Chihuahua, Chihuahua, Mexico on August 30, 2023.- On December 21, 2010, the United Nations General Assembly, deeply concerned about the rising incidence of forced or involuntary disappearances in different regions of the world, endorsed the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons against Enforced Disappearances. August 30 became the «International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances,» a day first observed in 2011.

According to the National Registry of Missing and Disappeared Individuals (RNPDNO), to date 111,035 people are listed as disappeared and/or missing in Mexico, with 3,535 of them in the state of Chihuahua. However, due to the lack of trust in the authorities and the associated reporting risk, these numbers could be much higher.

Disappearances in the northern region of the country constitute a humanitarian crisis that must be prioritized. As Centro de Derechos Humanos de las Mujeres, A.C. (Women’s Human Rights Center – CEDEHM), we support and stand alongside the family members of disappeared individuals in this demand.

We demand that effective, prompt and coordinated search actions be carried out, focused on finding the disappeared individuals alive. All actions must ensure active involvement of the families; as established in the guiding search principles presented by the UN Committee Against Enforced Disappearances (CED).

We urge the proper implementation of the General Law on Enforced Disappearance, along with the necessary supplementary legislation needed at the state level, to fully address this issue. The current approach is ineffective at guaranteeing the well-being of families coping with a disappearance.

We acknowledge the State Attorney General’s Office (FGE) for its commitment to work on the resolution of the forensic crisis through the signature of the collaborative agreement between the FGE, CEDEHM and the Argentine Forensic Anthropology Team (EAAF). We emphasize the importance of ensuring that the actions outlined in this agreement include the allocation of adequate human, financial, and technological resources to both the Prosecutor’s Offices and the Search Commissions. This allocation is crucial for addressing the ongoing forensic crisis, which in the state of Chihuahua involves approximately 1,500 unidentified individuals, not including those who have yet to be located.

We demand that the State comply with their obligation to find disappeared individuals, punish the persons found responsible, provide comprehensive reparations for the victims and their families, and implement the necessary measures to guarantee non-repetition .

Because we all miss disappeared individuals, we will not stop until they are found.