On Tuesday 15 December 2009, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights published its first judgement condemning the Mexican State in relation to a person detained and disappeared during the Dirty War. This was the case of Rosendo Radilla Pacheco. Mr Radilla was forcibly disappeared after being detained at a military checkpoint in Atoyac de Álvarez, in the state of Guerrero, in August 1974. The Court established the Mexican State's responsibility for the violation of Rosendo Radilla’s rights to life, liberty and personal integrity. Read More
PBI interviewed Humberto Guerrero, legal director of the Mexican Commission for the Defence and Promotion of Human Rights (CMDPDH). The Commission acts as the Radilla family’s legal representative in the case.
PBI : How did the CMDPDH feel when the Inter-American Court of Human Rights published its judgement on the Radilla case?
Humberto Guerrero : We were very happy; we have great expectations regarding the judgement and its implications. It represented the culmination of many years of struggle by the victims’ relatives, and many years of legal preparation by the various lawyers who had already dealt with the case. The judgement represented the culmination of all this work by a large number of people. It represents a step forward for justice in Mexico.
What is your opinion of the advances made by the Mexican State in terms of complying with the judgement?
The steps taken have been a little “lukewarm”, as there is little clarity as to how the government will fulfil certain very important aspects of the judgement. We recognise that the government has accepted the obligatory nature of the judgement and its resolutions, but, on the other hand, we have also noted contradictory messages in regard to some aspects that are problematic for the government: the issue of investigations, or particular legislative reforms. That is where we are unclear as to what the government’s real will is in terms of complying with the judgement.<media 6151> Download the entire Interview (pdf)</media>
The PBI Mexico team began to provide accompaniment to Tita Radilla, vice-president of the Association of Relatives of the Detained, Disappeared, and Victims of Human Rights Abuses in Mexico (AFADEM ) in August 2003. Learn More about this Accompaniment.
More PBI interviews about the Radilla Case :
<media 6067>Entrevista15 Head of the Mexican Ministry of Interior's Human Rights Unit comments on the IACHR judgement (february 2010)</media>
<media 5978>Entrevista14 Tita Radilla comments on the IACHR judgement on his father’s case (february 2010)</media>
<media 3480>Entrevista 6 AFADEM CMDPDH: Demand for Justice for the Disappeared from the Dirty War (july 2009)</media>