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Washington, D.C. – The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) will conduct an on-site visit to Mexico from September 28 to October 2, 2015. The Commission will observe the general human rights situation in the country, with particular emphasis on extrajudicial executions, forced disappearances, and torture.  Additionally, the IACHR will focus on the situation of citizen insecurity, access to justice for victims of human rights violations, and the situation of journalists, human rights defenders, and other groups particularly affected by the context of violence in Mexico.

The delegation that will carry out the visit will be led by the President of the IACHR, Rose-Marie Belle Antoine; First Vice-President, James Cavallaro; and Commissioners Felipe González, Tracy Robinson, and Rosa María Ortiz. Other members of the delegation will include the IACHR Executive Secretary, Emilio Álvarez Icaza; the Assistant Executive Secretary, Elizabeth Abi Mershed; and the Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression, Edison Lanza; as well as specialists from the Executive Secretariat.

The Inter-American Commission will meet with government officials from the three branches of government, and it will also meet with civil society representatives. The Commission will hear testimonies from victims of human rights violations and families at the different sites that it will visit. During the visit, the IACHR will meet with the Interdisciplinary Group of Independent Experts to examine the Report on the events that took place in Ayotzinapa. The delegation will visit Mexico City, Guerrero, Tabasco, Nuevo León, Coahuila and Veracruz.

The IACHR will present its preliminary observations at the end of its visit, during a press conference to be held on Friday, October 2nd. The time and place will be announced in the near future.

The Commission appreciates the cooperation provided by the government of Mexico and civil society organizations in the planning and preparations for the visit.

A principal, autonomous body of the Organization of American States (OAS), the IACHR derives its mandate from the OAS Charter and the American Convention on Human Rights. The Inter-American Commission has a mandate to promote respect for human rights in the region and acts as a consultative body to the OAS in this area. The Commission is composed of seven independent members who are elected in an individual capacity by the OAS General Assembly and who do not represent their countries of origin or residence.

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