Institute of Public Criminal Defense
Instituto de la Defensa Pública Penal
Guatemalan law guarantees that any person who cannot retain the services of a lawyer and cannot pay for legal proceedings has the right to free legal assistance. In Guatemala, the Institute of Public Criminal Defense is responsible for providing legal advice and guidance to people who cannot pay these costs. Asylum seekers and refugees are also entitled to receive help from this institution. The Institute of Public Criminal Defense is present in the departmental capitals of Guatemalan territory.
Visit its website here.
Find its locations here.
Check the services they provide here.
Pastoral de Movilidad Humana (PMH)
Pastoral de Movilidad Humana can provide you with free legal advice on all the procedures to request recognition of refugee status in Guatemala, including the case in which you have to file an appeal.
Available services:
- Legal advice during the asylum process in Guatemala
- Humanitarian assistance
Phone: (+502) 2432-5654
Website: http://www.movilidadhumana.com/
Address: 15 Km., Calzada Roosevelt, 4-54, zone 3, Mixco, Guatemala City.
Hours: Monday to Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Check their location on the mapa here.
Office hours:
Monday to Friday from 8:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.
Phone: (502) 2414-8787.
Address: 15th Avenue 9-69 Zone 13 City, Guatemala.
Attention to complaints and rescues:
Phone 24/7: (+502) 4987-2285
Operational Unit of the Alba-Keneth Alert System
Unidad Operativa del Sistema de Alerta Alba-Keneth
Its main objective is the search, location, and immediate protection of children and adolescents who have disappeared or been abducted.
Emergency number: 1546.
Assistance: 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
Association El Refugio de la Niñez NGO in Petén
Asociación El Refugio de la Niñez ONG en Petén
Information and assistance point for asylum seekers, refugees, and migrants.
Located two streets behind the Santa Elena New Bus Terminal, at the old Women’s Court, near Auto Vidrios del Norte. It is a white house with a black gate.
Phone: (+502) 7926-3806
Address: 8th Avenue 365, Zone 2, Santa Elena, Petén
Hours: Monday to Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.
24/7 Urgent Case Support: (+502) 4941-2365
Other links of interest:
- Visit the website of the attorney general’s office – the public prosecutor- here.
- Visit the website of the Police Department here.
- Visit the website of the Institute of Public Criminal Defense here.
- Visit the website of the Human Rights Ombudsman’s office here.
- Visit the website of the attorney general’s office here.