@ Desinformemonos
Government after government, the crisis of disappearance of persons in Mexico worsens. In 2018, the year in which the General Law on the Disappearance of Persons came into force, 46,423 cases were reported, by the end of 2022 the figure rose to 109,000.
The General Law on the Disappearance of Persons is the result of an unprecedented exercise of citizen participation represented mainly by relatives of victims. Since the year it came into force, 32 local search commissions; the approval and entry into force of the Approved Protocol for the Search for Persons; and the National Registry of Disappeared Persons have been created and installed. Despite this, “not all the mechanisms are working fully and there is still a lack of coordination between agencies”, Laura Curiel of the Movement for Our Disappeared in Mexico reports.
Among the mechanisms contemplated are the National Forensic Data Bank, the National Exhumations and Forensic Identification Program, as well as the National Registry of unidentified and unclaimed deceased persons, responsibilities of the Attorney General’s Office (FGR). However, a judge ruled that this body had failed to comply with its obligations. Given this, the FGR appealed the decision and argued that it lacks competence to implement such mechanisms.
In this sense, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHCHR), Volker Türk, said that Mexico “has not yet acted firmly to combat this atrocious crime that affects hundreds of thousands of people.” “Disinformation and insensitivity to these crimes remain widespread among many public officials and the criteria for determining their responsibility are not adequately applied”, added Türk.
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Mexico recognized the progress that this instrument represents, but called on the Mexican government to eliminate the figure of “unlocated person” “since it delays the search processes in many cases.” “All missing persons have the right to be searched for immediately, regardless of the circumstances of their disappearance. Let’s remember that the first few hours are essential for the search”, said Adriana Pozos, coordinator of the ICRC’s missing persons program in Mexico.
For more information in Spanish:
En los cinco años con la Ley de Desaparición, se duplicaron las desapariciones forzadas (Educa Oaxaca, 16 de enero de 2023)
A cinco años de la ley en materia de desaparición, 109 mil personas siguen desaparecidas y hay mecanismos aún pendientes (Animal Político, 16 de enero de 2023)
La FGR se resiste a cumplir la ley: impugna resolución de juez para crear Banco Nacional de Datos Forenses (Animal Políco, 19 de enero de 2023)
México no hace lo suficiente con las desapariciones, dice alto comisionado de ONU-DH (Sin Embargo, 17 de enero de 2022)
México: a cinco años de la Ley de Desaparición urge eliminar la figura jurídica de persona no localizada, CICR (CICR, 16 de enero de 2022)
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