Land and Environmental Defenders

Article by PBI-Mexico

Advanced a decade ago by Mexican civil society and international bodies, the introduction of the Protection Mechanism for Human Rights Defenders and Journalists (Mecanismo de Protección para Personas Defensoras de Derechos Humanos y Periodistas) was a significant step forward for human rights in Mexico. However, the Mechanism continues to demonstrate notable deficiencies and concerning failures in the high-risk context faced by Mexican human rights defenders (HRDs).

Article by PBI-Mexico

Since the opening of PBI’s office in Chihuahua in 2013, we have established connections with various civil society organizations, including the Sierra Madre Alliance (Alianza Sierra Madre, A.C., ASMAC) which we have formally accompanied since 2018.

PBI accompany human rights defenders in different parts of the world who push for social justice and respect for the rule of law. This work often implies considerable risk. PBI supports many defenders who have been criminalised for the work they carry out, meaning the legal system is used against them in order to stop their resistance. 

Article by PBI-Mexico

For more than a decade, totonaca indigenous communities in the Sierra Norte de Puebla have fought for the survival of their traditions and the defense of their territory. In January of this year, they won an important legal battle against the building of a hydroelectric dam with the local municipality revoking the permits for Puebla 1 to be built, due to illegal activities in the administrative processes.

Article by PBI-Mexico

Although the right to migrate is consecrated in article 13 of the Universal Declaration on Human Rights, it continues to be violated by different actors.

In Mexico, human rights defenders defend migrants by giving them humanitarian, legal and psychological attention which is often the only support migrants receive as they pass through the country that shares a border with the USA; the most transited border in the world.

2019 saw the growth of social movements across the world; from environmentalists to feminists, people from different countries, different ages and different worldviews who made the decision to actively engage, make their voices heard, and participate in the construction of dynamic democracies that uphold human rights.

Article by PBI-Mexico

Interview with Yésica Sánchez Maya, feminist lawyer and joint director of Consorcio Oaxaca. Part 2

Consorcio Para el Diálogo Parlamentario y la Equidad Oaxaca, promotes the respect and exercise of women’s human rights and gender equality.

Article by PBI-Mexico

On 26th November 2019 Tita Radilla travelled to the Mexican capital to attend an event commemorating the 10 year anniversary of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights’ sentence in the “Radilla Pacheco v Mexico” case. On the 23 November 2009 the Mexican state was condemned for grave human rights violations in which the military was signalled as responsible for the forced dissapearance of Rosendo Radilla, Tita’s father.

The Shelter City Network is a grouping of 11 cities in The Netherlands that recognize the dangers and stress experienced by human rights defenders.

Human rights defenders (HRDs) include those who work to defend the land, water, Indigenous, LGBTQI+ and human rights around the world.

On December 17, the Peace Brigades International-Guatemala Project posted, “Today we observed the first declaration hearing in the Semuy 2 case.”

PBI-Guatemala adds, “The judge linked the eight accused persons to trial in the context of the death of three soldiers on September 4 in the community of Izabal. Four of them were favored with house arrest. The Firm for Indigenous Peoples leads the defense in this case.”