“People are disappeared every day, women seeking their relatives are attacked and threatened, around 10 women are murdered daily, relatives of femicide victims experience institutional violence on a daily basis, while journalists and human rights defenders are attacked and threatened for their work,” warned this Wednesday during the presentation of the annual 2023 human rights report.
“Inequality, corruption, and impunity continue to prevail in the country, and as if all this were not enough, the daily bread of each morning (by President Andrés Manuel López Obrador) are the attacks on civil society organizations, journalists, or any collective organization that slightly dissents from government decisions,” listed the activist in the Mexico section.
“This 2024 comes with enormous challenges in human rights for our country, thousands of people continue to be victims of state violence and criminal groups, those who practice journalism and human rights defense face great risks, attacks, and threats,” AI indicated.
“In hundreds of communities, people continue to defend their territories and the environment, gender violence and femicides do not cease, impunity still prevails and women protest in the streets against the state’s indifference.”
The report documents human rights concerns in 155 countries during 2023. It also reviews economic crises, climate change, and environmental degradation that disproportionately affect marginalized communities, as well as the rights of women and girls and those of LGBTI people.
In the Mexican case, it highlights those homicides and enforced disappearances have increased in the 16 years that the military has been involved in public security operations.
It recalled that although the National Human Rights Commission (CNDH) determined that members of the Armed Forces and the National Guard have committed serious human rights violations in 28 cases, including several international crimes such as torture, extrajudicial executions, and enforced disappearances, the federal government continues to give more power to the military.
The document also states that at least five journalists were murdered in 2023 for reasons possibly related to their work.
“Freedom of expression continued to be at risk in Mexico during 2023, Mexico is the most dangerous country for practicing journalism in the Western Hemisphere,” said Olivares.
In addition, she cited that the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights reported that at least 13 human rights defenders had been murdered in 2023.
AI also said that Mexico has pending issues in protecting the right to life and security of migrants, asylum seekers, and refugees.
Femicides, Disappearances Persist…
“In Mexico, the state does not take care of us, we are taken care of by collectives, organizations, our relatives,” accused Olivares Ferreto.
The activist warned that the number of cases of sexual violence and femicide remains high and is not being investigated with due diligence.
According to figures from the Executive Secretariat of the National Public Security System, she exemplified, 9 women were murdered every day in Mexico in 2023.
Regarding the number of missing or unaccounted-for persons, it was reported that the National Search Commission (CNB) registered at least 12,031 new cases of missing and unlocated persons in 2023, of which 8,426 are men, 3,596 are women, and 9 remained unidentified.
It was lamented that those searching for their missing relatives were exposed to serious dangers, such as enforced disappearance, homicide, repression, and threats.
As for the right to a healthy environment, the AI report recalled that in 2023 the construction of the Maya Train continued, even though it represents a threat to the ecosystem, according to experts and activists.
Olivares recalled that Mexico presented its examination before the United Nations Human Rights Council in 2023 and that more than 100 countries collected the Recommendations made by over 300 NGOs.
“In May, the Mexican State has the opportunity to accept these recommendations and begin a follow-up work hand in hand with victims or human rights organizations,” he highlighted.
Attending the report presentation were Bibiena Mendoza Negrete, member of the collective Hasta Encontrarte; Alberto Amaro, journalist from Tlaxcala; and Miguel López, defender of indigenous rights from Puebla.
Source: Reforma
