National/International: UNO Requests Mexican Government to Adopt Protection Measures for Human Rights Defenders

© ohchr

On June 29th, the Special Rapporteur on the situation of UN human rights defenders, Mary Lawlor, expressed in a statement “her grave concern at the intimidation, threats and killings to which human rights defenders are subjected in Mexico.” This, after the members of the Oaxaca Consortium organization on June 15th were victims of threats allegedly by an organized crime group.

“The level of vulnerability that defenders are in in certain regions of Mexico is extremely worrying. It is even more worrisome to observe the extraordinary risks faced by women human rights defenders and those who are dedicated to fighting for women’s rights”, the rapporteur said. In addition, she emphasized that Mexico has international obligations and, therefore, it must guarantee the protection of human rights defenders, especially against violations committed by agents of the State and private entities. She called on the Mexican government “to take measures to prevent future violations and to take retrospective measures in response to the violations already inflicted.”

The incorporation of a gender perspective to face the specific risks and security needs of human rights defenders, of those who work in the field of women’s rights or gender issues, is of utmost importance in Mexico, a country where gender violence continues, Lawlor emphasized.

For more information in Spanish:

Una serie de amenazas contra integrantes del Consorcio Oaxaca (United Nations Special Rapporteur, 29 de junio 2020)

Relatora sobre personas defensoras y otros expertos de la ONU exigen garantías para Consorcio Oaxaca y castigo a los responsables de amenaza en su contra. (Consorcio Oaxaca, 29 de junio 2020)

Garantías para Consorcio Oaxaca, exigen relatores de la ONU (Proceso, 29 de junio 2020)

México: Experta de la ONU insta a garantizar la protección de las defensoras de derechos humanos (Naciones Unidas México, 29 de junio 2020)

For more information from SIPAZ: 

Oaxaca: Death Threat at Door of Oaxaca Consortium Office (June 17, 2020)

National/International: Food Insecurity Increases for LGBTIQ+ Community in Pandemic (June 24, 2020)

National: UNO Supports CONAPRED (June 22, 2020)

National: Reform Of Law for Protection of Human Rights Defenders and Journalists Debated in Context of Greater Vulnerability in Pandemic (May 26, 2020)

Chiapas: Las Abejas Civil Society Denounces Persecution and Murder of Human Rights Defenders and Protectors of Mother Earth and other Violent Situations (February 25, 2020)

National/International: UNO Presents Diagnostic of Protection Mechanism of Human Rights Defenders and Journalists (September 2, 2019)

Chiapas: Frayba Reports over 40 Torture Cases in One Year

@Frayba

On June 25th, in the framework of the United Nations International Day in Support of Victims of Torture, the Fray Bartolome de Las Casas Center for Human Rights (Frayba) held an online talk under the hashtag #StopTortura.

Three members of the organization announced that from January 2019 to March 2020 they received complaints of 41 cases of torture, of which they documented that 26 of them occurred within the framework of the adversarial system of criminal justice, that is, that the majority of the perpetrators are elements of the State Attorney General’s Office (FGE).

At the request of Frayba, the FGE reported that in 2018 31 investigation cases for the crime of torture were opened, of which 26 were pending, only one of these was linked to the trial and that there is no conviction of perpetrators in any of the cases, the organization stressed.

In Frayba’s bulletin “Torture is a Systematic and Widespread Practice in Mexico”, published the same day, it states that “this lack of effectiveness in the current judicial system maintains the patterns of non-access to justice for torture victims who are stigmatized and criminalized. The burden of proof continues with the questioning where the alleged culprits and the victims are not guaranteed protection and respect for human rights.” It adds that, in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, the legal processes of torture victims have been stopped, and thus the risks to the life, security and integrity of the victims have increased.

“Torture in Mexico is a mechanism that nullifies and terrifies the population, especially the excluded and marginalized. Added to the torture contexts are the internal forced displacements suffered by the communities of Original Peoples in Chiapas”, Frayba denounced in the June 25th bulletin and demanded that the Mexican state comply with the recommendations of the UN Committee against Torture.

More information in Spanish:

La Tortura es una práctica sistemática y generalizada en México. (Boletín Frayba, 25 de junio)

Documentan más de 40 casos de tortura (Diario de Chiapas, 26 de junio)

More information from SIPAZ:

Chiapas/National: “Denying the Existence of Torture in Mexico Encourages Impunity”, CSO (April 20, 2020)

Chiapas: Fiscalía de Alto impacto señalada como responsable de tortura contra estudiantes (February 26, 2020)

Chiapas: Frayba Denounces Obstruction in Defense and Promotion of Human Rights (February 26, 2020)

 

National: UNO Supports CONAPRED

@SEGOB

The National Council to Prevent and Eradicate Discrimination (CONAPRED) has been at the center of attention lately, which has resulted in the resignation of the head of this government institution as well as in indications by President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador (AMLO) to the effect that the organism could disappear.

The turmoil began when the invitation to Youtuber Chumel Torres to a forum on racism and discrimination, organized by CONAPRED, was openly criticized by the writer and wife of the president, Beatriz Gutierrez Müller. In the end the event was canceled.

In this context, the President of the Republic has made several comments about this institution, one being that he did not even know of its existence, pointing out that these organizations were created by previous governments to simulate that racism and discrimination are being combatted, but that in reality they only use up budget.

Several human rights organizations, on the other hand, have offered their support to the government institution, as well as the United Nations in Mexico, which highlighted that “CONAPRED has been committed to the dissemination of the rights of indigenous peoples and has launched several information campaigns to make the population aware of the discrimination they suffer, always in line with international standards in this area.”

For more information in Spanish:

La ONU expresa su respaldo al Conapred (Educa Oaxaca, 19 de junio de 2020)

AMLO considerará desaparecer el Conapred; dice no es necesario para combatir la discriminación (Animalpolitico, 18 de junio de 2020)

Renuncia titular de Conapred, (Aristegui Noticias, 18 de junio de 2020)

 For more information from SIPAZ: 

National: Government Cuts Paralyze CEAV (June 8, 2020)

National: Cuts for Indigenous Women in Violent Situations(May 15, 2020)

Chiapas: Acts of Violence and Xenophobia against Migrants Expelled by Residents of Pakal-Na Condemned(March 5, 2020)

National/International: Effort to Protect Migrants “Lasted a Few Months”, UNHCHR (November 7, 2019)

 

Oaxaca: Death Threat at Door of Oaxaca Consortium Office

On June 15th, a black bag with pieces of meat, apparently an animal’s head, with the message: yours sincerely, CJNG. ”(SIC) was found outside the doors of the organization Oaxaca Consortium for Parliamentary Dialogue and Equity.

That same day the feminist organization published a press release about the event, noting that it is evident that it is a death threat related to its work. It recalled that the Consortium has a recognized history of 17 years promoting women’s rights and the protection of human rights defenders in Oaxaca, Mexico and the Mesoamerican region. It indicated that the threat could be related to the questions they have raised with Murat’s government about femicides, disappearances of women and attacks on defenders. It mentioned in particular the campaign that has been going on for weeks “Until Justice Arrives” that “revealed the impunity and complicity of the different levels of the Government of Oaxaca in the case of Maria del Sol Cruz Jarquin”, a 2018 case of femincide.

In its statement, the Consortium blamed the Government of Alejandro Murat for the death threat: “It is evident that the Government of Alejandro Murat intends to disguise the matter as an issue of Organized Crime, a situation that is perverse, as is his regime. From this moment on, we hold Governor Alejandro Murat, Prosecutor Ruben Vasconcelos Mendez and Raul Ernesto Salcedo Rosales, head of the Ministry of Public Security, responsible for the life and safety of Soledad Jarquin, her family and each of the members. Oaxaca Consortium. ”

Several organizations have spoken out in solidarity with the Consortium, such as the National Network of Human Rights Defenders in Mexico (RNDDHM), the National Coordinator of Education Workers (CNTE), Communication and Information for Women AC (CIMAC), the SOS Tortute Network, the  World Organization Against Torture (WOAT) and Inmujeres, to mention but a few.

UN Women Mexico on their Twitter condemned “the threat received by the feminist organization @consorciooaxaca. An appeal is made to the Government of Oaxaca and to all state authorities to guarantee the safety and integrity of the human rights defenders of said organization.”

For more information in Spanish:

Comunicado de Prensa (Consorcio Oaxaca, 15 de junio)

Consorcio Oaxaca responsabiliza a Murat Hinojosa por amenaza de muerte en su oficina(EDUCA Oaxaca, 16 de junio)

Denuncia Consorcio Oaxaca amenaza de muerte y ataques por seguimiento a caso de María del Sol (El Universal, 16 de junio)

Feministas de Oaxaca responsabilizan a Murat Hinojosa por amenaza de muerte. (Proceso, 15 de junio)

For more information from SIPAZ:

Oaxaca: “Femicidal Violence, The Endless Pandemic”, Oaxaca Consortium (June 8, 2020)

National: Reform Of Law for Protection of Human Rights Defenders and Journalists Debated in Context of Greater Vulnerability in Pandemic (May 26, 2020)

Oaxaca/Nacional: Nuevas agresiones a periodistas; se modificará mecanismo de protección, Encinas (December 19, 2019)

Oaxaca: 126 Femicides One Year after Declaration of Gender Violence Alert (September 2, 2019)

 

National/International: Women’s Challenges in COVID-19 – A Latin American Balance

© Twitter INMUJERES

On June 12th, the online conversation “Women’s Human Rights: Challenges before COVID-19” was held, convened by the Ministry of Foreign Relations, the Commission for Gender Equality, the National Institute for Women and UN Women. Different national and international political figures participated in this event, including Marcelo Ebrard, Secretary of Foreign Relations; Olga Sanchez Cordero, Secretary of the Interior; Michelle Bachelet, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and Alicia Barcena, Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC).

This meeting allowed to take stock of the situation that women in Mexico and Latin America have lived, and continue to live, but with the aggravating circumstance of the pandemic. It was recognized that women have been the most affected not only by issues of gender violence but also by unpaid work, the situation of poverty, food, unemployment, job insecurity, and the participation of nearly 80% of women in the frontline against the pandemic that continues to prevent them from other activities.

Ricardo Montreal, a MORENA senator, spoke about progress in equality with the recent mandatory gender parity policy in government institutions, as well as that of granting labor rights to domestic workers. In this sense, the regional director for the Americas and the Caribbean of UN Women affirmed that Mexico is a leader in legislative works, especially when 75% of Latin American congresses are made up, mostly, of men.

Marcelo Ebrard acknowledged that there will be a setback in terms of poverty after the pandemic, but he also expressed the importance of the government being progressive and feminist to face this situation. Similarly, the Ministry of the Interior declared: “The new normal will be feminist or it will not be”, recognizing that the State must listen to and empower women through the creation of public policies that make women’s rights tangible and justiciable.

Michelle Bachelet, for her part, stressed the importance of multilateralism and of making a “gradual and careful” reopening to overcome the pandemic. She invited us to rethink life after the pandemic regarding our practices as a society and affirmed that “the answers cannot be neutral or equal for everyone, but you have to think about how you focus because there are sectors that are more vulnerable.”

Alicia Barcena presented the Gender Equality Observatory in which statistics are retrieved at the Latin American level of the conditions of women in different aspects. “The social impact of the pandemic has a woman’s face”, declared the Executive Secretary of CEPA and said that the backdrop for the pandemic is the culture of privilege, which naturalizes inequalities, discrimination and addresses equity, not equality with a welfare approach and not empowerment and insisted that “this crisis should lead us to a change in the development model.”

For more information in Spanish: 

Observatorio de Igualdad de género (CEPAL)

Gobierno advierte que pandemia dejará estragos en mujeres (Expansión política, 12 de junio 2020)

La nueva normalidad será en feminista o no será: Segob (El Universal, 13 de junio 2020)

For more information from SIPAZ: 

Chiapas: Women Prisoners in CERSS No. 5 Denounce Violence in COVID-19 Pandemic (June 8, 2020)

Oaxaca: “Femicidal Violence, The Endless Pandemic”, Oaxaca Consortium (June 8, 2020)

National: Controversy over “Count to Ten” Federal Campaign against Violence (June 4, 2020)

Nacional: Declaraciones de AMLO con respecto a la violencia de género provoca reacciones de diversos actores. (May 19,2020)

National: Cuts for Indigenous Women in Violent Situations (May 15, 2020)

Chiapas: Woman Dies Violently Every Two Days in the State (April 16, 2020)

 

National/International: First Latin American Encounter “We Embrace Horizons Facing Disappearances”

From June 9th to 12th, the online encounter “Latin American Meeting #We Embrace Horizons Facing Disappearances” (#AbramosHorizontes ante las desapariciones) was held, convened by Citizens in Support of Human Rights (CADHAC), Services and Advice for Peace (SERAPAZ) and the Foundation for Due Process. The event set out to “nurture the debate in Mexico on this serious phenomenon that affects so many families and the entire country, as well as glimpse the challenges faced by institutions, academia and civil society to eradicate this practice and give forceful responses.”

It included different tables with panelists: Table 1 “Latin America: from disappearances to responses”; Table 2: “Mexico facing the missing persons crisis”; Table 3: “Experiences from the family movement”, and Table 4 “The Experience of Nuevo Leon”.

The table that generated the most media coverage was the second, with the participation of the Deputy Secretary for Human Rights of the Interior, Alejandro Encinas, who has led the government’s human rights agenda since the beginning of the presidency of Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador (AMLO).

The undersecretary affirmed that progress has been made both in the legislative field and in the consolidation of a new institutional scaffolding so that the legislative changes are reflected in facts. However, he acknowledged that multiple challenges remain to reach justice and truth in the problem of disappearances in Mexico (61,000 cases today). He pointed out, among them, impunity and corruption, as well as inertia and resistance in some states of the republic in particular and in their prosecutors when it comes to supporting the tasks of searching for people and identifying bodies exhumed in clandestine graves. This, he affirmed because these players continue in the logic of wanting to minimize or hide the problem. He ratified the will of the federal government to continue with these tasks regardless of that. He acknowledged that, although in Mexico there is a General Law to Prevent and Punish the Forced Disappearance of Persons, to date there is no sentence in the country for a case of disappearance in general. He announced that in the following days he will announce the results of the data update on the matter together with the National Search Commission (CNB).

He also stated that 272,800,000 pesos (of the 341 million programmed) have been channeled to the local search commissions, which will help to have capabilities in equipment and infrastructure, as well as to promote actions for the identification of localized people. Contrary to the information circulated by the CEAV due to the policy of proposed cuts to face the impacts of the pandemic, Encinas guaranteed that there will be no budget cut this year for the work of searching for people and that no program related to human rights will be affected.

During this same event, Santiago Corcuera, former president of the UN Committee against Enforced Disappearances, affirmed that the phenomenon of disappearance was on the rise in the six-year term of Felipe Calderon, continued in that of Enrique Peña Nieto, and remains in the current federal government, so a different drug policy is required to prevent them from happening again. For this reason, he questioned the formation of the National Guard as a follow-up to a strategy that has not worked. As for the national registry, he questioned that it is not yet configured; “We have been more than a year and it is still not created, due to the indolence of local authorities that do not report the cases.” Santiago Corcuera also insisted on another pending issue: the recognition of the UN committee to hear cases of torture and disappearances in Mexico.

For more information in Spanish:

Mesa 1 América Latina de las desapariciones a las respuestas (“Encuentro Latinoamericano #AbramosHorizontes ante las Desapariciones”, CADHAC, 9 de junio de 2020)

Mesa 2 México ante la crisis de personas desaparecidas (“Encuentro Latinoamericano #AbramosHorizontes ante las Desapariciones”, CADHAC, 10 de junio de 2020)

Mesa 3 Experiencia desde el movimiento de familias (“Encuentro Latinoamericano #AbramosHorizontes ante las Desapariciones”, CADHAC, 11 de junio de 2020)

Mesa 4 Experiencia de Nuevo León (“Encuentro Latinoamericano #AbramosHorizontes ante las Desapariciones”, CADHAC, 11 de junio de 2020)

Fiscalías renuentes a apoyar en búsqueda de desaparecidos: Encinas (Heraldo, 12 de junio de 2020)

Fiscalías se resisten a apoyar en búsqueda de desaparecidos: Encinas (Excelsior, 10 de junio de 2020)

Encinas acusa resistencias por parte de gobiernos estatales para enfrentar desaparición de personas (El Economista, 10 de junio de 2020)

For more information from SIPAZ:

National: Collectives of Victims of Violence Demand Dismissal of Head of Executive Commission for Attention to Victims (CEAV) and Request Meeting with AMLO (June 11, 2020)

National: Government Cuts Paralyze CEAV (June 8, 2020)

Mexico: Mothers Continue the Search for Their Disappeared Children on Their Day (May 13, 2020)

 

National: Government Cuts Paralyze CEAV

Budgetary cuts announced by President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador in the austerity decree of April 23rd will have serious implications for the Executive Commission for Attention to Victims (CEAV), the institution itself has warned.

The CEAV, the central body for the care of victims of crimes and serious human rights violations in Mexico, announced that the 75 percent reduction in expenses “will slow down its essential activities and paralyze its operation.”

In the CEAV publication they indicated that the cuts, among other things, will imply the loss of accommodation and protection of the National Registry of Victims (RENAVI), with all the personal data of more than 34,215 victims; it will not be possible to process the delivery of aid measures for more than five thousand victims per month and that the 1,100 resolutions and 610 judicial procedures in process will be left pending, some of which relate to recommendations of the CNDH, the Inter-American Court, the Inter-American Commission and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner in Mexico.

Given the cuts, opposition legislators and members of civil groups expressed that the government is using the health emergency caused by COVID-19 to block the work of institutions that inconvenience it. Meanwhile the head of the CEAV, Mara Gomez Perez, said that she agrees that the government has to be austere, especially in these times and that the budget is not yet fully defined.

The day after the publication of the CEAV, the head of the Ministry of Finance and Public Credit (SHCP), Arturo Herrera, assured, after a meeting with the head of SEGOB, Olga Sanchez Cordero, and the undersecretary for Human Rights, Alejandro Encinas, that the cuts will not affect human rights issues.

For more information in Spanish:

DECRETO DE AUSTERIDAD PARALIZARÁ FUNCIONAMIENTO DE LA CEAV –  (SEGOB, 2 de junio)

Virtual extinción de la CEAV por el recorte.  (La jornada, 3 de junio)

No tenemos recursos para pagarle al personal: CEAV. (Aristegui Noticias, 2 de junio)

Colapso en Comisión de Víctimas por recorte: despedirán a 60% del personal y no hay ni para la renta. (AnimalPolitco, 2 de junio)

CEAV no será afectada con recortes al gasto: Arturo Herrera (La jornada, 3 de junio)

For more information from SIPAZ:

National: Cuts for Indigenous Women in Violent Situations(May 15, 2020)

National/International: Mexico and IACHR Formalize Reinstallation of IGIE for Ayotzinapa Case (May 11, 2020)

National: Reform Of Law for Protection of Human Rights Defenders and Journalists Debated in Context of Greater Vulnerability in Pandemic (May 26, 2020)

 

National/International: Mexico and IACHR Formalize Reinstallation of IGIE for Ayotzinapa Case

IGIE in previous phase (@Centro PRO DH)

In a statement published on May 7th, the Interior and Foreign Relations Secretariats reported that the Mexican government signed an agreement with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) for the reinstatement of the Interdisciplinary Group of Independent Experts (IGIE).

The objective in this new stage will be to provide international technical assistance for the advancement of investigations and to assist in the preparation of search plans, care for victims and other relevant aspects in the case of the forced disappearance of 43 students from Rural Normal School of Ayotzinapa in Iguala, Guerrero, in September 2014.

The statement explained that the process “was carried out taking into account the representation of the parents of the students, the Office in Mexico of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, as well as the experts themselves who will form part of the International Group of Independent Experts.”

It specified that this action is part of the commitment established in the “Decree that instructs to establish effective material, legal and human conditions to strengthen the human rights of the relatives of the victims of the Ayotzinapa case to truth and access to justice”, issued by President Lopez Obrador on December 4th, 2018 and which raised, among other points, the possibility of passing agreements that allow the IACHR to cooperate.

For more information in Spanish: 

Gobierno de México y CIDH firman acuerdo para reinstalación del GIEI, a fin de seguir brindando asistencia técnica en el caso Ayotzinapa (comunicado completo, 7 de mayo de 2020)

Firman Segob y SRE acuerdo con CIDH para reinstalación del GIEI (La Jornada, 7 de mayo de 2020)

Firman acuerdo de reinstalación de GIEI en caso Ayotzinapa (Aristegui Noticias, 7 de mayo de 2020)

Formalizan reinstalación del GIEI en el caso Ayotzinapa (Regeneración, 8 de mayo de 2020)

Acuerdan México y CIDH reinstalar el GIEI para el caso Ayotzinapa (El Universal, 7 de mayo de 2020)

For more information from SIPAZ:

National/Guerrero: Agreement to Reintroduce Interdisciplinary Group of Independent Experts in Ayotzinapa Case. Number of Disappeared Increases in the Country (January 14, 2020)

 

Guerrero: Attorney General Will Investigate Ayotzinapa Case “Almost from Scratch”(September 25, 2019)

 

Guerrero: New Stage in Investigation of Ayotzinapa Case – Creation of Special Investigation Unit with Omar Gomez Trejo as Head (July 8, 2019)

 

Chiapas: Injunction Granted to Protect Life, Integrity and Security of Displaced Tsotsil Communities in Aldama

© Frayba

On April 28th, the Fray Bartolome de Las Casas Center for Human Rights (Frayba) published a bulletin in which the injunction granted to communities of the Maya Tsotsil people in forced displacement from Aldama is disclosed, this as a result of the petition filed by representatives of communities in said municipality on March 27th.

The third district court, based in Tuxtla Gutierrez, granted an injunction to protect the life, integrity and security of the Aldama communities. This request was made for the “definitive suspension of violence by armed paramilitary civilian groups who act with the acquiescence and tolerance of State officials.” In this sense, the omission of the responsible authorities was denounced in view of compliance with this resolution.

In addition to the aggravation of violence in this area, the communities of Original Peoples are highly vulnerable to the health emergency caused by COVID-19 and the recently announced Phase Three. On the one hand, the population faces attacks with firearms, and on the other, contracting the virus and not having, in any case, guarantees of adequate medical attention. From this perspective, the United Nations Essential Guidelines establish the need to protect the most vulnerable populations, such as communities in forced displacement: “States must apply additional measures in order to address the disproportionate impact that COVID-19 may have on minorities, because of the remote areas where they live, where there is limited access to essential goods and services.”

For this reason, Frayba demanded that the President of the Republic, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador and the Governor of the state of Chiapas, Rutilio Cruz Escandon Cadenas, comply with the judicial mandate and also:

• Guarantee security to “protect the life of the population of the Maya Tsotsil people in the municipality of Aldama, from armed aggressions that intensified since March 24th, 2020.”
• The investigation of the armed aggressions registered since March 2018 that caused the forced displacement of these communities.
• Provide humanitarian care, housing, health, adequate and dignified food for the victims of these forced displacements and in greater vulnerability during the COVID-19 pandemic.

For more information in Spanish:

Otorgan amparo a comunidades del Pueblo Maya Tsotsil en Desplazamiento Forzado(Frayba, 28 abril 2020)

Otorgan amparo a indígenas de Chiapas en desplazamiento forzado (Contralínea, 28 abril 2020)

Indígenas de los Altos de Chiapas, entre el acoso del gobierno y el Covid-19 (La Jornada, 28 abril 2020)

Otorgan amparo para proteger a comunidades de Aldama (Prensa Libre, 29 abril 2020)

For more information from SIPAZ:

Chiapas: “ Not Only COVID Threatens Life” – Las Abejas de Acteal Civil Society (April 25, 2020)

Chiapas: Attacks against Tsotsil Communities in Aldama Continue (April 16, 2020)

Chiapas: Authorities in Santa Martha and Aldama Denounce New Attacks (March 5, 2020)

National: CNDH Requests Cautionary Measures for Cristobal Santiz Jimenez (March 30, 2020)

Chiapas: Por tercera vez en plantón, desplazados de Ejido Puebla, Chenalhó

Chiapas: Death of Displaced Baby Girl from Rio Jordan, Chenalho (February 28, 2020)

 

Chiapas/National: “Denying the Existence of Torture in Mexico Encourages Impunity”, CSO

@Frayba

In a bulletin published on April 16th, the Collective Against Torture and Impunity (CCTI), the World Organization Against Torture (WOAT) and the Group of Litigants in Latin America said that the statements of President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador (AMLO) last April 5th, affirming that in Mexico “we have eradicated torture” contradict “what was sustained by various instances of the United Nations Organization (UN) on their different visits to this country who affirm that torture in Mexico is widespread and systematic”, a perception they share.

As an example of this, between January 2019 and March 2020, the Fray Bartolome de Las Casas Center for Human Rights (Frayba) documented 18 cases of torture perpetrated in the current penal system in Chiapas.

“The practice of torture is rooted and propagated in Mexico. There is mistrust within the new penal system, specifically in the officials in charge of law enforcement for continuing to validate the acts of torture carried out by the police forces, which perpetuate this method as part of their practice of investigating crimes. This is due to the lack of education, training and awareness regarding the new judicial system, where we have verified the lack of technique to investigate, preserve evidence, guard evidence and take care of the chain of custody in the facts”, they maintained.

They also noted that “despite having a General Law to Prevent, Investigate and Punish Torture in Mexico, the Special Prosecutors for the Investigation of the Crime of Torture are unaware of it, which allows this violation of human rights to continue to be committed on a daily basis.”

They ended by urging “the President of the Republic not to use the public health crisis derived from the pandemic by COVID 19, to issue information that goes against the protection, respect and guarantee of human rights, since such circumstances contribute to the climate impunity and favors torture.”

For more information in Spanish:

Negar la existencia de la Tortura en México alienta la impunidad (OSC, 16 de abril de 2020)

AMLO da informe trimestral y plan económico para México por coronavirus (Milenio el 5 de abril de 2020)

Pestes, créditos y abrazos. Informe trimestral de AMLO en 23 frases clave (El Universal el 5 de abril de 2020)

Esto fue lo anunciado por AMLO para México en su informe trimestral (El Imparcial el 5 de abril de 2020)

For more information from SIPAZ:

National: Lopez Obrador Makes Fifth Trimster Report; Assures “We Will Prevail” (April 10, 2020)

National/International: “When Words Are Not Enough” – Amnesty International Report almost One Year after AMLO Takes Office (December 4, 2019)

International/National: Un Human Rights Committee Issues 48 Human Rights Recommendations for Mexico (November 12, 2019)

National/International: CAT Issues Recommendations on Torture in Mexico (May 22, 2019)