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More than 100,000 people officially missing in Mexico

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Agence France-Presse

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img alt="Parents and friends of the 43 disappeared “normalistas” listen to the presentation of the Third Ayotzinapa Report at the Interior Ministry of Mexico City, Mexico, 28 March 2022. A new report presented by the Interdisciplinary Group of Independent Experts of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights exhibited more “simulation” in the so-called “historical truth” about the disappearance of 43 Ayotzinapa students in September 2014 in Mexico, and denounced the concealment of information. Isaac Esquivel, EPA-EFE" src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2022/overseas/05/17/20220517-missing.jpg"/><figcaption>Parents and friends of the 43 disappeared “normalistas” listen to the presentation of the Third Ayotzinapa Report at the Interior Ministry of Mexico City, Mexico, 28 March 2022. A new report presented by the Interdisciplinary Group of Independent Experts of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights exhibited more “simulation” in the so-called “historical truth” about the disappearance of 43 Ayotzinapa students in September 2014 in Mexico, and denounced the concealment of information. <em>Isaac Esquivel, EPA-EFE</em></figcaption></figure></div><p>More than 100,000 people are now listed as missing in violence-wracked Mexico – a grim milestone that the United Nations rights chief on Tuesday called &quot;a tragedy of enormous proportions.&quot;</p><p>The country&#x27;s National Registry of Missing Persons, which has been tracking disappearances since 1964, said that as of Monday the whereabouts of 100,012 people were unknown. About 75 percent are men.</p><p>Disappearances have skyrocketed in the wake of mounting drug violence that has plagued the country for 16 years.</p><p>The Movement for Our Disappeared warned that the figure was &quot;certainly well below the number&quot; of actual cases, calling for the government to deal with the crisis &quot;in a comprehensive and immediate manner.&quot;</p><p>UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet said the disappearances represented a &quot;human tragedy of enormous proportions.&quot;</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/blogs/opinions/08/30/20/opinion-disappeared-but-not-forgotten">OPINION: Disappeared but not forgotten</a></li></ul><p>&quot;No effort should be spared to put an end to these human rights violations and abuses of extraordinary breadth, and to vindicate victims&#x27; rights to truth, justice, reparation and guarantees of non-repetition,&quot; she added.</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/10/12/17/burgos-camp-eyes-new-complaint-vs-acquitted-army-officer">Burgos camp eyes new complaint vs acquitted Army officer</a></li></ul><p>Only 35 of the disappearances recorded have led to convictions -- a &quot;staggering rate of impunity&quot; that is &quot;mostly attributable to the lack of effective investigations,&quot; Bachelet&#x27;s office said.</p><p>The UN Committee on Enforced Disappearances and the Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances described the situation as &quot;heart-breaking.&quot;</p><p>&quot;We also note that, in many cases, disappearances go unreported, and thus the scale of this tragedy may even go beyond what is currently registered,&quot; they added.</p><p>The UN committee, which is made up of independent experts, warned in April that Mexico was facing an &quot;alarming trend of rising enforced disappearances.&quot;</p><p>Organized crime groups were mainly responsible for these disappearances, &quot;with varying degrees of participation, acquiescence or omission by public servants,&quot; it said.</p><div><strong>- &#x27;Staggering number&#x27; -</strong></div><p>Frustration at slow progress in official investigations has led families of the disappeared, especially mothers, to form groups that search for clandestine graves hoping to find their relatives.</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/11/02/18/no-body-but-grieving-kin-of-missing-people-light-candles-offer-prayers">No body but grieving: Kin of missing people light candles, offer prayers</a></li></ul><p>Mexico&#x27;s government has reported around 37,000 unidentified bodies are being held in forensic services, though civil organizations warn the number could be much higher.</p><p>Authorities are working to consolidate a database of the disappeared with genetic samples, though many corpses have been buried without being identified due to the country&#x27;s overflowing morgues.</p><p>The International Committee of the Red Cross described the 100,000 missing as &quot;a staggering number that underscores the immediate need to strengthen prevention, search, and identification mechanisms for those who are missing and their families.&quot;</p><p>However, it recognized &quot;important progress&quot; made by Mexico in some areas including identifying the dead and easing the pain of families of the missing. </p><p>&quot;The first few hours are the most important,&quot; said Marlene Herbig, head of the ICRC&#x27;s missing persons program in Mexico.</p><p>&quot;When someone disappears, their relatives have the right to know what has happened. Knowing the fate of disappeared persons is primarily a humanitarian act.&quot;</p><p>The first reported disappearances in Mexico date back to the authorities&#x27; so-called &quot;dirty war&quot; against leftist movements from the 1960s to 1980s.</p><p>Mexico has also registered over 340,000 deaths -- mostly attributed to organized crime groups -- since 2006, when a major anti-drug military offensive was launched.</p><div><strong>RELATED VIDEO</strong></div><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe allow="autoplay; fullscreen" frameBorder="0" height="100%" id="ivsplayer01" scrolling="no" src="https://player.ivideosmart.com/ivsplayer/v4/dist/html/iframe-src.html?iframeid=ivsplayer01&amp;key=e8c22c015ca9eafa76f1e3edfa03c603&amp;spid=3001339&amp;vid=1390939" width="100%"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more News on <a href="https://www.iwanttfc.com/#!/browse/Genres/News/tag_id_genres/id_news" target="_blank">iWantTFC</a></div>

Disappearances have skyrocketed in the wake of mounting drug violence that has plagued the country for 16 years.