National: 20,390 Forcibly Displaced in 2017 – Over 329,900 in the Last 12 Years

(@CMDPDH)

On May 2nd, the Mexican Commission for the Defense and Promotion of Human Rights (CMDPDH in its Spanish acronym) published a report on forced internal displacement in Mexico that indicated that in 2017, the climate of violence that prevails in the country caused 25 internal forced mass displacement events in nine states of the Republic, which affected 20,390 people. In the last 12 years at least 329,917 people have had to flee their homes, a figure that is “extremely conservative” as it only includes the cases in which entire communities have had to move. The CMDPDH estimates the figure could exceed one million people, although it affirms that the government has not published figures due to not wanting to “recognize the scale of the problem and the existence of an armed conflict.”

The report states that the states of Guerrero (seven cases), Sinaloa (five), Chihuahua (three), Chiapas (three) and Oaxaca (three) concentrated practically all mass displacement episodes registered in 2017. Chiapas was the entity where the phenomenon affected the largest number of people: 6,090, most of them originating in the municipalities of Altos de Chalchihuitan and Chenalho. 60.44% of the people affected were indigenous and the vast majority lived in rural areas

Of all the factors that led to forced displacement, the majority of them were caused by armed organized groups. Other causes were political violence, social conflict and territorial disputes and, to a lesser extent, the implementation of extractive mining projects.

The CMDPDH regretted that in Mexico the issue of forced internal displacement remains an issue without diagnosis, without public policies or official responses: “Internally displaced people do not have a framework of protection, they are like a kind of legal limbo where nobody confers them rights. The displaced people are left at the mercy of the will of local governments.” In addition, although it acknowledged the existence are two local laws, in Chiapas and in Guerrero, lack of regulations has prevented their proper enforcement to date.

For more information in Spanish:

Informe 2017 : Desplazamiento interno forzado en México (CMDPDH, informe completo, 2 mayo de 2018)

La violencia provocó el desplazamiento forzado de 20 mil 390 personas en 2017: CMDPDH (Proceso, 2 de mayo de 2018)

Más de 20 mil desplazados en México durante 2017; la mayoría, indígenas: Informe (Aristegui Noticias, 2 de mayo de 2018)

En 12 años, 329.9 mil víctimas de desplazamiento forzado en el país (La Jornada, 3 de mayo de 2018)

Los conflictos territoriales y la violencia llevan al éxodo a más de 12.000 indígenas en México (El País, 3 de mayo de 2018)

Por la violencia, más de 325 mil personas han dejado sus hogares a la fuerza en México (Animal Político, 3 de mayo de 2018)

For more information from SIPAZ:

Chiapas : Persiste riesgo a la vida de indígenas tsotsiles en Aldama, denuncia el Centro de Derechos Humanos Fray Bartolomé de Las Casas (26 de abril de 2018)

Chiapas: SIPAZ visitó a personas desplazadas de Chalchihuitán (20 de abril de 2018)

Guerrero: De la civilidad truncada a la desaparición de la razón, informe final de la Misión de Observación al Estado de Guerrero (16 de abril de 2018)

Chiapas: Plantón desplazados ejido Puebla, Chenalhó (10 de abril de 2018)

Chiapas: Otro conflicto agrario en los límites de Chenalhó provoca desplazados en el municipio de Aldama [blog incluye antecedentes] (27 de marzo de 2018)

Chiapas: desplazados de Chalchihuitán denuncian condiciones en las que se siguen encontrando(23 de marzo de 2018)

Chiapas : sin condiciones de seguridad regresan a casa más de 4000 desplazados en Chalchihuitán (4 de enero de 2018)

SIPAZ: BOLETÍN URGENTE – Reactivación del conflicto agrario entre Chenalhó y Chalchihuitán : violencia generalizada e impunidad (16 de diciembre de 2017)

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Chiapas: Mass Mobilization of CNTE in Chiapas

March on April 10th, 2018 (@Pozol)

Under the slogan “48-Hour Teachers and Popular Strike Towards National Teacher and Popular Strike”, on April 10th, thousands of teachers of the National Coordinator of Education Workers (CNTE in its Spanish acronym), parents of families, displaced indigenous peoples, student teachers and members of more than 60 campesino social organizations, marched in Tuxtla Gutiérrez against educational reform and declared themselves in favor of creating a “national united front” to face “the onslaught of the federal government with its public policies and legal reforms that criminalize social protest, which generate unemployment with massive layoffs, suspended payments to teachers, which continues to reduce spending on health and education while increasing it for electoral campaigns.” The mobilization was led by 59 families of displaced indigenous people from Puebla ejido in Chenalho who stated that the government still has not meet their demands to return to their homes.

In other protest actions, they also took over the toll booth on the Tuxtla-San Cristobal highway, conducted an information dissemination brigade in public markets and commercial centers, and visited public and private radio and television stations to publicize the reasons for their protests.

Teachers mobilized despite threats that there would be deductions from their salaries for days they did not show up for work. In this framework, the Ministry of Education stated that “our position is clear: there will be discounts if they do not show up for work. We have met our part of the agreement, for that reason we make an attentive call to the teachers so that they do not put their union interests before the continuity of educational services.”

The CNTE said that if there are no negotiations with the Ministry of the Interior, there will be stoppages on April 30th, May 1st and 2nd.

For more information in Spanish:

Marchan en Chiapas contra la reforma educativa y proponen un frente nacional (Proceso, 9 de abril de 2018)

Desplazados se suman a marchas (Aquí Noticias, 9 de abril de 2018)

CNTE en Chiapas levanta paro y anuncia otro de tres días en protesta contra la reforma educativa (Proceso, 10 de abril de 2018)

Maestros levantan plantón, pero amenazan con regresar (NVI Noticias, 11 de abril de 2018)

For more information from SIPAZ:

Oaxaca/ Nacional: La CNTE y la Segob acuerdan mesas de negociación (13 de julio de 2016)

Chiapas/Oaxaca/Nacional: Ante falta de acuerdos sobre la reforma educativa en el diálogo, el magisterio sigue con las movilizaciones (28 de junio de 2016)

International/National/Oaxaca: Fox, Calderon and over 100 Former Officials to be Denounced before International Criminal Court for Crimes against Humanity

Photo @ impacto.mx

On April 5th, 2018, the ombusman of Oaxaca Arturo Peimbert, confirmed in an interview with La Jornada that in July he will present a complaint before the International Criminal Court against former presidents Vicente Fox and Felipe Calderon, the former governor of Oaxaca, Ulises Ruiz Ortiz and a dozen senior officials of the Mexican State for crimes against humanity committed during the socio-political conflict of 2006 and 2007 in Oaxaca.

Peimbert told La Jornada that the actions of the government followed a “systematic and generalized pattern of low and medium intensity warfare, as a strategy to contain social protest.” The magazine Proceso specifically reports “serious crimes, particularly murders, tortures and forced disappearances”, committed by federal, state and municipal police bodies, which after 12 years “are in absolute impunity.”

La Jornada said that, “according to the final report of the Truth Commission for the case of Oaxaca 2006-2007, 30 civilians were killed during the attacks of armed groups against the barricades”, as well as containing “a list of more than one hundred officials, deemed responsible” during this conflict.

In his interview Peimbert added that “to take this case before the Criminal Court, we are inspired by the one presented by Michael Chamberlin, of the Fray Juan de Larios Human Rights Committee, on Coahuila. Therein the concerted action of the Zetas criminal group with the governors Humberto and Ruben Moreira is documented, and consequently the proven disappearance of more than a 1,800 people and the massacres of Allende and Piedras Negras. Because they are not isolated cases, but a pattern of systematic and widespread violence, the ICC admitted it in June of last year. “

For more information in Spanish:

Estado sigue patrón de guerra de baja intensidad contra protesta social: Peimbert (La Jornada, 5 de abril de 2018)

Denunciarán a Fox, Calderón y Ruiz ante la Corte Penal Internacional por crímenes de lesa humanidad (Proceso, 21 de marzo de 2018)

Denunciarán a Felipe Calderón ante Corte Penal Internacional (La Jornada, 21 de marzo de 2018)

For more information from SIPAZ:

Oaxaca: denuncian amenazas contra integrantes de la Comisión de la Verdad conformada para investigar el conflicto político-social del 2006 (23 de abril de 2015)

Oaxaca: A 8 años del conflicto de 2006, sigue la impunidad. Se conforma Comisión de la Verdad (27 de noviembre de 2018)

Guerrero/National/International: MEPs Highlight the Grave Situation of Human Rights Defenders in Mexico

On January 9th, 35 European parliamentarians issued a letter to Enrique Peña Nieto, President of Mexico, Luis Videgaray Case, Secretary of Foreign Affairs and Hector Astudillo Flores, Constitutional Governor of the State of Guerrero, to express their deep concern over the situation of human rights defenders in Mexico.

The parliamentarians refer to the report of the DTT Network “Hope Does Not End”, according to which “during the presidential term of President Enrique Peña Nieto, 106 murders or extrajudicial executions of human rights defenders and 81 disappearances took place, to highlight only the most serious crimes within a broader list of attacks.”

They call on the Mexican state and especially the state of Guerrero to address this situation: “We are particularly concerned about the grave situation in the State of Guerrero of the relatives of disappeared persons, the communities that have been forcibly displaced, as well as the people and human rights organizations that accompany them.”

For more information in Spanish:

Carta de los parlamentarios europeos (Parlamento Europeo, 9 de enero de 2018)

Informe: La esperanza no se agota (Red TdT, 7 de septiembre de 2017)

Apremian parlamentarios europeos a resolver la “grave situación” en Guerrero (La Jornada Guerrero, 18 de enero de 2018)

Parlamentarios de Europa alertan ante la falta de garantías para defensores de derechos humanos en Guerrero (El Sur Periódico de Guerrero, 18 de enero de 2018)

Urgen parlamentarios europeos a defender a activistas en México (SIDIDH, 18 de enero)

Parlamentarios europeos dan la voz de alarma sobre situación de personas defensoras de derechos humanos en Guerrero (Centro de derechos Humanos de la Montaña Tlachinollan, 17 de enero de 2018)

For more information from SIPAZ:

Guerrero: Acción urgente: Ejecuciones extrajudiciales y detenciones de policías comunitarios y de miembros del CECOP (10 de enero de 2018)

Guerrero : ONGs piden « garantizar derechos de víctimas, comunidades y personas y organizaciones defensoras de derechos humanos en el Estado » (29 de septiembre de 2017)

Guerrero : se declara “alerta” para proteger a defensores y defensoras de derechos humanos (19 de septiembre de 2017)

Chiapas: 4000 Displaced Return Home in Insecure Conditions n Chalchihuitan

Displaced Chalchihuitan (@Sin Embargo)

On December 2nd, nearly four thousand indigenous people from Chalchihuitan returned to their communities of origin after almost two months of forced displacement, despite not having secure conditions to do so due to the presence of groups that have not been disarmed, so they blamed the state and federal governments for what might happen to their families. 1,165 people refused to leave Kanalumtik camp where they are located for the same reason.

According to the parish priest of Chalchuitan, those who returned did so because of the conditions of forced displacement that caused the death of 11 people due to hunger and cold in this region of the Highlands of Chiapas.

Municipal, state and federal authorities met in this framework and agreed to continue with humanitarian aid, maintain close public security with the participation of state and federal forces, and continue to seek lasting solutions that guarantee peace in the region.

It should be recalled that there has been an agrarian conflict over boundaries between the two municipalities of Chalchihuitan and Chenalho since 1973, as a result of the works of recognition and titling of communal property by the extinct Secretariat of Agrarian Reform. They have resulted in a dispute over more than 900 hectares located between the two places.

For more information in Spanish:

Segob establece tres acuerdos con representantes de desplazados de Chalchihuitán (Aristegui Noticias, 4 de enero de 2018)

Peligroso retorno a Chalchihuitán (La Jornada, 3 de enero de 2018)

Segob refuerza ayuda en el regreso de desplazados a Chalchihuitán (La Jornada, 3 de enero de 2018)

Retornan a sus comunidades casi 4 mil indígenas desplazados de Chalchihuitán (Proceso, 2 de enero de 2018)

Sin condiciones de seguridad, desplazados en Chiapas retornan a sus casas (Regeneración, 2 de enero de 2018)

For more information from SIPAZ:

SIPAZ: BOLETÍN URGENTE – Reactivación del conflicto agrario entre Chenalhó y Chalchihuitán : violencia generalizada e impunidad (16 de diciembre de 2017)

Chiapas : Conflicto agrario: fallo en favor del municipio de Chenalhóc(13 de diciembre de 2017)

Chiapas: últimos acontecimientos del conflicto agrario entre Chenalhó y Chalchihuitán (8 de diciembre de 2017)

Chiapas: Urge ayuda humanitaria para personas desplazadas (29 de noviembre de 2017)

Chiapas: Otra vez resurgió el conflicto agrario entre los municipios de Chenalhó y Chalchihuitán (14 de noviembre de 2017)

National/International: UN and IACHR Rapporteurs for Freedom of Expression Call on Mexico to Increase its Efforts to Protect Journalists

David Kaye and Edison Lanza, Special Rapporteurs for Freedom of Expression from the United Nations and Inter-American Commission for Human Rights (@OAS)

“Mexico should take bold steps to address the violence faced by those who practice journalism”, said David Kaye and Edison Lanza, Special Rapporteurs on Freedom of expression for the United Nations and the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, respectively after an official mission that they carried out from November 27th to December 4th to examine the situation of freedom of expression in Mexico. During this visit, they met with more than 250 journalists and members of civil organizations, from 21 states of the Mexican Republic.

In a joint statement at the end of their mission, they declared that, “violence against those who practice journalism has been a crisis for Mexico for more than a decade and despite the creation by the Government of mechanisms of protection and persecution, impunity and insecurity continue to characterize this situation throughout the country.” They also expressed that “we were horrified by the stories we heard from journalists, in which they presented a harsh picture of the hostile environment they have faced. Sexual harassment against women journalists, the forced displacement of reporters, assassinations and disappearances, as well as deep impunity, were common elements in their narratives.” They also warned that, “the need to address issues of protection and transparency will be especially critical in 2018, when Mexican citizens will vote in federal, state and local elections.”

In their recommendations, they urged the Mexican government to “rapidly and substantially increase the resources available for the mechanisms that have been established to provide protection and transparency. Mexico has already taken a laudable step by creating these institutions; now it should give them the tools to be effective.”

For more information in Spanish:

México debe redoblar esfuerzos para proteger periodistas, instan expertos de derechos humanos (Comunicado conjunto de ONU y CIDH, 4 de diciembre de 2017)

Observaciones preliminares (4 de diciembre de 2017)

Urgen ONU y CIDH a frenar violencia contra periodistas en México (La Jornada, 4 de diciembre de 2017)

Periodismo en México se ejerce bajo “condiciones de terror”: Relatores de ONU y CIDH (Aristegui Noticias, 4 de diciembre de 2017)

La ONU alerta sobre la impunidad de los crímenes contra los periodistas en México (El País, 4 de diciembre de 2017)

For more information from SIPAZ:

Nacional/Oaxaca: Red nacional de periodistas exige detener la violencia contra comunicadoras (17 de octubre de 2017)

Nacional/Internacional: Espionaje a periodistas y activistas en México (27 de junio de 2017)

Nacional/Guerrero: Siguen ataques y homicidios de periodistas y defensores de Derechos Humanos (19 de mayo de 2017)

Nacional: Pronunciamiento de WOLA frente al recrudecimiento de violencia contra periodistas y defensores de derechos humanos (11 de abril de 2017)

Nacional: Informe de Artículo 19 “de lo digital a lo tangible” (3 de diciembre de 2016)

 

National/International: “Caravan of Mothers of Missing Migrants” Arrives to Mexico

(@caravana.wordpress.com)

 From December 1st to 18th, the thirteenth “Caravan of Mothers of Missing Migrants” will be held, which will enter Mexico to “search for the disappeared, break the silence and demand justice,” as well as to “show the consequences of anti-migrant policies, make visible the mourning of mothers and create awareness that they are as important as any other person.” The Caravan entered the country through the border of Ciudad Hidalgo, Chiapas to begin a journey of 4,000 kilometers along the migratory route, crossing 12 states and 22 locations in Mexico.

In an initial communiqué, the Mesoamerican Migrant Movement (MMM) denounced that, “according to the United Nations, approximately 500,000 people cross the southern Mexican border each year. Most come from the Northern Triangle of Central America, a region hit by widespread violence and economic inequality. Economic insecurity combined with the impact of mega-projects for the extraction of minerals and other resources create a situation of structural violence and forced displacement. This economic precariousness occurs in a context of acute violence in these countries that have the highest levels of homicide and gender violence worldwide. When migrants flee from these conditions they encounter serious threats during their journey through Mexico where the violence of criminal groups and the corruption of state institutions results in migrants being kidnapped, extorted and trafficked by organized crime groups, among many other violations of their human rights.”

The MMM also expressed that “the risks of transit through Mexico have increased in recent years where the Mexican government, in cooperation with the government of the United States, has tried to prevent the migratory flow from reaching the northern border through the militarization of the territory. These tactics of persecution, detention and deportation combined with the threat of corrupt authorities colluded with criminal groups, have increased the vulnerability of migrants in transit. As in the case of disappeared Mexicans, there is a level of absolute impunity in cases of abuse and disappearance of migrants in Mexico. The absence of political will and the corruption of local authorities force the relatives of the disappeared migrants to carry out the difficult job of seeking and demanding justice. “

For more information in Spanish:

Caravana de madres de migrantes desaparecidos viaja a Veracruz (La Jornada, 6 de diciembre de 2017)

Madres de migrantes desaparecidos inician caravana en México (La Jornada, 2 de diciembre de 2017)

Llega a México la XIII Caravana de Madres Centroamericanas en busca de sus desaparecidos (Proceso, 1ero de diciembre de 2017)

Comunicado de prensa (Movimiento Migrante Mesoamericano, 27 de noviembre de 2017)

For more information from SIPAZ:

México : Caravana de Madres de Migrantes Desaparecidos “buscando vida en caminos de muerte” (25 de noviembre de 2016)