IACHR Concludes Official Visit to Mexico to Mark the Seventh Anniversary of the Disappearance of the 43 Students from Ayotzinapa

September 30, 2021

Mexico City, Mexico – The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) held an official visit to Mexico on September 24–27, 2021, as part of the work of the Special Follow-Up Mechanism for the Ayotzinapa Case (MESA). During the visit, it commemorated the seventh anniversary of the grave human rights violations that were committed, alongside the victims' families.

The IACHR delegation was led by Commissioner Esmeralda Arosemena de Troitiño, Rapporteur for Mexico and the coordinator of the MESA, and also included Commissioner Esmeralda Arosemena de Troitiño; Tania Reneaum Panszi, the Executive Secretary of the IACHR; and the IACHR technical team. During the visit, Commissioner Arosemena met with President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, to whom she reiterated her willingness to provide technical assistance through MESA.

The delegation also met with the President of the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation, Arturo Zaldívar Lelo de Larre; attended a meeting of the Presidential Commission for Truth and Access to Justice in the Ayotzinapa Case (COVAJ); and held a technical meeting with the representative of the federal judiciary to the COVAJ, Carlos Alpizar Salazar. The IACHR also met with the head of the National Search Commission, Karla Quintana Osuna.

The IACHR held a meeting with the families of the beneficiaries of Precautionary Measure 409/14 and their legal representatives, during which it committed to continue providing support for their struggle to find their children and seek clarification of the events. It also took part in the events to commemorate the seventh anniversary of the disappearance of the 43 students from Ayotzinapa.

The IACHR wishes to thank the Mexican government for facilitating the working meetings that were held during the official visit and for its logistical support.

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. 257/21

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