On August 30th, within the framework of the International Day of Victims of Forced Disappearance, different groups, activists, organizations and relatives demonstrated in Tuxtla Gutierrez and San Cristóbal de Las Casas.
In San Cristóbal de Las Casas, the Working Group against Disappearances in Chiapas, made up of the Fray Bartolome de Las Casas Center for Human Rights, the Chiapas United Families Committee Searching for Our Disappeared Migrants, “Junax Ko’ontantik”, Melel Xojobal C.A., Services and Consulting for Peace, C.A. (SERAPAZ) and Mesoamerican Voices, Action with Migrant Peoples CA., released data and statistics that show how limited the official figures are in Chiapas.
With great concern, they pointed out that in 2022 Chiapas was the fourth place in the disappearance of children and adolescents. Since 2018, Melel Xojobal has recorded 2,144 cases as opposed to the 1,476 officially reported. Of the total cases, 40% have not been located.
In general, they pointed out a sharp increase in cases and the discrepancy of the existing figures: between December 1st, 2018 and June 30th, 2023, the State Attorney General’s Office registered 201 Investigation Files for disappearances, while in during the same period, the National Registry of Missing and Unlocated Persons (RNPDNO) recorded 810 disappearances in the state.
“Beyond any official figure, from our documentation and closeness with relatives, we observe that the disappearance of people in Chiapas, or Chiapas citizens in mobility, has been increasing and is, by far, greater than that reflected by any instance of the State. Denying and hiding the problem is just another form of complicity”, the organizations declared.
”The problem of disappearance in Chiapas addresses multiple causes that intersect and become more complex, so the challenge is to address them at the root. Among them we can mention the dispute between criminal groups for control of territory; the risks that migrants experience during their transit; disappearance for purposes of trafficking or forced recruitment; femicide violence; as well as the disappearance of community and human rights defenders”, they further added.
For more information in Spanish:
Denuncian grave aumento de desaparecidos en Chiapas en este sexenio, Proceso, 31 de agosto de 2023
Crisis de desparecidos alcanza a Chiapas; niñez y jornaleros agrícolas, las victimas, Aristegui Noticias, 31 de agosto de 2023
Chiapas, cuarto lugar en desaparición de niñas, niños y adolecentes; denuncian nulo interés por indagar las cuasas, Chiapasparalelo, 30 de agosto de 2023
Pronunciamiento Conjunto Abrazando Ausencias, Alzando la voz hasta encontrarles, CDHFBLC, 30 de agosto
Pronunciamiento del Comité Familias Unidas de Chiapas, Buscando a Nuestros Migrantes Desaparecidos “Junax Ko´tantik”, 30 de agosto de 2023
For more information from SIPAZ:
sipazen.wordpress.com 