( CNN ) -- Guatemalan authorities must act to stop the high numbers of women being killed in their country and ensure that the perpetrators are brought to justice , Amnesty International said . The human rights organization Monday urged Guatemala to shore up its fight against impunity and address the more than 685 killings of women reported in 2010 alone . Amnesty International 's call comes ahead of International Women 's Day on Tuesday . `` Women in Guatemala are dying as a consequence of the state 's failure to protect them , '' Sebastian Elgueta , Guatemala researcher at Amnesty International , said in a statement . `` High levels of violence and a lack of political will , along with a track record of impunity , mean authorities are both unable to pursue perpetrators , or just do n't care . Perpetrators know they will not be punished . '' The Central American country 's culture of impunity is a legacy of its 36-year civil war that ended in 1996 , the organization said . There were hundreds of thousands human rights violations that were never accounted for , Amnesty said . In a speech last year , Guatemalan President Alvaro Colom said his country has made strides in protecting women . `` Today we have tribunals specialized in femicide , we have offices for attention ( to women 's rights ) , we have centers , but once again , this will wo n't be enough until we finally defeat the social scourge of women 's murders , regardless of the reason , justification or other type of cheap excuse , '' Colom said . Passing laws is not enough , Elgueta said . `` The government must initiate effective investigations into killings , improve police training and ensure prosecutions are effective , '' he said . The special tribunals have not been effective , Amnesty said . `` The gender of the woman is often a determining factor in the motive of the crime , the way in which the authorities respond to the case and the way women are killed , '' the organization said . Rosa Franco has been fighting for justice after her 15-year-old daughter , Maria Isabel Franco , was raped and killed in December 2001 . But no one has been arrested in the case , Amnesty said . Franco has received death threats and harassment because of her search for justice , the organization said . The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights took Maria Isabel Franco 's case on the grounds that it was being unjustifiably delayed by authorities . `` If the police had started the investigation early , maybe they would 've found Maria Isabel alive , '' Rosa Franco told Amnesty . `` Their attitude , not only in the case of my daughter , but in the cases of thousands of women who have been killed , has been terrible . '' On Tuesday , some 60 organizations will march down the principal streets of Guatemala City to commemorate International Women 's Day , the state-run AGN news agency reported . The march will start in front of the supreme court . `` With this activity , Guatemalan women will demand the respect and the meeting of their needs and urge plans to solve the problems of poverty , discrimination , lack of opportunities , among others , '' activist Sandra Moran told AGN . Professor Ana Silvia Monzon told the news agency that university students will join the march in memory of Emilia Quan , a young sociologist who was killed in November .
More than 685 killings of women were recorded in Guatemala in 2010 . Amnesty International is calling on the government to act . Guatemala has a culture of impunity , Amnesty says .