Discovery of New Mass Grave Highlights Deteriorating Human Rights Crisis Amnesty International
go to original September 2, 2015

Human rights organizations have expressed alarm at the rapid rise of forced disappearance in Mexico. New figures show the number of disappeared people, including rights activists, has tripled since the current government came to power two years ago. (PressTV News)

The gruesome discovery of a mass grave containing the remains of at least 31 individuals in northern Mexico highlights the urgent need for robust action to tackle the country’s rapidly deteriorating human rights crisis, said Amnesty International.

“Mexico is miserably losing the battle against disappearances, with nearly 25,000 people going missing since 2007. This latest discovery must be a wake-up call for authorities in Mexico to take real action to stop what seems to be an endless list of horrors taking place across the country,” said Erika Guevara-Rosas, Americas Director at Amnesty International.

“As a first step, Mexican authorities must ensure that, unlike too many times in the past, forensic investigations into this shocking discovery are conducted in a way that protects all evidence and leads to the identification of the remains and to justice for the relatives of the victims.”

Local authorities from the state of Nuevo León, near the Mexico-US border, confirmed on Tuesday that they had found a mass grave containing the remains of at least 31 individuals in a local ranch. Tests are being carried out to identify the remains.

Several mass graves have been discovered in the area, which is known for the presence of criminal gangs, in recent years.

See the original at Amnesty International

Related: Investigators Find 31,000 Human Bone Fragments at Ranch in Northern Mexico (EFE)

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