UN Committee on Enforced Disappearances to conclude visit to Mexico
The UN Committee on Enforced Disappearances (CED) will conclude its 12-day tour of Mexico today.
The tour began on November 15th, with committee members traveling to 12 Mexican states to meet government officials, non-governmental organizations and victims’ families.
Over 85,000 persons have gone missing since the start of the Mexican drug war in 2006. Investigations have been hampered by the sheer volume of cases, lack of funding, bureaucratic red tape and government corruption. In September, the Mexican government requested that Israel extradite the former head of Mexico’s criminal investigation agency over mishandling an investigation into the disappearance of 43 student teachers in 2014.
Expect the tour to increase pressure on the Mexican government to address flaws in its public security policy. If the committee’s final report is especially critical, expect there to be more investigations by the CED and other groups like the Organization of American States and the United Nations Human Rights Council. Expect continued disappearances to erode the ruling Morena party’s popularity and give opposition parties an issue to campaign on going into Mexico’s next presidential election in 2024.
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