UN experts welcome enforced disappearance law in Mexico

GENEVA (16 January 2018) – The entry into force today of a law on enforced disappearances in Mexico could turn the page on a dark chapter of the country on this issue, and start a process of uncovering the truth, justice and reparations for thousands of victims, a group of UN independent human rights experts said.

The Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances* said it was now important to ensure all efforts were taken to promptly implement the law into practice, especially to meet the needs of victims.

They welcomed the willingness of the authorities to ensure the participation of the families of the disappeared and civil society organizations in the legislative process.

"It is especially important to guarantee an effective and immediate search for the thousands of disappeared persons, the main demand of families who want to know the fate or whereabouts of their loved ones," the UN experts said. The experts added that the selection process of officials responsible for enforcing the law must be transparent and guarantee the qualification of candidates, and called for victims' groups and experts from civil society to be included in the process.

The experts expressed hope that the new normative context, with the creation of specialized prosecution offices, would lead to the development of effective and non-fragmented investigation strategies to bring those responsible to justice and end the prevailing impunity in relation to the disappearance of persons in Mexico.

"It is essential that prosecutors conduct thorough and diligent investigations and that they have the resources and political support to do so,” the experts said. “If progress is not made in the fight against impunity, it will be impossible to stop this scourge."

The experts also noted the essential role that the new law gives to local governments. "This without neglecting the leadership and coordination role that the federal authorities must assume for the implementation of international obligations deriving from human rights norms."

The Working Group called on other countries facing similar challenges regarding the disappearance of persons to follow Mexico’s participatory process towards the adoption of the Law and replicate its positive provisions.

Finally, the Working Group recognized that, with the adoption of this law, Mexico complied with a recommendation made after its visit to the country in 2011. The experts concluded expressing their interest in following up on the implementation of the new law and reiterated their offer to continue collaborating towards the prevention and eradication of the enforced disappearance of persons.

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