On August 26, the Peace Brigades International-Mexico Project posted on social media: “Today we accompany the Comité Cerezo México in the planton (blockade/installation) for truth and justice in front of the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation (SCJN) in the context of the international day of the missing detainee.”

Reporting on this protest, Milenio notes: “After jumping the metal fences of the SCJN [on August 23], authorities allowed the protest to be held in front of the main gate, this in order to avoid confrontations between the police and the demonstrators. The protesters remain gathered between Pino Suarez Street and Venustiano Carranza showing their blankets and waiting to be attended by federal government officials.”

This planton comes at the same time that the Comité Cerezo and ACUDDEH released this report on human rights violations in Mexico.

SinEmbargo.mx reports: “At least 18 human rights defenders were victims of extrajudicial execution, 29 of forced disappearance and 441 of arbitrary detention in less than a year: from June 1, 2020 to May 31, 2021, exposes the ‘Tenth Report Defending Human Rights in Mexico: without Truth and without Justice there is no transformation’, carried out by the Cerezo Committee and Urgent Action for Human Rights Defenders (Acuddeh).”

“Of the 18 victims [of extrajudicial execution during this one-year period], at least 10 were defenders of the territory, two of the environment, two human rights defenders, two of dignified life and 1 who defended labor rights.”

That article adds: “Francisco Cerezo Contreras, of the Cerezo Mexico Committee, explained that in the same period 441 arbitrary detentions were also committed against human rights defenders and activists, of which 251 were committed between Chiapas, Michoacán and Jalisco; while; the remaining 190 were registered in 15 other states.”

And an article in Perimetral Press focuses on the western state of Jalisco and notes: “Jalisco is in the first places as one who violates the human rights of activists and for forced disappearances, in the report of the Cerezo Committee ‘Without truth and without justice there is no transformation’.”

Jesús Peña Palacios, deputy representative of the office in Mexico of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, says: “We have been able to observe progress, but the latest figures tell us that more than 90 percent of crimes remain in impunity and the low success rate in punishing these crimes sends a dangerous message that such manes have zero consequences.”

PBI-Mexico comments: “We reiterate the call that the impunity that prevails in all cases of missing persons should be addressed and overcome, to articulate policies and wills at different levels of the state so that victims of enforced disappearance can return home.”

PBI-Mexico began accompanying the Comité Cerezo in 2002.

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