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The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights has reassured families of the 43 Ayotzinapa students in Mexico that investigations have revealed “significant advances” and that they will have news on either their loved ones' whereabouts or their bodies soon.
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During a special session in Mexico City, IACHR President Francisco Jose Eguiguren stated, “It is an inexhaustible task, there are advances, we are making progress, but there are still many challenges and difficulties.”
On Sept. 26, 2014, students from an Ayotzinapa teacher's training college in Iguala, Guerrero state, which is renowned for political activism, were heading to a demonstration on a bus when they were attacked.
Several independent investigations have alleged that federal police and the attorney general's office all played a role in the disappearances. The Mexican government denies these claims and blames criminal organizations and local police.
According to the IACHR president, the number of human rights violations has grown in Mexico with more than 150,000 deaths and roughly 30,000 missing person cases reported since 2006. In 2017, the country has seen a spike in violence against journalists, human rights activists, lawyers and other rights defenders.
"There are cases of not only harassment, including murders," said Eguiguren at the international convention.
"Mexico lives a particular human rights situation, and for this reason, we have the Ayotzinapa Monitoring Mechanism," said Eguiguren, whose organization together with the Inter-American Court saw their funding from Mexico doubled this year after a proposal was put forward on behalf of the Organization of the American.
The international meetings began Monday in Mexico City and will stretch to Thursday as members analyze human rights cases in Haiti, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador.
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