Indigenous Peoples

Several national and international human rights organisms and entities have identified that those human rights defenders who work on issues of land, territory and natural resources have been historically placed at the center of social and armed conflicts. This new publication includes the participation of human rights defenders from Coahuila, Chihuahua, Oaxaca, Guerrero and Mexico State, as well as organizations that work at the national level.

On 11 August in Chihuahua City, a discussion took place about the “exercise of the right to Tribunal Consultation.” The event was organized by the Sierra Madre Alliance A.C. (ASMAC), with the participation of the Community Technical Consultation (CONTEC) and the Mexican Center for Environmental Law (CEMDA).

On 27 July the Focal Group on Businesses and Human Rights made a statement and held a press conference to announce that they were stepping away from the process of creating the National Program for Businesses and Human Rights (PNEDH) because the proposal from the Mexican government did not meet the international standards established by the United Nations Guiding Principles.

In the context of the Global Day of Action Against Open-Pit Mining and the State Day of Rebellion Against Mining, civil society organizations commemorated their fight for their land and territory. Inhabitants of the communities of the Ejutla Valley and Ocotlán, Oaxaca, demanded that state and federal governments put a stop to the exploration and expansion on their land by the Canadian company Fortuna Silver Mines – this will be due to a lack of consultation with them and the risk faced by land and territory in the state of Oaxaca.

In the last few months the José María Morelos y Pavón Human Rights Center – an organization accompanied by PBI – has noted on several occasions the persistent problem of forced displacement in Guerrero, especially in the communities of Chilapa de Álvarez and Zitlala.

On 13 July 2017, the first roundtable discussions with regard to the Contingency Plan took place at the Chihuahua State Governor´s Office. The Plan is part of the early warning system for human rights defenders and journalists.

The UN Working Group on Human Rights and Transnational Corporations and other Business enterprises presented the report on their 2016 Mission to Mexico to the UN Human Rights Council (HRC).

On 9 June, the Governor of the State of Chihuahua, Javier Corral, and the Under Secretary of Human Rights from the Secretary of the Interior, Roberto Campa Cifrian, signed the Contingency Plan which was created from the early warning system for the protection of human rights defenders and journalists in Chihuahua.

On May 30, 31 and June 1, in Mexico City, the Latin American Meeting “Strategies of Protection for the defence of territory” was held. With the support of ProtectDefenders.eu, this event was organised by a group of international, regional and local organisations that support processes for the protection of human rights defenders, especially those who work in the defence of land and territory.

According to a recent communique from ProDESC, on 17 March the Sixth District Judge located in Salina Cruz in the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, Oaxaca, ruled that the appeal by the Popular Assembly of the Juchiteco People (APPJ), which was filed on 19 August 2015, was denied.