On Sunday, 13 June, Amnesty International-Mexico presented its new world report for 2010 in San Cristóbal de Las Casas. In AI’s presentation-event participated several speakers who spoke on the section of the report that deals with Mexico and dealt with such questions as the rights of migrants, indigenous people, women, and journalists in Chiapas.
Alfonson García Castillo, director of AI in Mexico, began the presentation by referring to the alarming environment in which human-rights defenders find themselves, stating that torture in Mexico is in decline, but attacks on communities and social workers are now more violent; murder, kidnapping, and rape are by contract on the rise, and these crimes are increasingly committed in more worrying ways, sometimes even as punishment for claiming one’s rights.
With regard to Chiapas, he noted that “megaprojects built without prior consultation and conflicts that find their basis in the exploitation of natural resources give rise to a systematic violation of indigenous rights. This represents a problematic that is spreading throughout the south of the country; it brings with it not just the displacement of communities but also the negation of their identities.”
Fermina Rodríguez Velazco of the Fray Matías de Córdova Center for Human Rights in Tapachula spoke of the realities lived by Central-American migrants in the southern border-region of Mexico, highlighting the various risks and human-rights violations to which they are often subjected. Another speaker denounced the continuation to date of racism and discrimination against indigenous people, especially in Chiapas, while another shared sections of the report of the Citizens’ National Observatory on Feminicide that cites worrying statistics with respect to violence against women in Chiapas and Mexico generally. She questioned the lack of concern employed by governmental agencies in light of the murder of women. Isaín Mandujano, correspondent for the magazine Proceso, spoke on violations of human rights–including the right to life–for journalists; he also mentioned the socio-economic dynamics that often result in journalists’ working for hegemonic and conservative media outlets.
This conference was held a few weeks after the publication of the new annual report by AI regarding human rights in the world–The State of the World’s Human Rights–and of the annual report on the situation in Mexico, at the end of May. According to AI, complaints regarding kidnapping, extra-judicial killings, arbitrary arrest, torture, mistreatment, and excessive use of force increased in number this year. The section on Mexico in the report emphasizes that grave human-rights violations on the part of police and military units in Mexico also increased this year. In addition, the report stresses the high level of violence attributed to men and organized crime, with special emphasis on the harassment of journalists. It also claims that “impunity finds itself well-planted” in Mexico; it concludes by saying that “the time for rhetoric has ended; action is needed.” Indeed, the executive director of AI-Mexico, Alberto Herrera Aragón, asserted at the end of May that he felt Mexico to be 10 years behind Guatemala, Chile, and Argentina with regard to human rights. He also stressed that few people in Mexico in fact have access to the judiciary system.
For more information (in Spanish):
AI: Violence against communities on the rise (La Jornada, 14 June)
Mexicos is behind by 10 years, asserts AI (El Universal, 25 May)
Violations of human rights increase in Mexico: AI (El Universal, 27 May)
Abuse at the hands of the military and police increase against civilians (La Jornada, 27 May)
