Mexico: Condemning attack against international human rights observers in Oaxaca

 

On April 27th a convoy of human rights observers was attacked by an armed group in the state of Oaxaca, Mexico. Two people are confirmed killed- Beatriz Alberta Cariño, head of ESCR-Net member CACTUS (Community Working Together Support Center), and Jiry Antero Jaakkola, a citizen of Finland accompanying the convoy.

We have sent a letter condemning the attack against this convoy of human and urging Mexican authorities to:

  • Provide immediate effective protection to the victim's family, those who witnessed the attack, and the communities involved, according to their wishes;
  • Make public immediately all information regarding the incident and events of April 27th;
  • Assure that injured persons still located in the area of the incident are able to leave, and that they are attended to without delay;
  • Carry out an independent, immediate, exhaustive and impartial investigation into the above-described facts, with the objective of identifying those responsible, trying them in a competent, independent, just and impartial court, and applying the appropriate penal and/or administrative sanctions as set out in the law as well as appropriate reparations;
  • Take all immediate steps necessary to end the aggression, harassment, and violence suffered by human rights defenders in Mexico, and in particular the Triqui indigenous community and its human rights colleagues;
  • Apply the articles set out in the Declaration on Human Rights Defenders, adopted by the UN General Assembly on December 9th, 1998, especially in relation to the protection of the right of each person "individually or in association with others, to promote and to" (Art. 1), and in relation to the obligation of the state to strive for the protection and realization of human rights and fundamental freedoms at the national and international levels guarantee "the protection...of everyone, individually and in association with others,de facto or de jure adverse discrimination," (Art. 12.2); against any violence, threats, retaliation, pressure or any other arbitrary action as a consequence of his or her legitimate exercise of the rights referred to in the present Declaration
  • Guarantee the respect for human rights and fundamental liberties throughout the country, in accordance with the international human rights norms signed and ratified by Mexico.

See the complete letter (English) here.

Read also the follow-up statement by UN experts on the incident: "Human rights defenders continue to pay with their lives in Mexico."

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