California State Senate Condemns Death of 43 Students in Mexico

Lara Resolution Condemning Deaths of Mexico's 43 Students Approved Unanimously By CA Senate Same Day UN Committee Holds Hearing on Enforced Disappearances

February 02, 2015

SACRAMENTO, CA — The California Senate today passed Senate Resolution 7 authored by Senator Ricardo Lara (D-Bell Gardens) unanimously urging the government of Mexico to support further dialogue between the international community and human rights organizations in light of the disappearance and deaths of the forty-three students in Iguala, Mexico. The resolution comes the same day that Mexico’s National Human Rights Commission presents to the United Nations (U.N.) Committee on Enforced Disappearances a report that underscores the country’s "serious problem" with disappearances and lacking a comprehensive national list of those missing to effectively address the problem.

“California joins the international community in voicing our concerns against human rights violations in Mexico and throughout the world,” said Senator Ricardo Lara. “At least forty three young lives have been lost for standing up for what they believed in and many questions about how they went missing remain. I urge the Mexican government to support further dialogue between the international community and human rights organizations to implement human rights reforms that protect free speech and eliminate retribution of any sort for individuals expressing their opinions.”

On September 26, 2014, forty-three college students from the Ayotzinapa Normal School in Guerrero, Mexico disappeared in Iguala, Mexico. According to Mexico’s Attorney General, Jesus Murillo Karam, evidence indicates the forty-three missing students had been executed and incinerated in the municipal dump of Cocula, Mexico by the Guerreros Unidos cartel.  It has been estimated that 25,000 to 26,000 people have disappeared in Mexico since 2006 and that those disappeared often include vulnerable, such as poor migrants, indigenous people and women and children.

Today, Mexico’s National Human Rights Commission presented to the U.N.’s Committee on Enforced Disappearances in Geneva a report that finds the country has a “serious problem” with disappearances and lacks a comprehensive national list of the missing to effectively deal with the problem. Mexico’s Ambassador to the U.N. Jorge Lomonaco faced questioning from the Committee and stated that the country is making a priority of passing laws against forced disappearances and perfecting a database to track the missing.

“It is promising to see Mexican officials take note of this problem and acknowledge that proactive measures are needed to implement positive change,” added Senator Lara. “I stand in solidarity with the families of the forty-three students and commend their courage for speaking out and pushing for increased accountability in Mexico and worldwide.”