• Mexico: Widespread Rights Abuses in ‘War on Drugs’
    Press release
    Nov 9, 2011

    Mexico’s military and police have committed widespread human rights violations in efforts to combat organized crime, virtually none of which are being adequately investigated. The 212-page report “Neither Rights Nor Security: Killings, Torture, and Disappearances in Mexico’s ‘War on Drugs,’” examines the human rights consequences of President Felipe Calderón’s approach to confronting Mexico’s powerful drug cartels.

  • Seeking Justice for Mexico’s Disappeared
    Media spotlight
    Oct 31, 2011
    Sister Consuelo Morales has seen the number of people in Monterrey who are tortured, killed, or “disappeared” skyrocket in the four years since Mexico’s president unleashed the military to combat drug cartels. 
  • Global: Human Rights Watch Honors 7 Activists
    Press release
    Aug 8, 2011
    Seven courageous and tireless advocates for human rights will be honored in November 2011 with the prestigious Alison Des Forges Award for Extraordinary Activism.
  • Consuelo Morales, Mexico
    Defenders
    Aug 8, 2011
    Sister Consuelo Morales works in Mexico to defend victims of human rights violations and hold their abusers accountable.
  • Mexico: Ruling Affirms Obligation for Military Justice Reform
    Press release
    Jul 6, 2011
    A ruling on July 6, 2011, by Mexico’s Supreme Court should bring reform of Mexico’s flawed military justice system and accountability for soldiers accused of human rights violations closer. The court ruled that Mexico’s courts are obligated to comply with an Inter-American Court judgment in an enforced disappearance case and that its jurisprudence should be taken into account by Mexico’s judges.
  • Mexico: Investigate Raid on Juarez Human Rights Organization
    Written statement
    Jun 6, 2011
    Mexican federal prosecutors should immediately open a thorough and impartial investigation into the raid by federal police on the office of the human rights organization Centro de Derechos Humanos Paso del Norte in Ciudad Juarez. Approximately 20 federal police officers broke into the office at about 8:30 p.m. on June 5, 2011, searched files, broke windows and damaged other parts of the office.
  • The Monster and Monterrey
    Commentary
    May 26, 2011
    How could thriving Monterrey, the “Sultan of the North,” which only years earlier had been deemed one of the safest cities in Latin America, descend so quickly into chaos? If it could happen here, was anywhere in Mexico safe for long?
  • Mexico: Investigate Enforced Disappearances in Ciudad Juarez
    Press release
    Apr 4, 2011
    Mexico’s federal authorities should immediately take over the investigation into the possible enforced disappearance by municipal police of four civilians in Ciudad Juarez. In addition, authorities in Baja California should ensure a prompt, thorough, and impartial investigation into credible accusations of torture by Julian Leyzaola, now the police chief in Ciudad Juarez.
  • US/Mexico: Obama, Raise Rights Concerns With Calderón
    Press release
    Mar 2, 2011
    President Obama should make human rights concerns a central component of discussions about Mexico's public security crisis when he meets with President Felipe Calderón on March 3, 2011.
  • Mexico: Investigate Attacks on Chihuahua Human Rights Defenders
    Press release
    Feb 23, 2011
    Federal and state authorities should conduct a thorough and impartial investigation into a series of attacks on human rights defenders and their families in the state of Chihuahua. The attacks point up the need for a federal system to protect human rights defenders and the importance of incorporating nongovernmental organizations in designing the program.