Overview
- The UN Committee on Enforced Disappearances publicly confirmed on Oct. 24 that it activated Article 34 to assess whether disappearances in Mexico are widespread or systematic.
- Mexico’s UN envoy Héctor Vasconcelos and the Foreign Ministry rejected the procedure, calling the committee’s claims unfounded and attributing the crisis largely to organized crime.
- The government says it has strengthened search and identification institutions, delivered a detailed report to the committee, and requested that parts of its submission remain under reserve.
- Official registries and UN-cited reports count more than 133,000–134,000 missing persons in Mexico, including an increase of over 5,000 cases in the last quarter, and the country leads the committee’s urgent actions with 779 communications.
- Human-rights groups urged cooperation with international scrutiny, the committee said next steps will be announced publicly, and on Oct. 25 Foreign Minister Juan Ramón de la Fuente reiterated Mexico’s commitment to human rights.