Preface

The following report uses quantitative analysis of data collected by the International Center for Human Rights Investigations (CIIDH) to present a history of the deliberate and sustained violence committed by state forces during Guatemala's recently concluded armed conflict.

Both the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and the CIIDH thank the interviewers, interview recruiters, data analysts and data entry staff who did the difficult work necessary to build this database. Over the last four years, the CIIDH research team in Guatemala collected, processed and analyzed over 19,000 case reports of human rights violations from various sources. In addition to those still at the CIIDH, the authors and the CIIDH wish to recognize the contribution of Paul Yamauchi who helped bring the project together and did much of the early data collection.

For this report, Patrick Ball designed the statistical analysis and extracted the data. Paul Kobrak researched and wrote the accompanying text. Herbert Spirer conducted the analysis and generated the graphs. The authors are solely responsible for the accuracy and analysis in this report.

Maria Consuelo Sánchez assisted with the documentary research. Matt Zimmerman designed the book, and Gretchen Richter assisted with the layout.

Louise Spirer and Deborah Billings provided detailed comments on early drafts, George Lovell and Ricardo Miranda each made useful suggestions.

The AAAS is grateful to the donors that have made this work possible, including the Joyce Mertz-Gilmore Foundation, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, the General Service Foundation, and an anonymous foundation.

CIIDH thanks their donors, including Centro Canadiense de Estudios y Cooperación Internacional (CECI), NCOS-Belgium, and an anonymous donor. In addition to the member organizations of the Guatemalan National Human Rights Coordinating Committee (CONADEHGUA), the CIIDH thanks the Association of Relatives of the Detained and Disappeared in Guatemala (FAMDEGUA) and the Center for Human Rights Legal Action (CHRLA) for their assistance to the project during certain phases.