Human Rights Movement Claims 70,000 Migrants among Mexico's Disappeared Fernando Camacho Servin - La Jornada
go to original March 1, 2013

The Mexican government must not only provide figures on the overall victims of enforced disappearance, but also specify how many of them are undocumented, find them alive and punish those responsible, said Ruben Figueroa, coordinator of the Mesoamerican Migrant Movement.

He also demanded that the authorities develop a law to allow migration that is documented and free of violence, emphasizing preventive measures, not just repair the damage.

After the Under Secretary for Legal Affairs and Human Rights of the Secretariat of Government Relations, Lia Limon, admited that there is a list with the names of 27,000 missing, it is important that the government of Enrique Peña Nieto specify how many of them suffered that offense while they crossed the Mexican territory without documents, he said.

"We demand to be told how many on that list are migrants, so that the relevant investigation can be started and they might possibly be located, as an act of justice for the families," said Figueroa.

At the same time, he said, is essential for the government to make links with organizations of civil society to design laws and public policies to prevent the crimes that most affect the undocumented, including extortion, murder, human trafficking and kidnapping.

"Based on reports and calculations of various groups and the National Commission of Human Rights, we estimate that there are about 70 000 migrants missing. We hope that with this government, they will stop being an invisible population," he said.

Regarding the list of victims of this crime of disappearance, that the current administration is committed to produce, Figueroa said that numbers are of no use if there is no plan as to what to do with them.

"Lists are useless by themselves. To recognize that there are missing migrants won't make them appear. We must act, carry out research and a prevention policy so that transit through the country occurs in a documented way and without violence, he said.

Regarding the Human Rights Watch report revealing that Mexico security forces are responsible for many disappearances, Figueroa lamented that illegal immigrants have been in "the crossfire" of a war that has taken place in view of everyone.

See Spanish original

Posted by Reed Brundage at Mexico Voices

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