Amnesty International launched a campaign today urging President-elect Andrés Manuel López Obrador to take concrete measures during the first 100 days of his administration to improve the human rights situation in Mexico.
“The government of President-elect López Obrador has a historic opportunity to build a Mexico in which the human rights of every individual are respected and protected,” said Erika Guevara-Rosas, Americas Director at Amnesty International.
“The mistakes of the past cannot keep being repeated. We ask the next government to take decisive, timely and effective measures to improve the human rights situation in Mexico and to demonstrate that the rights of individuals in the country will be at the core of all public policy and government action.”
In an open letter delivered to the president-elect, Amnesty International recommended 11 actions that his government should take during its first 100 days in relation to five pressing issues: violence against women and children; caring for the environment by protecting defenders of the land, territory and environment; the role of the police and military forces in public security; the right to justice, truth and reparation in cases of enforced disappearance; and the rights of individuals seeking asylum in Mexico.
Amnesty International will closely monitor the situation to see whether necessary actions are taken in these five areas.
“Andrés Manuel López Obrador has spoken about transforming the country and that is exactly what we are asking him to do in this campaign. In 100 days for Mexico, we set out the key actions that would help to build a better country, a brief list of specific improvements that would deliver the powerful message that his government is committed to human rights”, said Tania Reneaum, Executive Director of Amnesty International Mexico.
“The biggest social changes start with small steps, and so we call on the new president and his team to make a new Mexico a reality, one that takes the rights of all individuals seriously, joins in the decades-long fight and is set in motion during his first 100 days of government”.
For more information or to request an interview, contact:
Elizabeth Berton-Hunter, Media Relations 416-363-9933 ext 332 bberton-hunter@amnesty.ca
Further information:
Letter to the president elect of Mexico: Presenting the campaign ‘100 days for Mexico’ (Letter, 26 November 2018)
100 days for Mexico: Open Letter to the President-elect for his first 100 days in office
Mexico: The new government’s plan must focus on withdrawing the armed forces from public security roles (News, 15 November 2018)
Mexico: After four years of failed investigations, the state must guarantee truth and justice for the 43 students from Ayotzinapa (News, 24 September 2018)
