On 10 May, human rights defender and mother of a disappeared daughter Miriam Elizabeth Rodriquez Martinez was murdered in the state of Tamaulipas. May 10 is Mother’s Day in Mexico, and for the last 6 years on this date, family members of the disappeared in different parts of the country have carried out the “March for National Dignity: Mothers in Search of their Sons, Daughters, Truth, and Justice”.
In a recent opinion column, Jan Jarab, representative of the OHCHR in Mexico, analysed the security situation of journalists and HRDs in Mexico and characterized the first four months of 2017 as “chilling”, due to the murder of at least five journalists, two HRDs, and two guards assigned to protect beneficiaries of the National Protection Mechanism.
The Mexican government must guarantee protections for those who search for disappeared relatives and address the crisis of disappearances in the country
In a communique published in May, Services for an Alternative Education (EDUCA) denounced that in the first half of the year, the civil society organization suffered defamation, aggressions and criminalization due to their work in defense and promotion of human rights.
To mark the third anniversary of the mass disappearance which occurred in May 2015 in Chilapa, Guerrero, civil society organizations including the José Maria Morelos y Pavon Human Rights Center, the Tlachinollan Human Rights Center (both organizations accompanied by PBI) and the Collective Against Torture and Impunity (CCTI) organized the forum “Victims of a Failed State: Disappearances, Executions and Displacements”, which took place on 11 May in the Congressional Building in Chilpancingo. PBI observed the event.
Mexico City, 12 May 2017.– Don't miss our May Newsletter for the latest news on Human Rights in Mexico!
Topics include: IACHR Mechanism to Ayotzinapa case visit Mexico; Legislative initiatives on Disappearance and Torture; Accompaniment Consortium Oaxaca; Protection Measures to the Choreachi community; Accompaniment tour in the State of Coahuila; amongst others.
During the month of April, during the first period of ordinary sessions of Congress, legislative advances were made with regard to the General Law to Prevent, Investigate and Sanction Torture and Other Cruel, Inhumane or Degrading treatment and the General Law on Forced Disappearance and Disappearance Committed by Individuals.
Abel Barrera Hernandez, Director and founder of the Tlachinollan Human Rights Center, an organization accompanied by PBI, received an honorary mention on 29 March from the Franco Alemán Gilberto BosquesHuman Rights Award.
In April, PBI travelled to Saltillo and Torreon, Coahuila in order to meet with members of the Juan Gerardi Human Rights Center, an organization that has received PBI accompaniment since 2013. On 26 April the organization celebrated 18 years of work promoting a human rights culture through the Jesús Torres Migrant Day Center and the collective of relatives United Forces for our Disappeared in Coahuila – Mexico (FUUNDEC-M).
In April, the Don Sergio Méndez Arceo National Human Rights Award, the winners of which are chosen by Mexican civil society organizations, was presented in Cuernavaca. This year, the award was granted to Sister Leticia Gutiérrez Valderrama, a missionary and member of SMR Scalabrinianas who accompany and protect migrants in Mexico.