Mexico City, 2 September 2015.– PBI co-wrote with ISHR a new report that concludes that States must consult human rights defenders when developing laws and policies to tackle organised crime and drugs problems, and should sanction authorities who defame activists through smear campaigns. This report was produced to be submitted to the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) in view of the upcoming Special session of the General Assembly on the world drug problem to be held in 2016.

             Photo: Mexican police during a parade © PBI Mexico

A large percentage of drugs consumed worldwide, and the vast majority of cocaine, are produced in or trafficked through Latin America, with a huge presence of organised crime groups dedicated to drugs trafficking throughout the continent. Latin America is also a very dangerous place to defend human rights. In a report this year Frontline Defenders showed it to be the region with the highest number of murders of HRDs, accounting for 101 of the 130 HRDs killed in 2014, whilst PBI receives the majority of its requests for protective accompaniment from Latin American activists.

In January 2015, ISHR interviewed 75 HRDs from 20 countries across the Americas. The information compiled from these ground level activists coincided with information provided by HRDs to PBI in its field projects in Colombia, Guatemala, Honduras and Mexico. This information showed that both the presence of organised crime related to drug trafficking, and the current methods and strategies with which States respond to this issue, imply increased and specific risks for HRDs.

This report complements that first-hand information with secondary research to demonstrate that changes must be made to drugs policy and HRD protection policy if HRDs are to be protected and if States are to guarantee them their rights as set out in the United Nations Declaration on the Right and Responsibility of Individuals, Groups and Organs of Society to Promote and Protect Universally Recognized Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders).

The emphasis of this report is on the situation in Mexico, which has been on the front lines of the so-called ‘war on drugs’ for at least the past nine years. However, the report also includes specific examples from Colombia, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti and Honduras, as well as general conclusions taken from ISHR’s Latin America consultations. 

The report is available here: bit.ly/HRDsVsOC