For PBI, as for many other civil society organisations, 2017 posed significant challenges. The six years of President Enrique Peña Nieto’s administration have been characterised by a continuation of the widely-questioned security policies initiated during the presidency of his predecessor Felipe Calderón, and by a marked reduction in the political space available to Mexican and international civil society organisations.
From the 17th til the 23rd of July this year, three human rights defenders from Mexico, Guatemala and Honduras left their homes and headed North of the contient in order to participate in a speaker tour organised by PBI in Washington DC. The tours we organise to the United States are always aimed at shedding light on the security situation for human rights defenders before key actors who can advocate in some way to improve their protection on the ground.
On this 30th June we remember our dear Alberto (“Beto”) Donis Rodriguez who died a year ago in a car accident. PBI had the priviledge of accompanying Beto in his role as Coordinator of the Mirgant Refuge “Hermanos en el Camino” en Ixtepex, Oaxaca.
Beto began travelling to North at the age of 19. He was born and raised in Santa Rosa, Guatemala and then went to work in the Guatemala City. The violence forced him to seek alternatives. He crossed the border four times and was deported after many difficult experiences on his journeys.
Interview with Verónica Vidal, Coordinator of the Association for Women´s Rights and Development (AWID)
Valentina Rosendo Cantú, indigenous me´phaa woman, originally from the community of Caxitepec, municipality of Acatepec in the high mountains of Guerrero, was victim of sexual torture by military members in 2002, a case in which the responsability of the Mexican State was decided by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACHR) in August 2010.
Chihuahua is one of the most dangerous areas of Mexico for the defense of human rights and journalism. According to the National Network of Civilian Human Rights Organisms “All Rights for All” (Red TDT), Chihuahua is the state with the highest number of human rights defenders killed and the state with the second highest number of journalists killed. Considering these attacks, a high percentage of human rights defenders count on precautionary protection measures given by the Inter-American Commi
On 7th January 2018, after a violent incident in the community La Concepción (Guerrero) that caused the death of eight people, a security operative took place where three people lost their lives and at least 25 were detained, the majority of whom are members of the Ejidos and Communities Council Opposed to La Parota Dam (CECOP).
On 1st July 2018 general elections will take place in Mexico, which as well as determining the presidency for the next 6 years, coincide with several local elections. These will be the largest elections in Mexican history with 3,400 positions being decided.
The past two sessions (167 and 168) of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACHR) in 2018, saw a panorama of hearings about Mexico which offer a bleak overview of the human rights situation in the country. These cases confirm the human rights crisis that the IACHR observed in their insitu visit to Mexico in 2015. The impacts of public security policies and the prevalence of impunity in cases of human rights violations were also highlighted. These violations not only represent obstacles for the development of peaceful societies, but also represent serious challenges f
Read about PBI´s work in Mexico in 2017, taken from PBI´s Annual Review 2017, with information on our work in Colombia, Honduras, Guatemala, Indonesia, Kenya and Nepal as well as updates on the activities in our country groups, an overview of how we spend our funds, where our 399 volunteers come from and testimonies from those we accompany throughout the world.