Amnistía Internacional emite Acción Urgente a Gobierno Mexicano por acoso al TADECO

Lic. Fernando Francisco Gómez-Mont
Secretaría de Gobernación
Bucareli 99, 1er. piso
Col. Juárez, Del. Cuauhtémoc
México D.F., C.P.06600
MEXICO

January 21, 2010

Señor Secretario / Dear Minister

I am writing to you to express my deep concern for the safety of the members of Taller de Desarrollo Comunitario in Chilpancingo, Guerrero state. As a member of Amnesty International I have been made aware that members of TADECO have received death threats and have been followed. It is my understanding that the government has agreed to provide protection measures ordered by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights to several human rights defenders, but some have reported that no effective protection has been provided. Substantive efforts have not been made to investigate cases of abuses against human rights defenders; impunity is the general rule in these cases, leaving open the possibility of further attacks.



In light of the above information I am calling on the authorities to:

provide immediate and effective protection measures for all members of TADECO, in accordance with their wishes, so they can carry out their work without fear;

conduct a prompt, thorough and impartial investigation into the threats and surveillance against members of TADECO, with the results made public and those found responsible brought to justice.



In a democratic society it is unacceptable for threats of violence and intimidation to be left without investigation and for the perpetrators to go unpunished. I urge you to make sure that incidents such as these are pursued and prevented from happening again.

Yours sincerely,

Stephen Shutt

Maggie & Steve Shutt
119 Cedarbrook Way SW
Calgary AB
T2W 3Z7
Phone 403 281 3638