Chilpancingo, Guerrero, 10 February 2014. Today the National Network of Human Rights Organizations “All Rights For Everyone” (Red TDT) presented the book Acompañando la Esperanza (Accompanying Hope) in the state of Guerrero. The book is part of Defendamos la Esperanza (Defending Hope), a national campaign for human rights defenders. The event took place in the state's capital, Chilpancingo with the presence of the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), the Tlachinollan Human Rights Center, the Mexican Institute of Human Rights and Democracy (IMDHyD) and the José María Morelos y Pavón Human Rights Center. Several local organizations and human rights defenders, as well as indigenous community authorities from the region of La Montaña, journalists and PBI attended the event.
Javier Hernández, OHCHR's representative in Mexico, mentioned that international human rights mechanisms officially recognize the right of human rights defenders to carry out their work.
Edgar Cortez, researcher at the IMDHyD, emphasized the impunity that prevails regarding crimes and violations committed against human rights defenders. He argued that Mexico's justice system must investigate such crimes and punish their perpetrators. Cortez also said that human rights defenders in Guerrero are often victims of defamation campaigns, which makes campaigns such as Defendamos la Esperanza even more important to counter this situation.
Manuel Olivares, from the José María Morelos y Pavón Human Rights Center, highlighted the similarities between the stories of Acompañando la Esperanza and those of defenders in Guerrero. There are hundreds of women and men who struggle for the rights of their communities and suffer harassment as a result of their work.
Tlachinollan's director, Abel Barrera, mentioned the situation of invisibility that indigenous communities from La Montaña face and their struggle for their rights. He also denounced the impunity in the state, in contrast to the imprisonment of members from the Regional Coordination of Community Authorities (CRAC). In this regard, Barrera called for an end to the arbitrary use of the justice system to criminalize human rights defenders.
Finally, Agnieszka Raczynska, Executive Secretary of the Red TDT, the organization behind the campaign, drew attention to the threats, defamation and attacks against human rights defenders in Guerrero, including against Tlachinollan. According to Raczynska, Guerrero and Oaxaca are the most dangerous states in Mexico in which to defend human rights. She argued that community human rights defenders face the highest levels of risk.
The participants agreed that the stories of human rights defenders in Mexico are similar to one another regarding the situation of risk they face.
Defendamos la Esperanza aims to give visibility to the important work carried out by human rights defenders throughout the country, as well as to expose the situation of risk which they face. The campaign organizers maintain that the lack of knowledge and recognition of the work of those who defend human rights is one of the main factors that lead to violations against human rights defenders1.
The campaign highlights experiences in the defense and promotion of human rights: “each one shows the stories, the faces and the testimonies of these brave people who tirelessly defend human rights. Through them, we illustrate not only the organizations' work but also that of the victims, their families and the impunity that prevails in each one of the cases”2.
The book Acompañando la Esperanza compiles these stories.
PBI supports the campaign and Mexican civil society's effort to give visibility to the work of human rights defenders. Initiatives such as this are fundamental in raising public awareness about the defense of human rights in Mexico. PBI calls on the authorities to support the campaign and to publicly recognize the legitimacy and importance of the work carried out by human rights defenders throughout the country.
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