WUNRN
CALL FOR SUPPORT STATEMENT SIGN-ON
MEXICO INDIGENOUS WOMEN RAPED BY
SOLDIERS & SEEK JUSTICE
Two background documents follow
Statement.
Please
Send Sign-On's to Analia Penchaszadeh.
_______________________________________________________________
Solidarity
with Inés Fernández Ortega and Valentina Rosendo Cantú, Indigenous Women of the
nation Me’phaa, Guerrero, who defied the Mexican Government for covering up
human rights violations perpetrated by the Militia
We, the individuals and organizations signing this document, express our solidarity with Valentina Rosendo Cantú and Inés Fernández Ortega. These indigenous women from the Me’phaa nation, in the state of Guerrero, Mexico, were raped and tortured by members of the militia in 2002.
Furthermore we categorically condemn the attacks and threats that these women, their families and the indigenous organizations that have supported them, have faced and continue to face to this day, and we express our outrage at the lack of effective response from the Mexican Government.
For over eight years, Valentina and Inés have struggled tirelessly to attain justice. Recently, an important victory was achieved in this struggle: two sentences of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, condemning the Mexican Government for its responsibility in the human rights violation against both Me’phaa woman, and, for having denied them access to justice at a later date. Nevertheless, to this date the Mexican Government has not demonstrated the will to enforce these sentences and implement the necessary measures to stop the threats and harassment.
What Inés and Valentina have been through is evidence of the prevalence of issues such as the lack of access to justice for women who are victims of violence; the abuse resulting from the growing lack of civil controls over the Armed Forces; and the persecution that advocates of indigenous peoples’ rights face in Mexico.
Nevertheless, through Inés and Valentina’s perseverance and courage, the outrageous situation of indigenous women human rights in Mexico, characterized by violence and discrimination, has become evident. Their struggle has shown the extent of the military power over human rights violations as serious as rape, which are frequently ignored and covered-up.
In view of all this:
We are committed to the promotion of women’s rights and peace. We will remain vigilant until this becomes a reality.
______________________________________________________________________
Dear colleagues,
Above
is an important statement of solidarity with Inés and Valentina, two
indigenous women from Guerrero, Mexico, who were raped and tortured by members
of the military in 2002. Their struggle to find justice to their case has been
long and they were able to take the case to the Inter American Commission and
from there to the Inter American Court of Human Rights. In the latter they were
able to get sentences condemning the Mexican Government for their
responsibility in the human rights violations in the cases of Valentina and
Inés.
In
the process of seeking justice on their case, Inés and Valentina became women's
rights defenders and they have continued to face threats and many are concerned
for their security. Leaders of the Organization of the Me’phaa Indigenous
Nation (OPIM –Spanish acronym) which has been key in their defense and support,
are also being threatened. Tlalchinollan, a well known human rights
organization working on the mountains of Guerrero, has been another
organization closely involved on this case.
Our
support statement that was drafted in consultation with Tlalchinollan and
several other partners in Mexico, trying to bring international attention to
the current situation faced by Valentina and Inés.
We
are collecting signatures for this statement of both individuals and
organizations. Some of the signatures gathered so far include the signatures of
six Nobel Peace laureates (that are members of the Nobel Women's Initiative).
The
idea is to bring as much press attention to the case right now, as a way to
contribute to put pressure on the Mexican Government and hopefully improve the
security of Ines and Valentina. The assessment made by Tlalchinollan is that
this is a good action to take right now because the government is setting up a
special mechanism to follow-up on the implementation of the Inter American
Court of HR sentences on the second week of February. So, they will be
organizing a press conference in Mexico City to present this statement with all
the signatures next week.
Please help Ines and Valentina in Mexico, continue to seek
justice, safety and security. Please Sign-On to the Statement above and
send to:
Analia Penchaszadeh - apenchas@gmail.com
I
hope you will sign-on the statement, and disseminate it among well-known
individuals or organizations that you think would be interested in
signing. Thank You.
Lydia
Alpizar -
AWID
_____________________________________________________________________
WUNRN
Mexico - Indigenous Women
Raped by Soldiers - Justice at
By Emilio Godoy
|
"I want
the government to admit that it made a mistake with two indigenous women,"
she added, after the Court condemned
In February
2002, 17-year-old Rosendo was washing clothes in a river near her home in the
A month
later, three soldiers raped Inés Fernández in her house in the nearby
In both cases,
the Court found the state guilty of failing to guarantee the two Me'phaa Indian
women's rights to personal integrity, dignity, legal protection and a fair
trial, to a life free of violence, and to not be tortured. Inter-American Court
rulings are binding and cannot be appealed.
"They
are two very similar sentences," Alejandra Nuño, the Centre for Justice
and International Law's (CEJIL) director for Central America and Mexico, told
IPS after the two rulings were reported Monday. "They refer to the presence
of the soldiers, discrimination, and violence against women. And rape is
classified as torture, in a case that has no precedents in
When she
failed to obtain justice in
The IACHR
referred the cases to the Court in May and August 2009.
The
"The
state cannot continue to deny these incidents, when the serious harm caused in
these indigenous communities is abundantly clear," Abel Barrera, executive
director of Tlachinollan, told IPS. "Inés can't live in peace, and
Valentina can't return to her community."
Abuses by
the military and police are a permanent feature of life in rural areas in
Guerrero, and reporting them to the Mexican justice system has had little to no
effect, according to human rights organisations that have documented the cases.
The authorities say the security forces are deployed in Guerrero to fight drug
trafficking and small guerrilla groups.
The Court,
presided over by Peruvian Judge Diego García-Sayán, ruled that the state
violated three inter-American conventions: the 1969 American Convention on
Human Rights, the 1987 Inter-American Convention to Prevent and Punish Torture,
and the 1998 Inter-American Convention on the Prevention, Punishment, and
Eradication of Violence Against Women.
In its
sentences, handed down on Aug. 30 and 31, the Court called for a thorough
civilian investigation into the crimes against the two women, and ordered the
Mexican state to make a public apology to them in both Spanish and the Me'phaa
language, publish the sentences in the official government gazette, and open a
centre that would provide multidisciplinary health services for women in the
area where the abuses took place.
It also
calls for reforms of
The Court
ordered the state to pay some 87,000 dollars in damages and compensation to
Fernández, her husband Prisciliano Sierra and their children, and 75,000
dollars to Rosendo and her daughter Yenis Bernardino.
It must also
pay 48,000 dollars to Tlachinollan and CEJIL to cover legal costs.
"It was
not easy to seek justice. I left my town, and my husband left me. The
government called me a liar," Rosendo, in a beige blouse and blue jeans,
said with tears in her eyes.
Rosendo had
to learn Spanish after she was raped, and she now lives in an unrevealed
location somewhere in
Her
nine-year-old daughter is in third grade. "She is desperate, and asks why
we move all the time and she has to make new friends. She's not growing up with
a normal childhood," said Rosendo, who goes to therapy every Sunday.
Both Rosendo
and Fernández have been harassed and received death threats over the years, and
have been stigmatised by neighbours, as rape victims.
This is not
the first time the Inter-American Court has ordered the Mexican state to reform
the military justice code -- which has become one of the flashpoint issues for
the executive, legislative and judicial branches.
Conservative
President Felipe Calderón announced that he would introduce a bill in Congress
to that effect. But the Supreme Court has failed to pronounce itself on the
steps to be taken in order to comply with the
"We are
going to keep a close watch on how
On Oct. 1,
the government said it would live up to the two sentences, but did not specify
how or when. It has between six and 12 months to fulfil the various provisions.
The
The first
involved the 2001 murders of three young women in Ciudad Juárez on the
In both
cases, human rights groups have complained how long the government is taking to
comply with the sentences.
For that
reason, a number of non-governmental organisations want to establish a
committee to follow up on compliance with the rulings.
This year,
the Court is to issue a decision on the case of environmental activists Rodolfo
Montiel and Teodoro Cabrera, peasant farmers who were arrested and tortured by
Mexican soldiers in Guerrero in 1999 and sentenced in 2000 to six and 10 years
in prison, respectively, on trumped-up charges of illegal weapons possession
and growing marijuana.
Although
they were released in November 2001 by then President Vicente Fox (2000-2006)
after a major international outcry, they were not pardoned, nor did they
receive damages for the abuses and torture they suffered.
The
militarisation of Guerrero "is aimed at keeping indigenous people from
organising," said Barrera, winner of this year's Robert F. Kennedy Human
Rights Award, rewarded by the Washington-based RFK Centre for Justice and Human
Rights.