Coahuila

According to the National Human Rights Commission (CNDH), during 2017 the number of refugees rose by 578%, and the Mexican Commission for Refugee Assistance recognised that there is a total of 14,594 people requesting refuge in Mexico.  In response, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees is collaborating with various refuges in the South of the country and with the Casa del Migrante de Saltillo in Coahila, to help extend spaces and attend the growing number of refugees.

The Director of the Saltillo Migrant Shelter, Alberto Xicoténcatl was invited by Peace Brigades International to participate in several events in Europe  with the goal of increasing the visibility to the work carried out by migrant and refugee rights defenders in the state of Coahuila, and the high level of risk associated with their work. In Bilbao, the Spanish Commission to Support Refugees – Euskadi held an event titled “Protecting those who defend” which brought together Special Rapporteur on the situation of HRDs Michel Forst, with human rights defenders from Latin America and the Sahara, and European organizations to reflect on protection needs, strategies, and the specific risks faced by human rights defenders.

During the week of 29 October to 3 November, PBI traveled to the Carbon Region in the State of Coahuila to accompany the Pasta de Conchos Family Organization (OFPC).

On 6 November the Human Rights Clinic from the University of Texas published a report titled, “”Control… over the entire state of Coahuila” together in collaboration with the Fray Juan de Larios Diocese Center for Human Rights (FJDL). The report collects testimonies that were given during different hearings in the United States, and highlights the serious human rights violations in the region.

In September, PBI provided international accompaniment to civil society organizations who defend the rights of migrants in in the state of Coahuila and who face risks due to their work. According to the report by the Citizens Council of the National Migration Institute (INM), in July 2017 the migrant population was subject to “violence and the excessive use of force by INM agents and other security forces in control and detention operatives” and crimes committed against migrants are met with impunity.

In a press conference, the Network for Documentation of Migrant Defense Organizations (REDODEM) presented the Report, “Migrants in Mexico: traveling on a path of violence.” In this report, the more than 20 organizations that make up the Network – including the Juan Gerardi Human Rights Center and the Brothers on the Path Migrant Shelter — both accompanied by PBI – highlighted the problem of “human mobility due to violence” and demanded respect for the rights of the migrant population in transit and to put an end to the criminalization of people who defend and promote these rights.

The International Federation of Human Rights (Fidh) and the Fray Juan de Larios Human Rights Center (FJdL) – an organization accompanied by PBI – delivered a report to the International Criminal Court (ICC) on 6 July in which they requested an investigation for crimes against humanity committed in the state of Coahuila between 2009 and 2016.

Between 12 and 22 May, the Caravan in Search of the Disappeared Alive – made up of collectives from 25 cities and 12 states in Mexico and the US — took place in the municipalities of Torreon, Saltillo, Monclova, Allende and Piedras Negras, Coahuila.

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).

On 17 March, the Saltillo Migrant House participated in a thematic hearing requested by several human rights organizations entitled “Mexico: Applicants for Asylum and Refugee Status” convened by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) in Washington DC. During this hearing, representatives of Mexican civil society and the Federal Government discussed the current human rights situation of people who requested asylum and refugee status in the country.