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In Mexico, lawmakers recently passed a measure to allow federal authorities to investigate and prosecute cases of murdered journalists, taking it out of the hands of state authorities, who are historically more corrupt. The bill, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists, will implement a constitutional amendment passed in 2012. This comes as journalists have stepped up nationwide demonstrations to protest ongoing attacks against media workers as the country marks the one-year anniversary of a law intended to protect both journalists and human rights defenders. But as FSRN’s Andalusia Knoll reports, challenges remain in fully implementing the law.

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In the face of thousands of kidnappings and an inept government, Ruben Figueroa dedicates himself to finding disappeared Central American migrants in Mexico. 

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Today in Washington, DC the Inter-American Commission of Human Rights heard the case of 47 women who were arrested and sexually tortured in Atenco, Mexico in 2006. The women were protesting in defense of flower vendors’ right to work and were met by brutal police repression. A warning to our listeners, our coverage includes some graphic descriptions. FSRN’s Andalusia Knoll Reports from Mexico.

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Hundreds of thousands of Central American migrants pass through Mexico on their way to the US each year. Thousands never reach their destination and their families are left searching for answers to the whereabouts of their loved ones. But in a rare case, a missing Honduran migrant was recently found in Veracruz and reconnected to his family. The issue highlights the dangers faced by migrants as they seek better paying work in the North and the challenges faced by families and human rights advocates who try to find those who have gone missing. FSRN’s Andalusia Knoll reports.

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Four years ago, people across the world watched intently as the United States inaugurated its first black president. Thousands of people expressed hope that policies implemented under previous administrations - including wars, torture and detention, and inadequate economic support of developing nations - would change. While many acknowledge some of the progress made, there is also criticism. FSRN reporters in five countries, Canada, Mexico, Haiti, Cameroon and Pakistan, spoke to residents about the legacy of President Obama so far and what they’d like to see in the future.

I contributed the voices from Mexico recorded in front of Bellas Artes

This segment includes the voices of France Stohner, part of a Filipino Women’s Collective in Canada; Journalist Shair Ali Khan and shopkeeper Nayaz Ali in Pakistan;  Government worker and Teacher Caroline Herrera in Mexico; John Nkemngong Nkengason & Felicitas Ndikum Fohneng at the University of Yaounde, Cameroon; 70-year-old street sweep Jocyln Claire and 26-year-old student Stephane Dupin in Haiti; McGill University law student Olivier Jarda; and Blanca Carro a student in English & Sociology in Mexico City. Thanks to Lillian Boctor, Andalusia Knoll, Ansel Herz, Gabe Matthews and Ngala Chimtom for conducting these interviews.

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Mothers of Cd. Juárez disappeared demand access to forensic remains

A groups of mothers whose daughters disappeared from Ciudad Juárez arrived today in the capital of Chihuahua to demand that the governor help them find their missing relatives, dead or alive. Andalusia Knoll reports from Mexico City.

Participants in the Walk for Life and Justice for Women trekked for six days on foot in freezing temperatures to bring their demands to the doorstep of Chihuahua Governor César Duarte. They want access to forensic evidence and case files in the Ciudad Juárez morgue, where the remains of more than 130 individuals rest unidentified and unclaimed.

The families also want rapid responses from the authorities when women go missing.

The caravan participants brought along a coffin containing two bones, which authorities say are the physical remains of one of the participant’s daughters. Families who have received bones say a cloud of doubt lingers over the closed cases due to unclear forensic evidence linking the remains to the missing persons.

The caravan followed the same path from Ciudad Juarez to Chihuahua City taken by Marisela Escobedo, an activist who was shot dead just over two years ago in front of the state government palace while demanding the arrest of the confessed killer of her teenage daughter.

Andalusia Knoll, FSRN, Mexico City.

(Source: fsrn.org)