VZCZCXYZ0000
PP RUEHWEB

DE RUEHGT #1359/01 3050114
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 310114Z OCT 08
FM AMEMBASSY GUATEMALA
TO SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 6363

UNCLAS GUATEMALA 001359 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR G/IWI ANDREA BOTTNER 
DEPT ALSO FOR WHA 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KWMN PREL KPAO PHUM KJUS GT
SUBJECT: GUATEMALA'S NOMINEE FOR 2009 SECRETARY'S AWARD FOR 
INTERNATIONAL WOMEN OF COURAGE 
 
REF: A. STATE 99729 
     ¶B. GUATEMALA 1333 
     ¶C. GUATEMALA 134 
 
¶1. Embassy is pleased to nominate Norma Cruz, Director of NGO 
Survivors Foundation, as Guatemala's "Woman of Courage" for 
the 2009 Secretary's Award for International Women of Courage 
(ref A) in recognition of her exceptional courage, strength, 
and leadership in advocating for women's rights and 
advancement in Guatemala. 
 
¶2. Biographical information and justification for award: 
 
Full Name:  Norma Angelica Cruz Cordova 
Title/Association:  Director, Fundacion Sobrevivientes 
(Survivors Foundation) 
Date of birth:  August 24, 1962 
Country of birth:  Guatemala 
Citizenship:  Guatemala 
Address:  12 Calle 11-63 zone 1, Guatemala City 01001 
Telephone:  (502) 2230-4222, (502) 2251-9931 
Email:  asobrevivientes@yahoo.es 
Passport number:  006508646 
 
Throughout her life, Norma Cruz has fought for human rights 
and justice for the underprivileged.  She was recruited into 
the Guerrilla Army of the Poor (EGP) at the age of 12.  We 
have no information to suggest that she was involved in any 
acts of violence, and her membership in the EGP was only when 
she was very young.  The Embassy would not normally propose a 
candidate who had had an affiliation with an illegal armed 
group; however, we believe her subsequent public service 
outweighs any concerns over her EGP membership when she was 
an adolescent.  A search of all Embassy agency databases 
revealed no derogatory information. 
 
When Cruz discovered that her daughter had been sexually 
abused for five years (1991-1996) since the age of seven by 
her then domestic partner (a former insurgent commander), 
Cruz left the armed conflict to fight a different kind of war 
-- a war against criminal impunity and those who abuse and 
murder women.  In 1999, Cruz initiated legal action against 
the former URNG leader, breaking the wall of silence and 
bringing to public light a reality affecting thousands of 
Guatemalan children.  In 2002, after a long, public 
three-year battle for justice, Cruz secured a conviction and 
a 20-year prison sentence.  (In March 2003, the sentence was 
reduced to 8 years, and the defendant was released earlier 
this year and was recently named to the Board of Directors of 
the Guatemalan Indigenous Development Fund.)  In 2001, during 
the legal process, Cruz and her daughter Claudia Maria 
Hernandez created "Sobrevivientes" (Survivors) as a support 
group for victims of violence and families of sexually abused 
and murdered women who, like themselves, were seeking 
justice.  In January 2003, the group obtained legal status as 
an association and in 2006 the Survivors Foundation was 
officially established.  The Foundation, which runs a victims 
shelter and victims assistance center open to the public, 
seeks to help eradicate all forms of violence against women 
by combating impunity and providing legal support, 
psychological attention, and reintegration programs to help 
survivors reconstruct their lives, regain self-esteem and 
trust, and improve their quality of life. 
 
As co-founder and director of NGO Survivors Foundation, Norma 
Cruz is a dedicated human rights activist who has worked 
tirelessly and courageously to defend female victims of 
domestic and sexual violence, trafficking in persons, illegal 
adoptions, and other crimes.  Through her foundation, she has 
provided emotional, social, and legal support to hundreds of 
female victims seeking justice and protection.  She has 
encouraged many women to overcome their fear of taking legal 
action against their abusers, and has fought for justice and 
Qaction against their abusers, and has fought for justice and 
human dignity in a machista culture where women have been 
marginalized and where violence against women has been 
tolerated.  Her efforts and achievements have contributed to 
the President's Freedom Agenda and have helped transform 
Guatemalan society.  In 2007, she and her organization helped 
investigate, prosecute, and convict 30 individuals accused of 
murdering women. 
 
In addition to establishing the Survivors Foundation, Norma 
Cruz has dedicated her life in social service to improving 
conditions for other vulnerable sectors of the population. 
After five years of exile, she returned to Guatemala in 1987 
to defend the rights of victims of repression.  She was a 
founding member of the Office of Multiple Services of the 
Religious Conference of Guatemala (CONFREGUA) (1988-1993), 
which attended to victims of violence during the armed 
conflict; Director of the Association for Education and 
 
Development (ASEDE)(1991), which was created to implement 
programs for internally displaced populations; and Founder 
and Executive Director of the House of Services for Agrarian 
and Labor Rights (1994-2002), which sought to resolve land 
conflicts.  She has provided training in workshops on sexual 
violence against children, labor rights, and women's rights; 
conducted research on gender and human rights; and 
participated in conferences on femicide in Latin America. 
 
Engaging in efforts to ensure justice in Guatemala, notorious 
for its climate of impunity, rampant violence, and systemic 
corruption, is a very dangerous undertaking with little 
support network and little security.  Human rights leaders, 
defenders, and witnesses have been killed for their work. 
Norma Cruz has received numerous death threats, including a 
recent death threat against a family member who was 
kidnapped, assaulted, and eventually released (ref B).  At 
various times, her home has been under surveillance by 
unidentified individuals in suspicious vehicles.  In 2007, 
the National Civil Police reported a total of 5,781 killings, 
including 559 killings of women, many of them violently with 
signs of torture and mutilation.  A large number of killings 
of women are believed to be linked to organized crime, 
narcotrafficking, gangs, and child trafficking and child 
prostitution networks. 
 
Cruz commented that in other countries, gangs protect women. 
But in Guatemala, a woman is considered "a trophy."  Raping 
and killing a woman is part of the gang initiation process, 
she noted.  The more cruel the death, the greater the respect 
accorded the gang member.  Narcotraffickers kill to exact 
revenge, to mark their territory, or to settle an outstanding 
debt.  At great risk to her own physical safety and that of 
her family, she has gone to extraordinary lengths to seek 
justice not only for her own daughter but for other 
daughters, mothers, and women who are not able to defend 
themselves.  She has fought against Guatemala's 
male-dominated power structure, culture of impunity, and 
increasing level of violence, serving as an inspiration and 
symbol of courage and hope to women in Guatemala who are 
working for positive change.  In light of Guatemala's 
difficult and unrelenting environment, Norma Cruz' 
determination and persistence in promoting women's rights and 
justice have been all the more heroic. 
 
¶3. The nominee was notified of this nomination.  She 
confirmed that she would accept the award if selected and 
would be available to travel to Washington in March 2009. 
McFarland