Migrants Rights
Migrants in Mexico face a major human rights crisis. A new Amnesty International report highlights the alarming levels of abuse faced by the tens of thousands of Central American irregular migrants that every year attempt to reach the US by crossing Mexico
Persistent failure by the authorities to tackle abuses carried out against irregular migrants has made their journey through Mexico one of the most dangerous in the world. They are left with virtually no access to justice, fearing reprisals and deportation if they complain of abuses
Indigenous human rights defenders have to contend not only with the discrimination and exclusion faced by their communities, but also with the additional risks often involved in actively defending human rights.
Indigenous peoples, particularly women remain discriminated against and marginalized, with high rates of maternal mortality. Extractive industries operating in rural indigenous areas often result in conflict and denial of adequate consultation.
Irregular migrants are the victim of systematic abduction, rape and murder by criminal gangs, but with virtually no recourse to protection or justice.
- Between September 2008 and March 2009, The National Human Rights Commission (CNDH) interviewed 238 victims and witnesses of 198 kidnapping incidents involving migrants:
- 9,758 migrants were kidnapped during the six-month period including at least 57 children.**
- Almost half of the migrants said that public officials were directly responsible for their kidnapping
- Half of the victims observed police colluding with kidnappers during their kidnapping
Despite some welcome measures in recent years, for example better protection of the rights of unaccompanied children and criminalization of people trafficking, this has often in reality failed to prevent and punish abuses against migrants
The Mexican authorities must act to halt the continuing abuse of migrants who are preyed on by criminal gangs while public officials turn a blind eye or even play an active part in kidnappings, rapes and murders.
AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL CALLS ON THE MEXICAN GOVERNMENT TO
- Establish a federal task force to coordinate and implement measures
- Compile and publish data on abuses against migrants and the steps taken to bring those responsible to account, including public officials
- Legislative reforms to ensure access to justice
Read the report - Invisible victims migrants on the move in Mexico
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