President Felipe Calderón’s bill would keep intact the structures that currently promote impunity for military abuses;Mexico would be no closer to complying with its international human rights obligations with this bill, including its duty to implement the binding orders of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights

It is important to consider and remember the basic context of a human rights defender, as described in the Declaration, on the right and duty of individuals, groups and institutions to promote and protect human rights and fundamental civil liberties acknowledged in “the United Nations Declaration on Human Rights Defenders”; its first article states: “Everyone has the right, individually and in association with others, to promote and to strive for the protection and realization of human rights and fundamental freedoms at the national and international levels.”

An employee of the Human Rights Center Fray Bartolome de Las Casas (Frayba) was brutally attacked on September 18th. The attack occurred in Ejido Jotola, in the municipality of Chilon. The attackers were armed and are members of OPDDIC – the Organization for the Defense of the Rights of Indigenous and Campesinos. Because of the seriousness of the attack, please find below the Frayba press release in its entirety.

Tomorrow, the 10th of February, the Mexican state will be examined by the Human Rights Council of the United Nations, via the Universal Periodic Review (UPR), a body in whose creation Mexico was a driving force.