OSC Warns: Organized Crime and Projects Threaten Mexico's Environmental Defenders
Organized crime and large-scale projects are worsening environmental damage in Mexico, putting defenders at risk. The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSC) has expressed concern and called for significant changes in institutions and policies to ensure safe environments for rights defenders.
OSC is worried about the lack of environmental justice and has urged for autonomous judges trained in human and environmental rights. Mexico has approved protective frameworks, such as the Law for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders and Journalists and the Escazú Agreement, but multiple aggressions against environmental defenders persist. These include criminalization, judicial harassment, surveillance, threats, forced displacement, and even disappearances. Since 2016, at least 84 environmental defenders have been killed, with 77 being men and 44 belonging to indigenous peoples. Despite facing violence and impunity, environmental defenders play a crucial role in stopping the climate crisis and protecting natural resources. The OSC Space monitors and proposes reforms to Mexico's protection policy for human rights defenders and journalists, aiming to strengthen their safety and ensure their vital work continues.
The elimination of the National Institute of Transparency (INAI) has created a serious institutional vacuum, putting environmental information at risk. OSC's call for significant changes in institutions and policies is urgent, as environmental defenders continue to face grave dangers in their crucial work. Strengthening protection policies and ensuring justice for these defenders is essential to preserve Mexico's natural resources and combat the climate crisis.
