IACHR
Press Release
Special Follow-Up Mechanism on Ayotzinapa Affair Makes Second Official Visit to Mexico in 2019
August 7, 2019
IACHR Press and Communication Office
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Washington, D.C. - The Special Follow-Up Mechanism on the Ayotzinapa Affair (MESA) conducted its second official visit to Mexico between July 31 and August 1. The purpose of the visit was to follow up on compliance with the recommendations published by the IACHR as part of precautionary measure 409-14. The visit was led by Commissioner Esmeralda Arosemena de Troitiño, president of the IACHR and rapporteur for Mexico, Commissioner Luis Ernesto Vargas Silva, and technical staff from the Executive Secretariat.
The delegation traveled to Ayutla de los Libres, in the state of Guerrero, to visit Aldo Gutiérrez, a young man who was wounded on the night of September 26, 2014, and his family. MESA visited the house where Aldo Gutiérrez is now living, which was designed and built for him to be able to receive the medical attention he requires while remaining close to his family. The delegation heard from medical personnel and the victim’s relatives and representatives about his condition since he was transferred to his new home from Mexico City.
The president of the IACHR said, “MESA believes that it is of vital importance for Aldo to receive the specialist medical attention he needs and for him to be in a place where this is possible and where he can be close to his family. We value the efforts made by the state to build and adapt a residence for Aldo and for the healthcare services he is provided with each day,” she added.
The delegation attended an extraordinary session of the Presidential Commission for Truth and Access to Justice in the Ayotzinapa Affair, which was chaired by the undersecretary of human rights and population, Alejandro Encinas. MESA was informed of the main search, investigation, and victim support activities that this commission is engaged in. As per its 2019 Work Plan, the IACHR announced that two former members of the GIEI, Ángela Buitrago and Francisco Cox, would be joining the commission as IACHR consultants to provide extra technical assistance. Both were present at the meeting.
During the visit, MESA met with the families of the students who are the beneficiaries of the precautionary measure and their representatives. Likewise, the IACHR met with the prosecutor for the Special Unit for the Investigation and Litigation of the Ayotzinapa Affair and his team to find out about the initial work they have carried out since the unit was established. On this point, Commissioner Luis Ernesto Vargas Silva stated that “We wish to state once more how committed we are to the families of the disappeared students and thus wish to reinforce the technical assistance we provide, in the hope that this will help the state make progress on its search for the students, the investigation, and providing support for victims.”
The IACHR wishes to thank the Mexican state for its cooperation with MESA as it goes about its work and also thanks the families of the 43 students and their representatives for their support and the information they have provided.
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 and to defend 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.
No. 197/19