Quarterly Progress Report: RED-DH Quarterly Report Q1 Y3

The country has experienced alarming levels of violence, human rights violations, and impunity. According to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, the estimated figures of human rights abuses in Mexico are staggering, with enforced disappearances, acts of torture, and extra-judicial killings being committed by federal, state, and municipal authorities. The crisis began to escalate in 2006 with the so-called "war on drugs," leading to a severe crisis of violence and insecurity. The human rights crisis includes violence and abuses committed directly by state agents and the government's failure to provide justice and protection against widespread violence perpetrated by criminal groups. The ineffectiveness of law enforcement agencies has weakened the rule of law, creating structural conditions of impunity and challenges that the Government of Mexico (GOM) must address urgently. Forced disappearances have occurred in Mexico at different times and with varying intensities, particularly from the 1960s until the 1980s. However, these increased drastically after 2006. According to public data, the highest number of recorded disappearances occurred in 2011-2012. The practice of torture in Mexico has also been alarming in the last ten years, with authorities punishing detainees for extracting false confessions or information. The General Laws on Torture and on Forced Disappearances were approved by the GOM in 2017 to address these issues. However, for these laws to be implemented at the federal and state levels, it is essential that there are competent authorities, efficient institutions, and an active and participatory civil society. To ensure this, RED-DH will work with GOM counterparts at the federal and state levels, including decentralized and autonomous institutions and targeted subnational government entities, forensic experts, victims' collectives, and civil society. The purpose of RED-DH is to build the capacity of Mexico's human rights institutions to more effectively and accountably respond to, and prevent human rights violations, particularly forced disappearances and torture, at both the federal and state levels. Improved capacity to respond will reduce impunity and help to prevent future violations. RED-DH is a five-year cost-plus fixed-fee completion contract that will enhance the capacity and commitment of the GOM to provide effective and accountable responses to grave human rights violations. The target beneficiaries of the activity are both victims - families and relatives - of grave human rights violations, including forced disappearances and torture in Mexico. Institutional beneficiaries will also include federal and state-level Search Commissions as well as the General Prosecutor's Office. RED-DH will be able to execute up to USD $11,103,605.88 in grants and subcontracts on behalf of USAID. The activity's theory of change is that if the effectiveness of Mexico's human rights system is strengthened, including the ability to provide oversight, coordination, and implementation of public policies and laws to address forced disappearances and torture, ensure meaningful implementation of the laws at the state level, and tackle the immense backlog of forensic cases and unresolved disappearance cases, then the government will provide better responses to human rights abuses and greater accountability and closure to victims and their families, contributing to improved citizen trust and greater government accountability. The situation of insecurity and the high numbers of disappearances, kidnappings, torture, threats, and harassment suffered to a greater extent by certain groups, either for historical discrimination or for their professional activities, remain a major concern. RED-DH's priority population includes women, the LGBTQI+ community, indigenous people, minors, people with disabilities, and journalists.