Overview
- The UN Committee on Enforced Disappearances activated Article 34 for Mexico, launching a formal information request and review grounded in data collected since 2014.
- President Claudia Sheinbaum rejected the characterization of state-driven disappearances and said most cases are linked to organized crime, pressing the UN to reflect that distinction.
- Sheinbaum reported recent arrests tied to the Ayotzinapa case of 43 missing students, including at least one police officer, with families to be briefed before details are made public.
- Mexico’s foreign ministry and its UN ambassador questioned the basis for the procedure, which carries no automatic sanctions but could be elevated to the General Assembly through the Secretary-General.
- Rights groups welcomed the review as a chance for accountability, as the national registry reports 338,879 people reported missing since 2007, including 120,196 still unlocated, with high counts in the State of Mexico, Jalisco and Tamaulipas.