Amnesty International
June 21, 2013
The Mexican National Human Rights Commission recently reported that during 2012 alone, it had received 1,921 complaints of human rights violations committed by the armed forces and 802 against federal police.
“Security forces across Mexico continue to target people perceived as the enemy, particularly those believed to have links to drug trafficking – without necessarily possessing any real evidence. This has resulted in arbitrary detentions, torture, enforced disappearances and unlawful killings,” said Rupert Knox, Mexico researcher at Amnesty International. Read more.
The MexicoBlog of the Americas Program, a fiscally sponsored program of the Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR), is written by Laura Carlsen. I monitor and analyze international press on Mexico, with a focus on security, immigration, human rights and social movements for peace and justice, from a feminist perspective. And sometimes I simply muse.
Showing posts with label Amnesty International Mexico. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Amnesty International Mexico. Show all posts
Oct 16, 2012
Mothers search for missing CentAm migrants in Mexico
EFE. Oct. 14: A caravan made up of Central American women whose children went missing in Mexico while trying to reach the United States has set out to try to find out what happened to the migrants.
The caravan - made up of 10 women from Guatemala, 19 from Nicaragua, three from El Salvador and 28 from Honduras - set out Saturday on the 4,600-kilometer (2,858-mile) journey on the so-called "route of the immigrant" in southeast and central Mexico.
"They started today in Guatemala (and) in 24 days they will cover 14 states in southeastern and central Mexico, as well as 23 specific locations in that country identified on the route of the immigrant," a National Roundtable for Migration in Guatemala, or Menamig, spokeswoman told reporters Saturday. Read more.
Oct 11, 2012
Torture cases rise sharply in Mexico, Amnesty International says
LA Times: The human rights group says the Mexican government has 'effectively turned a blind eye' to brutality amid its crackdown on drug cartels.
By Richard Fausset. Oct. 10. MEXICO CITY — A leading human rights group contends that the Mexican government under outgoing President Felipe Calderon has "effectively turned a blind eye" to a dramatic increase in reported instances of torture and abuse by police and the military in recent years, as those forces have been pressured to come down hard on the powerful drug cartels threatening large chunks of the country.
In a report issued Thursday, Amnesty International noted that Mexico's National Human Rights Commission received 1,669 reports of torture and abuse by police and the military in 2011. That number has grown each year since 2008, when the commission received 564 complaints. Many observers believe that those numbers represent a fraction of the actual abuse cases because many victims are afraid to report them. Read more.
By Richard Fausset. Oct. 10. MEXICO CITY — A leading human rights group contends that the Mexican government under outgoing President Felipe Calderon has "effectively turned a blind eye" to a dramatic increase in reported instances of torture and abuse by police and the military in recent years, as those forces have been pressured to come down hard on the powerful drug cartels threatening large chunks of the country.
In a report issued Thursday, Amnesty International noted that Mexico's National Human Rights Commission received 1,669 reports of torture and abuse by police and the military in 2011. That number has grown each year since 2008, when the commission received 564 complaints. Many observers believe that those numbers represent a fraction of the actual abuse cases because many victims are afraid to report them. Read more.
Aug 24, 2012
Seeking justice for Mexico state's female victims
Los Angeles Times: Hundreds of women and girls are killed every year in Mexico state, known as Edomex. One woman who lost her daughter, 14, puts her life at risk to press her case.
By Tracy Wilkinson. ECATEPEC, Mexico — At 14, Jessica Lucero had already lived a hard life. A stint in rehab, dropping out of school, making her way, day in, day out, in a terribly violent, desperately poor neighborhood.
But things were looking up. She had stayed clean and was planning to resume studies. She dreamed of becoming a forensic pathologist.
Then, in June, Jessica was raped by a man she later identified as a notorious neighbor, a known drug pusher. Jessica's reaction was to do something that few people twice her age have ever dared. She went to the authorities and denounced the crime.
Not 30 days later, she was killed, beaten to death with a small boulder. The force of the blow was so strong that her skull left a dint in the ground that would remain for days. Read more.
By Tracy Wilkinson. ECATEPEC, Mexico — At 14, Jessica Lucero had already lived a hard life. A stint in rehab, dropping out of school, making her way, day in, day out, in a terribly violent, desperately poor neighborhood.
But things were looking up. She had stayed clean and was planning to resume studies. She dreamed of becoming a forensic pathologist.
Then, in June, Jessica was raped by a man she later identified as a notorious neighbor, a known drug pusher. Jessica's reaction was to do something that few people twice her age have ever dared. She went to the authorities and denounced the crime.
Not 30 days later, she was killed, beaten to death with a small boulder. The force of the blow was so strong that her skull left a dint in the ground that would remain for days. Read more.
Aug 20, 2012
Documentary Looks at Migrants' Rough Journeys through Mexico
EFE: A documentary about the work of the Rev. Alejandro Solalinde on behalf of Central American migrants making the journey through Mexico discusses the extortion rackets, murders, mass kidnappings and massacres that those looking to reach the United States are subjected to.
"Over five years, he has saved many people from the traffickers of lives who operate in the areas around the train that the Central Americans use on their trip to the United States," Alejandra Islas, who directed "El Albergue" (The Shelter), told Efe.
The documentary, which was made with the support of Amnesty International's Mexico chapter, gives viewers a window into the work of Solalinde, who founded and runs the Hermanos en el Camino shelter, as well as telling the "microstories" of migrants aided by the shelter, which provides a roof, food and "spiritual relief," Islas said. Read more.
"Over five years, he has saved many people from the traffickers of lives who operate in the areas around the train that the Central Americans use on their trip to the United States," Alejandra Islas, who directed "El Albergue" (The Shelter), told Efe.
The documentary, which was made with the support of Amnesty International's Mexico chapter, gives viewers a window into the work of Solalinde, who founded and runs the Hermanos en el Camino shelter, as well as telling the "microstories" of migrants aided by the shelter, which provides a roof, food and "spiritual relief," Islas said. Read more.
Jul 12, 2012
Migrants have become spoils, said the priest Solalinde
CNN Mexico: Americas Program Original Translation
See Spanish Original.
The defender of migrant rights returned to Mexico after a couple months outside the country in response to death threats
The Central American migrants that cross through Mexico to reach the United States have become spoils for organized crime, said the priest in defense of human rights, Alejandro Solalinde, in an interview with the journalist Carmen Aristegui, on CNN in Spanish.
“This is a new method of payment for organized crime through trafficking or exploitive labor: recruitment and kidnapping of youth to make them become hired assassins. This is like slavery, because they do not have a way out without dying”, said Solalinde.
The priest was outside of Mexico for two months, shortly after receiving death threats by presumed organized crime member for the help he gives to migrants who come to his shelter Brothers on the Road, in Ixtepec, in the state of Oaxaca, which receives on average of 200 migrants a day.
According to the National Human Rights Commission (NHRI), Ixtepec, located in the southeast, is one of the high risk zones for migrants in Mexico.
See Spanish Original.
The defender of migrant rights returned to Mexico after a couple months outside the country in response to death threats
The Central American migrants that cross through Mexico to reach the United States have become spoils for organized crime, said the priest in defense of human rights, Alejandro Solalinde, in an interview with the journalist Carmen Aristegui, on CNN in Spanish.
“This is a new method of payment for organized crime through trafficking or exploitive labor: recruitment and kidnapping of youth to make them become hired assassins. This is like slavery, because they do not have a way out without dying”, said Solalinde.
The priest was outside of Mexico for two months, shortly after receiving death threats by presumed organized crime member for the help he gives to migrants who come to his shelter Brothers on the Road, in Ixtepec, in the state of Oaxaca, which receives on average of 200 migrants a day.
According to the National Human Rights Commission (NHRI), Ixtepec, located in the southeast, is one of the high risk zones for migrants in Mexico.
Amnesty reports: Mexico failing to stem femicide
Trust Law: BOGOTA – Killings of women are spreading across Mexico, and the government must do more to protect women from growing violence and discrimination, rights group Amnesty International said on Thursday.
At least 34,000 women were murdered in Mexico between 1985 and 2009. In 2010 alone, 2,418 women were killed, Amnesty said, citing figures from the United Nations and local rights groups in a briefing for a U.N. committe on eliminating discrimination against women.
“The state of women’s rights in Mexico is alarming,” Rupert Knox, Amnesty’s Mexico researcher told TrustLaw. “In recent years there’s been not only an escalation in killings of women but a continuing routine lack of effective investigations and justice.”
Since 2007 Mexico has approved a number of laws and set up institutions to safeguard women from discrimination and violence, but they are not being used effectively, Knox added. Read more.
At least 34,000 women were murdered in Mexico between 1985 and 2009. In 2010 alone, 2,418 women were killed, Amnesty said, citing figures from the United Nations and local rights groups in a briefing for a U.N. committe on eliminating discrimination against women.
“The state of women’s rights in Mexico is alarming,” Rupert Knox, Amnesty’s Mexico researcher told TrustLaw. “In recent years there’s been not only an escalation in killings of women but a continuing routine lack of effective investigations and justice.”
Since 2007 Mexico has approved a number of laws and set up institutions to safeguard women from discrimination and violence, but they are not being used effectively, Knox added. Read more.
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