Dear Mr. Gómez Robledo,
We are writing to express our deep concern for the alleged threats and attacks against human rights defenders in the state of Guerrero. We are particularly worried about the safety of individuals who continue to be subject to attacks despite the fact that the Inter-American Court of Human Rights has issued provisional measures in their favor. The international organizations signing this letter respectfully urge you to immediately implement the security measures necessary to ensure that human rights defenders can carry out their activities freely and safely.
As you know, states have a special obligation to protect human rights defenders against risks that they may face as a direct result of their work. According to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), "the work of human rights promotion and protection carried out by persons under [states'] jurisdiction at their own initiative is a legitimate activity that contributes to the fulfillment of an essential obligation of the states, and, therefore, gives rise to special obligations of the states to ensure the protection of those who are engaged in the promotion and protection of such rights. In a democratic society human rights activities should not only be protected, but encouraged."
The Inter-American Court of Human Rights clearly established Mexico's obligation to protect human rights defenders in Guerrero when it granted provisional measures in favor of 107 defenders and their families living in that state. In April 2009, the Court held that these people appeared to be "in an extremely grave and urgent situation, given that their lives and physical integrity would be threatened and in grave risk." The Court based its decision on information provided by the IACHR, which stated that these defenders had suffered an increased number of "alleged threats and acts of violence" during the first months of 2009, including intimidation, being followed, and phone tapping. It also took into consideration that the bodies of Manuel Ponce Rosas and Raúl Lucas Lucía, two human rights defenders who had been allegedly kidnapped by the ministerial police in Guerrero in February 2009, appeared several days later with visible signs of torture.
The Inter-American Court ordered the Mexican government to protect the lives and physical integrity of the beneficiaries of the provisional measures, and to coordinate with them to ensure the protective measures are implemented diligently and effectively.
However, the government has failed to adequately implement basic security measures it agreed with the Tlachinollan Human Rights Center, the Guerrero-based NGO that took these cases to the Inter-American system. These include providing cellular and satellite phones to some beneficiaries, and police protection through twice-daily visits to the homes of the widows of Mr. Ponce Rosas and Mr. Lucas Lucía and police escorts upon request.
According to Tlachinollan, the sole measure to date that the government has fully implemented is the distribution of 6 cellular phones and 2 satellite phones for the 107 beneficiaries. Even then some phones do not function properly. More disturbingly, we've received reports that the state has failed to provide the police protection it promised the widows. On the first day state police officers were supposed to escort Margarita Martín de las Nieves, the widow of Mr. Ponce Rosas, back to her home after a meeting with government officials, it failed to do so, putting her at risk. According to Tlachinollan staff members, although the state police had promised to escort Ms. Martín de las Nieves home after the meeting on June 24, they could not reach the police chief at the phone numbers they were supposed to call once the meeting was over. Thus, Ms. Martín de las Nieves left without a police escort. When, following the meeting, she was returning by truck with her brother-in-law-who is also subject to the Court's protective measures-and his wife, an unidentified man crouching alongside the road at an intersection opened fire on them but did not hit anyone. The driver accelerated and the man fired twice more in their direction. The assailant pursued them on foot until the truck carrying Ms. Martín de las Nieves was able to escape.
As of June 29, Tlachinollan staff members had been unable to corroborate whether the government had in fact started the police visits to the homes of the widows, since the only way to communicate with the widows was a satellite phone that the government gave them, which did not work due to technical problems.
We believe that in order to guarantee the safety of other human rights defenders included in the Inter-American Court's provisional measures, the Mexican government should implement additional measures already proposed by Tlachinollan. These include providing the beneficiaries with radios to improve their ability to communicate with each other, and placing additional lights and a security plate in the entrance of the offices where defenders work. The government should also ensure that the competent authorities carry out adequate, prompt, and impartial investigations, capable of leading to the identification and prosecution of those who have committed the alleged attacks against defenders.
We urge you to adopt and immediately implement the necessary measures to protect individuals who work to promote and protect human rights in Guerrero, including those agreed to by the Mexican government and the petitioners within the context of proceedings before the Inter-American system of human rights.
In addition, it is absolutely crucial that those responsible for these attacks are brought to justice.
We strongly urge you to closely monitor whether the competent local authorities conduct a timely, thorough and impartial investigation into the alleged attack against Ms. Martín de las Nieves.
We thank you for your attention to these serious concerns.
Respectfully,
Katya Salazar José Miguel Vivanco
Executive Director Director Ejecutivo - Americas Division
Due Process of Law Foundation Human Rights Watch
Lisa Haugaard Joy Olson
Executive Director Directora Ejecutiva
Latin America Working Group Education Fund Washington Office on Latin America
