LeBaron Family & Madres Buscadoras Request the UN Recognize Mexico as an Internal Armed Conflict

"Socalj" for Borderland Beat

Activists have submitted formal documents to the United Nations to formally recognize the violence in Mexico as an Internal Armed Conflict.

Recent days of violence in states such as Guanajuato, Jalisco, Baja California, and Chihuahua, among others, have caused a great impact on Mexican society. Whether due to the deaths and injuries that have been reported in civilians, to situations of curfews and suspension of activities, the attacks in recent days, perpetrated by members of organized crime, have undermined the tranquility of citizens.

This has led to extraordinary measures being taken from civil society itself, in order to trigger possible changes that reduce aggressions and attacks throughout the national territory. Such was the case of a statement addressed to the Security Council of the United Nations in Mexico and to Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard Casaubón. The document was drafted to ask the UN Mexico to formally recognize the situation of violence and insecurity in the country as an internal armed conflict.

The letter was signed by Bryan Carlos LeBaron Jones , Renata Villarreal (from Marea Verde México), Cesilia Flores (from Madres Buscadoras Sonora), Arussi Unda (Brujas del Mar), Kenya Cuevas (Casa de las Muñecas Tiresias AC), who recognized each other as “some of the victims of the armed conflict”.

Cecilia Flores, president of Madres Buscadoras, was one of the signatories of the letter.

Recognition of an Internal Armed Conflict in Mexico

The United Nations defines Internal Armed Conflicts as:

Armed conflicts are defined as political conflicts where the use of armed force by two parties of which at least one is the Government of a State results in at least 25 battle-related deaths.

The content of the request deals with the growing presence of “illegally armed” criminal groups, who directly oppose and confront the Mexican State. “They have diversified, they have been increasing their arms, economic and social power over time, and have taken over a large part of the territory that comprises the Nation,” can be read in the letter. In this sense, the signatories assured that they live in the absence of the Mexican rule of law.

The purpose of the petition is, they assured, to attract the interest of the international community so that it accompanies, promotes, monitors, and cooperates with the application of Mexican laws against criminal groups so that it can "achieve internal stability and prevent further human loss through local action and international support”.

The recognition of this internal conflict, they pointed out, would allow the UN Security Council in Mexico to apply instruments to investigate, recommend and send support from the Armed Forces in order to achieve peace.

A portion of the document was delivered to the UN Mexico.

In the version of the petition that was delivered to the UN, what would be the name of another person who could have been involved in drafting it appears crossed out. The name that appeared there was that of María Elena Ríos, the human rights activist who was the victim of attempted femicide in September 2019. A saxophonist attacked in 2019 with acid, still does not have sufficient protection measures. She, however, had nothing to do with the document.

María Elena Ríos was included in the document without her consent.

Through her personal Twitter account, the social fighter clarified the situation and stated that her name had been included in the document without any notification. Consequently, she had not given her consent to it either.

“I regret the pain of the victims and I share the feeling of seeking justice; but I want to make it clear that I am NOT a victim of an ARMED CONFLICT, as referred to in the said document. I do not share the content of it, "she wrote on the social network to accompany the letter in which he clarified the facts.
"I inform that I DID NOT AUTHORIZE my name to appear on such a document [...] My case is CORRUPTION and INFLUENCE PEDDLING in which the Governor of Oaxaca, Alejandro Murat Hinojosa, and the Attorney General of the State, Arturo Peimbert Calvo, are involved ", added María Elena Ríos in the statement.

So far, the reasons why the activist would have been included among the list of signatories are unknown, since the rest of those involved have not spoken about this detail.

Source Infobae, UN