@Amnesty International
On March 29th, Amnesty International (AI) presented its report on the human rights situation in 2021 and the beginning of 2022 at an event held in Mexico City
This March, Edith Olivares Ferreto, executive director of Amnesty International Mexico, stressed: “in 2021 we can confirm that we are indeed still a country of victims, Mexico continues to go through a serious human rights crisis that is manifested not only in the large number of people whose fundamental rights are constantly violated, but in 2021 we observe with great concern the risk of reduction of civic space that is shown in the constant attacks on civil society organizations, the press, and human rights defenders.” Mexico is not the exception, she added, but rather joins a “worrying global and regional political trend in which toxic narratives demonize civil society organizations with the intention of silencing our points of view.”
Among other worrying points is the “advancement of militarization”, since in 2021 “the largest number of military personnel was deployed since the war on drug trafficking began in 2006” by mobilizing 99,946 military personnel. Similarly, as well as the militarization of public security, more and more tasks have been assigned to the Armed Forces for the control of customs, ports, public works on megaprojects, among others.
AI was also concerned about the issue of forced disappearances when in 2021 at least 7,698 cases of missing and unlocated persons in the country were documented. With this, at the end of the year the number of disappeared persons rose to 97,000 since 1964. In addition, “given these figures, impunity continues; by 2021, only 35 convictions had been handed down for the crime of forced disappearance.”
Another issue of concern was migration, as reports of excessive use of force and arbitrary returns by authorities continue, as well as kidnappings, extortion, and homicides by non-state actors. It considered that the management of migration by the National Guard “constitutes a serious risk for respect for the rights and guarantees of migrants.”
AI also warned about violence against women and girls, since last year there were 3,427 homicides of women, of which only 887 were investigated as femicides.
Among the positive aspects that it highlighted is the creation of a commission for truth and justice to investigate serious violations during the dirty war between 1960 and 1980.
For more information in Spanish:
Informe Mundial 2021-2022 completo (Amnistía Internacional, 29 de marzo de 2022)
Américas: La defensa de los derechos humanos, amenazada en una región asolada por la pandemia (Amnistía Internacional, 29 de marzo de 2022)
Informe Amnistía Completo – Capítulo México (AI, 29 de marzo de 2022)
Más de 7 mil casos de personas desaparecidas y no localizadas en México durante 2021: AI | Video (Aristegui Noticias, 29 de marzo de 2022)
México registró en 2021 constantes ataques a prensa y activistas: AI (La Jornada, 29 de marzo de 2022)
Amnistía Internacional denuncia acciones de AMLO para reprimir la libertad de expresión (Proceso, 30 de marzo de 2022)
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