Who We Are

Rights Action, founded in 1995 by Grahame Russell and Annie Bird, was born out of the work of Guatemala Partners and its predecessors – GHRSP and PEACE for Guatemala – that during the 1980s and early 90s provided funding and support for the huge number Guatemalans (a majority being Mayan) violently displaced from their homes and communities by the U.S.-backed repression, many forced to flee into exile. Grahame and Annie built and ran Rights Action until 2014, when Annie became director of the Guatemala Human Rights Commission. Grahame continues as director of Rights Action.

Thank you, to many great folks who worked with Rights Action over the years, including: Kate Robinson, Maguerite Pigeon, Jessica Pupovac, Jane Pelly, Marie Manrique, Tono Catalan, Sandra Cuffe, Ruben Dominguez, Dan Fireside, Martha Garcia, Sue Kuyper, Paul Magno, Rosario Martinez, Eva Morales, Freddie Schrider, Maria Cuc Choc, Raul Caal, Karen Spring, Calixto Torres. A special thanks to Camila Rich for building this website. (Forgive us for those we have overlooked)

Grahame Russell has been, since 1995, director of Rights Action. Grahame is a non-practicing lawyer and part-time adjunct professor at University of Northern British Columbia. For over 10 years, Grahame lived in Mexico and various Central America countries, working on human rights, environment and development issues. In Mexico from 1984-1985, he worked as a supervisor in a rural orphanage. During the summers of 1985, 1986, and 1987, he worked as a human rights educator and solidarity activist in Nicaragua. From 1989-1993, he worked as a lawyer and activist with CODEHUCA (Commission for the Defense of Human Rights in Central America). From 1993-1995, he continued his human rights work with EPICA (Ecumenical Program for Central America) in Guatemala and Chiapas, Mexico. In 1995, he was a legal officer with MINUGUA (the United Nation Human Rights Mission in Guatemala), before reviving Guatemala Partners in 1995 and creating Rights Action.