Mexico, DF, 15th May 2012
PRESS RELEASE
On May 21, father Alejandro Solalinde Guerra will begin a two-week speaking tour in three European countries: Spain, Italy and Switzerland, in coordination with Peace Brigades International (PBI), where the Mexican defender will present the vulnerabilities and risks to human rights defenders in Mexico and his work as an advocate for the rights of migrants.
The context of the tour coincides with a new series of threats against Father Solalinde. In recent weeks, the defender and director of the shelter, Hermanos en el Camino in Ixtepec City (Oaxaca), has reported death threats against him between March 31 and April 15 and demanded that the authorities find and prosecute those responsible for these acts.
By virtue of the accompaniment provided by PBI to Father Solalinde and the Ixtepec shelter staff since 2010, PBI had previously committed to organizing a tour in Europe with the aim of strengthening the international support network and the attention to human rights violations facing migrants and those who offer humanitarian aid in Mexico.
The priest will meet with parliamentarians and members of the governments of Spain, Switzerland and Italy. Besides meeting with universities, organizations and foundations in these countries, Father Solalinde will meet with United Nations entities in Geneva, such as the Special Rapporteurs on the situation of human rights defenders and the human rights of migrants.
For PBI, Father Solalinde is a paradigmatic case of aggressions against human rights defenders in Mexico and the lack of protection and vulnerability to which they are exposed to. Peace Brigades International urges the authorities to provide the necessary mechanisms for Father Solalinde to continue his work defending and promoting the rights of migrants and the appropriate investigations to find and punish the aggressors.
PBI has accompanied Father Alejandro Solalinde since 2010 and, together with the Dimensión Pastoral de la Movilidad Humana and Amnesty International, has worked to bring attention and international support for his work in defense of migrant's rights and the risk faced by the priest and the shelter staff.
Press Conference (Centro Nacional de Comunicación Social, A.C.)
Additional information
Since 2007, Father Solalinde has reported numerous cases of public corruption and kidnapping against the migrant population, which has exposed him to attacks and intimidation. For this reason, on April 23, 2010 the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (OAS) granted precautionary measures to ensure his life and physical integrity.
PBI has recently observed an increase in attacks on human rights defenders in Oaxaca. Since April, other defenders accompanied by PBI in the state have reported work-related threats against them. Peace Brigades has expressed its concerns to the Federal and State authorities and the need to implement the appropriate measures for their protection.
On April 30th of this year, the Chamber of Deputies unanimously approved the draft ruling of the Law for a Protection Mechanism for Human Rights Defenders and Journalists. Mexican civil society organizations involved in the process have asked the executive branch to expedite the process in order to "ensure that the Law takes full effect as soon as possible." PBI highlights the importance of following the development of operational guidelines and developing the protocols to implement the Protection Mechanism for Human Rights Defenders presented by the Mexican Interior Ministry and which stemmed from the presidential decree signed on July 2011, in dialogue with the civil society organizations.
For more information
Tel.: +52 1 55 55142855
E-mail: oficinadf(at)pbi-mexico.org
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Twitter: @PBI_Mexico