WOLA: Advocacy for Human Rights in the Americas
14 Apr 2016 | Video

The Search for Justice: Crimes against Migrants and Refugees in Mexico

The Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA) is pleased to invite you to a discussion featuring

Ramón Márquez
Director of “La 72” Migrant Shelter in Tenosique, Tabasco

Marla Conrad
Migrant Advocate at Kino Border Initiative in Nogales, Sonora, Mexico/Arizona, USA

Javier Martínez
Legal Coordinator at Saltillo Migrant Shelter in Saltillo, Coahuila

Moderated by

Maureen Meyer
WOLA Senior Associate for Mexico and Migrant Rights

Thursday, April 14, 2016
9:30 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.
WOLA
1666 Connecticut Ave. NW, Suite 400
Washington, DC 20009

To RSVP, please click here. The event will be in English and Spanish, and simultaneous interpretation will be provided. A livestream of the event will be available at www.wola.org.

Although the Mexican government claimed that its Southern Border Program would increase protections for migrants, increased enforcement in Mexico has resulted in an uptick in human rights violations and crimes against this population. Migrants and refugees traveling through Mexico are frequently victims of crimes committed by criminal groups and Mexican authorities, including kidnapping, robbery, extortion, assault, trafficking, and killings. Between December 2012 and June 2015, Mexico’s National Human Rights Commission registered 1,617 complaints of human rights violations committed against migrants, including 1,220 committed by agents of the National Migration Institute and 143 by the Federal Police. The vast majority of crimes against migrants are never investigated and those responsible are rarely sanctioned.

Join us for a conversation with representatives of migrant shelters from different regions in Mexico who assist migrants in the search for justice. These shelters also participated in the joint report An Uncertain Path: Justice for Crimes and Human Rights Violations against Migrants and Refugees in Mexico. The panelists will provide an on-the-ground perspective regarding the current trends in migration, the need to increase Mexico’s capacity to protect migrants and potential refugees, documented cases of abuse, the legal resources available to migrants to access justice, and actions the governments of Mexico and the U.S. can take to facilitate justice and prevent crimes against migrants.

For more information, contact Hannah Smith at hsmith@wola.org or (202) 797-2171.