justice.

CEJIS works to strengthen and coordinate civil society to achieve structural changes and the achievement of human rights with an emphasis on the collective rights of indigenous and peasant communities. Areas of intervention include indigenous autonomy, litigation for human rights, governance and territories, and gender.

CEDICE defends individual freedoms, property rights, limits to the government, and the search for peace. It monitors and raises awareness concerning policies that violate the freedoms and rights of citizens, and serves as a watchdog on issues such as high government spending, private property violations, and the rule of law in Venezuela.

Founded in 1999, CAFCA contributes to the full application of integral justice in Guatemala, providing technical inputs, advisement, and support for victims of human rights violations and State institutions. Their areas of work include forensic research, criminal justice analysis, and legal assistance on human rights.

Works to train youths in civic participation and to monitor government bodies dedicate to human rights, through democratic participation.

Founded in 2000, ECPAT Guatemala contributes to the elimination of sexual exploitation, human trafficking of children, adolescents, and women through prevention, attention, and advocacy programs.
WJP Program Grantee Title: Best Practices in Access to Justice for Children in Latin America (2011-2012)

Accompanies people in vulnerable situations in order to help them seek access to justice and protect their rights. It also trains lawyers and social workers.

2019 World Justice Challenge Applicant - Project Title: Ensuring equal and effective access to justice for persons with intellectual and psychosocial disabilities in Mexico City.
Organization set up in 2010, after the coming together of lawyers and documentary film makers around a case of forced dissapearance. It seeks to reinforce the rights of persons deprived of liberty and with psychosocial handicaps through the use of research, documentary filmmaking and strategic litigation.

It is an investigative journalism center with the mission to expose wrongdoings, corruption, and abuse of power in Hungary. Their projects have uncovered issues such as politicians' hidden assets and public contracting irregularities.

Works to create autonomous spaces for citizen, civil society and government dialogue in recognition of the plurality of ideas in Argentina.

The main objective of Diakonia’s work is to improve the living conditions of people living in poverty. Their work focuses on both grassroots organizing as well as national level policy work.

Center dedicated to gender, sexual and reproductive rights, working to develop research on these issues, along with drawing up policy proposals and organizing strategic litigation.

Founded in 2013, Rights in Action comprises a group of lawyers committed to the protection of human rights through strategic litigation, research, education programs, and capacity building initiatives for grassroots organizations and local activists.

DAR works to promote a sustainable governance model in the management of environmental areas and natural resources. It monitors protected areas through a National Evalutation Service, and monitors extractive industries and cases of abuse and corruption in these contracts, along with protecting the human rights of indigenous populations.

Works to develop platforms for access to government information, practices, and control of the democratic process by citizens.

2019 World Justice Challenge Applicant - Project Title: Citizen Watchdog Empowerment Project
It advocates for democratic reform, government accountability, and corporate responsibility. Their democratic good governance and corporate responsibility campaigns promote stronger and more effectively enforced measures of accountability.

The Social Ombudsman is a collective of volunteer lawyers proposing free legal services in civil and criminal defense.

Government Body prodiving legal assistance and representation to prisoners free of charge, to respect due process and representation.

It complies with the work of monitoring the public power, especially regarding the protection, defense, promotion, dissemination, and exercise of human rights and the freedom of all persons to face unlawful acts, threats, or actions.