Quarterly Progress Report: Promoviendo la Rendición de Cuentas por los Derechos Humanos (RED-DH)

RED-DH will work with GOM counterparts at the federal and state levels to strengthen national oversight mechanisms and enhance inter-governmental coordination, support state-level implementation of laws and safeguards to prevent and respond to human rights abuses, and provide targeted forensic technical assistance to address the backlog of unidentified remains in five priority states. RED-DH works at the federal level and in five priority states: Coahuila, Jalisco, Puebla, Sonora, and Veracruz. The activity is divided into three components: Component 1, which focuses on establishing and sustaining national oversight, coordination, and implementation mechanisms to deliver GOM commitments under the 2017 General Laws on Torture and Forced Disappearances; Component 2, which aims to enhance implementation of the 2017 General Laws on Torture and Forced Disappearances in the five priority states; and Component 3, which seeks to decrease the backlog in forensic cases in the priority states. During the reporting period, significant developments in the human rights agenda continued. The National Search Commission presented the second periodic report on "Search and Identification of Disappeared Persons," showing that between 2006 and 2021, 85,053 people had disappeared in the country. A group of journalists pointed out several deficiencies in the report, including the lack of transparency in the methodology used to compile the data. The proposed reforms to the Organic Law of the General Prosecutor's Office moved forward, despite opposition from civil society and victims' relatives. The Additional Protocol for the Search of Girls, Boys, and Adolescents was approved, aiming to prevent disappearances and ensure that the search for minors is prompt, effective, and efficient. A federal court ordered the General Prosecutor to set up the necessary infrastructure to enable the operation of the National Registry for the Crime of Torture, pending since the enactment of the General Law on Torture almost four years ago. The National Commission to Prevent and Eradicate Violence Against Women met with civil society representatives to propose measures to strengthen the Follow-up Mechanism for Cases of Sexual Torture Committed Against Women. The mid-term elections concluded with over 21,000 seats for election at the federal and local levels. The gubernatorial election in the state of Sonora, one of the five states, stood out, as well as municipal elections in the states of Jalisco, Puebla, Veracruz, and Coahuila.