Mexico: “Attacks on Human Rights Activists and Journalists Also Come from the State” – Undersecretary of Government Relations

Coordinator of Amnesty International in Mexico, Daniel Zapico; the Executive Secretary of the National Network of Human Rights Organizations, Agnieszka Raczynska; the Director of the National Center for Social Communication, Brisa Maya, and the UnderSecretary of Human Rights of the Secretariat of Government Affairs, Lia Limon
Photo Francisco Olvera

La Jornada: Fernando Camacho Servín

Translated by Evan Brown

The attacks that have been suffered by journalists and human rights activists cannot be attributed only to organized crime groups, but to some public servants as well, admitted Undersecretary of Legal Affairs and Human Rights Lía Limón of the Secretariat of Government Affairs.

“The new administration recognizes that human rights activists and journalists suffer attacks that are the responsibility of not only organized crime, but other guilty parties as well, among which can be included government officials”, revealed the official while participating in the forum The Mexican Government’s Duty to Ensure the Safety of Human Rights Activists and Journalists.

After emphasizing the importance of the critical roles these professions play in a democratic state, the Undersecretary lamented the fact that – according to figures from the United Nations – a total of 66 journalists have been killed in Mexico between 2000 and 2010, and 12 more have disappeared between 2005 and 2010.

Likewise, she noted that in 2007 there were 40 attacks committed against human rights activists, a figure which increased to 78 between 2009 and 2010 alone.

Limón welcomed the progress signified by the approval of the Law for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders and Journalists – as well as the mechanism charged with putting it into practice – and reported that so far they have received 16 applications for protection (2 from journalists and 14 from activists), of which 6 have already resulted in the assigning of bodyguards.

Moreover, the official assured that the federal government does not intend to dissolve the National Protection Mechanism for Human Rights Defenders and Journalists, as feared by the members of the advisory board of the agency, who last week complained that point 29 of the so-called Pact for Mexico proposes to create a new agency to protect them.

“There is no intention to remove the mechanism, only to strengthen it. I ask for your vote of confidence”, she said.

Agnieszka Raczynska, president of the advisory board mentioned above and member of the organization All Rights for All Women and Men, denounced the fact that despite the creation of said law and its mechanism, the Mexican government has failed to protect activists and journalists alike, as the attacks have not stopped.

The activist said that her colleagues face violence attributed not only to organized crime groups and the government, but also to businessmen and political parties. She emphasized that a majority of the activists have been attacked by the army and police in rural and remote areas of Oaxaca, Guerrero, Chihuahua, and Chiapas, among others.

Brisa Maya Solis, director of the National Center for Social Communication, agreed that the promoters of individual rights and journalists have also been frequently attacked by business groups, and requested that the protection mechanism be granted sufficient financial resources to act. Spanish original