Description of the situation:
The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders has received with deep concern information about the murder of Ms. Adriana and Virginia Ortiz Garcíasisters and defenders of indigenous Triqui human rights. Both were members of the Triqui Unification and Struggle Movement (MULT), which denounces the dispossession of the territory and natural resources of the Triqui communities in the state of Oaxaca. Furthermore, since July 2007, the sisters carried out important work in the search for their cousins Virginia and Daniela, who disappeared in the Mixteca region on July 5 of the same year.
In the early morning of November 6, 2024, Adriana and Virginia Ortiz García were in the historic center of the city of Oaxaca, getting out of a taxi, when upon arriving at their home they were shot by two unknown individuals on board a motorcycle. These injuries caused his death.
Later on November 6, 2024, members of the MULT mobilized in front of the Government Palace to demand that the Attorney General’s Office of the State of Oaxaca (FGEO) carry out an immediate and exhaustive investigation to condemn those responsible for the murders and to put an end to them. to the violence perpetrated against Triqui activists in recent years.
The same day, the president of Mexico, Claudia Sheinbaum, assured after a press release that it was essential to strengthen attention to the causes of agrarian conflicts, which escalate to attacks and threats from armed groups, and forced displacement of members of the Triqui communities. That same day, the FGEO committed to carrying out a thorough investigationscientific and comprehensive, with a multidisciplinary team, and offered legal and psycho-emotional support to the indirect victims of the murder.
On November 9, 2024, the National Human Rights Commission (CNDH) published a pronouncement on the murder of Adriana and Virginia Ortiz García, pointing out that it is essential to carry out a contextual analysis of the events, taking into account sociocultural factors, to guarantee the right to justice of the victims, their families and the Triqui communities. Furthermore, he emphasized the need to establish legal conditions for a “full and firm peace”, ensuring the security conditions necessary for the full development of the region.
On November 12, 2024, however, the Governor of the State of Oaxaca, Salomón Jara Cruz, declared in a press conference that the murder of the sisters has no political character.
The Observatory reminds that the murder of Mrs. Adriana and Virginia Ortiz García is not an isolated event. Violence against the Triqui population in the state of Oaxaca has been constant, and since 2019 alone, 34 people from the MULT have been murdered, 15 are survivors of firearms attacks and four people have been missing. It is also worth noting the climate of femicidal violence in Oaxaca, and in particular against women defenders. Since 2022, three cases of disappearance of human rights defenders have been documented in the state, the last being that of Sandra Domínguez Martínezmissing since October 4, 2024. The organization Consorcio Oaxaca points out that, from December 2022 to November 2024, the time that Salomón Jara has governed as Governor of Oaxaca, 686 women have disappeared and 205 femicides have been committed in the state.
The Observatory strongly condemns the murder of Adriana and Virginia Ortiz García and expresses its utmost concern for the safety and physical and psychological integrity of the family of the two defenders, and of the witnesses to the murder, the Triqui communities, and the members of the MULT. In this sense, the Observatory urges the FGEO to take all necessary protection measures to guarantee the safety and physical and psychological integrity of Adriana and Virginia’s family, in particular Emelia Ortiz Garcíawho is his sister and a member of the state leadership of the MULT, as well as one of the witnesses to the feminicide.
The Observatory urges the FGEO to carry out an immediate, exhaustive, independent and impartial investigation, with a gender perspective, interculturality and focused on the local social context. The Observatory urges the authorities to prioritize the hypothesis that the murder of Ms. Ortiz García was retaliation for her work defending human and environmental rights.
Finally, the Observatory reiterates its call on the Mexican authorities to comply with their international obligations in relation to the protection of the human rights of human rights defenders, especially indigenous Triqui defenders.
Action requested:
Please write to the Mexican authorities urging them to:
1. Immediately adopt all necessary measures to guarantee the physical and psychological safety of Emelia Ortiz García and other members of the family of Adriana and Virginia Ortiz García, and of the witnesses to the murder;
2. Carry out an immediate, independent, exhaustive, effective and impartial investigation to identify and condemn both those materially and intellectually responsible for the murder of Adriana and Virginia Ortiz García, bring them before a competent, independent, fair and impartial court, and apply criminal and other sanctions provided by law;
3. Put an end to all types of threats, attacks, murders and acts of harassment and criminalization, and ensure guarantees for all defenders of the state of Oaxaca, particularly the Triqui region, and all human rights defenders in Mexico ;
4. Ensure the security conditions necessary for the social, cultural, economic and human well-being of the Triqui communities in Oaxaca.
Directions:
• Mrs. Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo, President of the United Mexican States. Twitter: @Claudiashein
• Mrs. Rosa Icela Rodríguez, Secretary of Government (SEGOB). Twitter: @rosaicela_ Email: [email protected]
• Mr. Juan Ramón de la Fuente, Secretary of Foreign Relations (SRE). Twitter: @SRE_mx Email: [email protected]
• Mr. Jesús Antonio Esteva Medina, Secretary of Communications and Transportation (SCT). Twitter: @SICTmx Email: [email protected]
• Alejandro Gertz Manero, Attorney General of the Republic of Mexico. Email: [email protected]
• Mr. Félix Arturo Medina Padilla, Undersecretary of Human Rights, Population and Migration, Government Secretariat (SEGOB). Email: [email protected]/[email protected]
• Mr. Enrique Ochoa Martínez, Undersecretary for Multilateral Affairs and Human Rights, Ministry of Foreign Affairs (SRE). Twitter: @OCHOA_MX_UN
• Mrs. María del Rosario Piedra Ibarra, President of the National Human Rights Commission (CNDH). Email: [email protected] / [email protected]
• Mr. Froylán Vladimir Enciso Higuera, Head of the Unit for the Defense of Human Rights and the Protection Mechanism. Email: [email protected]
• Ms. Nancy Desiderio Noyola, Coordinator of Case Assistance in International Human Rights Organizations of the Government Secretariat. Email: [email protected]
• Federal Revenue Roads and Bridges and Related Services (CAPUFE). Email: [email protected]
• Protection Mechanism for Human Rights Defenders and Journalists. Email:[email protected]
• José Bernardo Rodríguez Alamilla, Attorney General of the State of Oaxaca. Email: [email protected]
• Salomón Jara Cruz, Governor of the State of Oaxaca. Email: [email protected]
Please also write to the Diplomatic Representations of Mexico in your respective countries.
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Paris-Geneva, November 27, 2024
We appreciate you informing us of any action taken, citing the code of this call in your response.
The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders (the Observatory) is a program created in 1997 by FIDH and the World Organization Against Torture (OMCT) and its objective is to intervene to prevent or remedy specific situations of repression against defenders. and human rights defenders. FIDH and OMCT are both members of ProtectDefenders.eu the European Union Mechanism for Human Rights Defenders implemented by international civil society.
To contact the Observatory, contact the Emergency Line:
• Email: [email protected]
• Such. FIDH: + 33 1 43 55 25 18
• Tel. OMCT: + 41 22 809 49 39
