Desde PBI observamos acciones importantes por parte del nuevo gobierno de AMLO que favorecen la protección de las personas defensoras de derechos humanos en México, mientras que al mismo tiempo notamos algunas otras tendencias que nos preocupan. En este artículo, miramos algunos de los logros y los retos para el nuevo gobierno y las reacciones por parte de la sociedad civil mexicana e internacional sobre las primeras semanas del gobierno de MORENA.
"Mexico should assure the rights of association, reunion, protest and liberty of expression of Alejandro Cerezo, in every way possible, including diplomatic activities, especially in the cases recognised as criminalisation of defence, as is the that of the Comité Cerezo Mexico."
"México debe asegurar los derechos de asociación, reunión, protesta y libertad de expresión de Alejandro Cerezo, por todos los medios disponibles, incluidas las gestiones diplomáticas, especialmente en casos reconocidos de criminalización de la defensa, como es el del Comité Cerezo México."
2018 has been a challenging year for human rights across the world. Many of those defending human rights have been threatened, attacked and undermined, despite the celebration of 20 years of the UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders. PBI remains committed to protecting the space in which human rights defenders continue their arduous work in steadfast conviction that only when this protection is truly guaranteed will peaceful and democratic societies advance across the world.
On the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the United Nations Declaration on Human Rights Defenders (henceforth, the Declaration), Peace Brigades International (PBI) invited 13 human rights defenders who are accompanied by the 7 PBI projects on a tour that would take them through 10 European countries.
On 19th June 2016, during a protest by the teacher-training college and member of the communities of Asunción, Nochixtlán, San Pablo Huitzo, San Franzisco Telixtlahuaca, Hacienda Blanca and Viguera that requested a dialgoue with the Federal Government in order to revise the educational reforms, many participants were seriously assaulted by different security forces in an attempt to halt the protest.
On 7th January 2018, after a violent incident in the community La Concepción (Guerrero) that caused the death of eight people, a security operative took place where three people lost their lives and at least 25 were detained, the majority of whom are members of the Ejidos and Communities Council Opposed to La Parota Dam (CECOP).
From the 9th til 13th April, a delegation of lawyers from Spain visited the North of Mexico and Mexico City in order to hear first-hand accounts and to draw attention to the situation that lawyers who defend human rights find themselves in, they also wished to understand the state of implementation of the general laws of torture and forced disappearance as well as the strategies that the organisations and defenders use against the Internal Security Law.
PBI and other international organizations sent a shadow report about the situation of economic, social and cultural rights defenders for the review of the Mexican State by the UN Committee on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights. This report highlights the extreme vulnerability faced by people who defend land and territory, as well as the types of aggressions that they face, which include threats, intimidation and criminalization.
