
Children missing due to the Internal Armed Conflict in Guatemala

May 20, 1999 - May 20, 2024


The All for Reunion Program is developed for the search and reunion of children missing due to the internal armed conflict in Guatemala (1960-1996), who disappeared due to different circumstances: forced disappearance, adoptions, forced displacement, due to the death of relatives before of the conflict, refugees-repatriation, etc.
The program is based on the following work model:
(To have more information about each area, hover over each of the boxes)



Social Comunication
Mental Health




REINTEGRATION

REINTEGRATION
Reintegration consists of the psychosocial repair of family ties broken by war, of family members reunited. It occurs after the reunion, where family members speak for the first time about the causes of their separation. The challenge for these families is to maintain communication with each other, since generally the distances that separate them are very great and in the communities where they live they do not have access to a telephone signal.
ORGANIZATION
ORGANIZATION
It is a fundamental axis in the Program, since through the organization, family members can be the protagonists of political and social processes. The Todos por el Reencuentro Community Association brings together all the family members of the program.

REUNIONS
REUNIONS
The reunion is a liberating and restorative act through which the circle broken by the separation of family members in the internal armed conflict is closed. Since 1999 to date, 540 family reunions have been held.


Legal Support
LEGAL SUPPORT
The work team is obliged to know the laws of Guatemala for the guidance of family members on legal issues, such as violation of human rights, adoptions, legalization, rights, etc.
It is necessary to have the advice of a professional in the matter for better support. Along these lines, several "Habeas Corpus" appeals have been presented in the Supreme Court of Justice to follow up on cases of forced disappearance that have not been resolved by other means.

MENTAL HEALTH
Apart from the hope of finding their missing people, the relatives also have the desire to heal a series of damages suffered around the disappearance.
Each information and each memory that the family member shares must be understood not only as a clue for the search, but as an element that will allow them to better accompany them psychosocially, this is called “Therapeutic Informality.”
Therapeutic informality is part of the Mental Health line in the program, as are the workshops that are held with family members in the regions and micro regions.

SOCIAL COMUNICATION
The social communication line has the function of informing the population that does not belong to the program about the things that happen in it.
For this purpose, radio spots are constantly broadcast in Spanish and Mayan languages, in addition to the publication of posters, vinyl banners, photographic exhibitions, interviews in different media, and the use of social networks.

LOCAL NETWORKS
LOCAL NETWORKS
As local networks, we define the mutual cooperation that exists with other institutions at the national level, especially with community organizations. It works in two ways:
1. When these organizations know a missing relative, people who have missing relatives or people who have information about disappearances.
2. They voluntarily provide us with this information for the investigation and resolution of cases.

INVESTIGATION
INVESTIGATION
The research in the program is developed in two lines: field and documentary.
Field investigation includes case documentation, follow-up (the search itself) and case crossing, that is, the exchange of information between work areas. To date there are more than 1,000 documented cases throughout the country.
The documentary research aims to search in archives, files of children who disappeared in the 80s, who were given up for adoption and taken to Italy, France, Canada, Sweden, the United States and other countries.

If you lost your family in the internal armed conflict (mainly in the 80s) or were adopted at that time and need help finding your family, below you will find a form that you must fill out and send