The facts: enforced disappearances on a scale comparable to an armed conflict in Mexico
"An open grave": these are the words that the poet and founder of the victims’ collectives Javier Sicilia uses to describe the situation in Mexico. Jimena Reyes, Head of the FIDH Latin America Desk, explains: "The FIDH has been documenting enforced disappearances in Mexico for 10 years. By 2026, the severity of the situation will be comparable to that of an armed conflict, even though there is no armed conflict".
Since 2006, the rise in violence in Mexico has been as dramatic as it is alarming. Over 250,000 homicides, 100,000 enforced disappearances, and thousands of mass graves have been discovered; all against a backdrop of impunity, 98% of crimes go unpunished.
The majority of cases of disappearance are linked to organised crime. They predominantly affect young and poor people, 75% are men and 25% are women.. Organised crime groups use terror to gain control of territory. Victims are silenced forever because they refuse to pay protection money, or because they work for a rival group, or because they saw something they shouldn’t have, or simply for being in the wrong place at the wrong time.
The mobilisation: 10 years of investigations and exposing the truth
The FIDH has been working alongside victims’ organisations and civil society in Mexico to document crimes against crimes against humanity. The FIDH has investigated:
– enforced disappearances in Coahuila de Zaragoza, in collaboration with 90 local organisations (2017) [1];
– enforced disappearances in Chihuahua between 2008 and 2010 (2018) [2];
– the discovery of mass graves in Colinas de Santa Fe and El Arbolillo where the remains of 305 and 310 persons were found, respectively, in the state of Veracruz, and 20,000 enforced disappearances which have occurred since 2006 and for which public officials have been convicted by the courts (2021);
– enforced disappearances in Nayarit and the discovery of 140 persons buried in mass graves, implicated the governor and the attorney general of Nayarit, both currently serving prison sentences in the United States (2021). [3]
This type of rigorous and meticulous work is essential in order to bring these crimes to the attention of Mexican authorities and to uphold international criminal law.
The advocacy work with Mexican authorities has led to the government’s partial acknowledgement of the existence of enforced disappearances which in turn led to the enactment of a law requiring investigating magistrates to carry out contextual analyses. This type of analysis is used during criminal investigations to identify the social, political, or historical factors that lead to human rights violations. FIDH has thus far trained more than 30,000 civil servants in context analysis.
The work done by the FIDH with respect to the international justice system has yet to come fruition. The Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) has been repeatedly urged to open a preliminary examination under Article 15 of the Rome Statute. Due to pressure from the Mexican government, said examination has never been initiated.
The challenge: in the face of impunity, acknowledgment of the systematic and widespread nature of enforced disappearances
Why does this serious situation persist, despite the reports and the evidence? Enforced disappearances continue and the number of mass graves discovered is increasing largely due to widespread impunity.
One of the causes lies the complicity of local Mexican authorities. Very often, these crimes are committed because the authorities turn a blind eye or are sometimes actively involved in enforced disappearances. Although the Mexican government has partially acknowledged the situation, it continues to deny the scale and systematic and widespread nature of the crimes being committed.
The justice system is overstretched. Researchers estimate that it would take 130 years of legal proceedings to investigate each case and bring such a large number of crimes to trial.
To break this vicious cycle and ensure justice, one factor is key: acknowledgement of the systematic and widespread nature of enforced disappearances. Acknowledgement from both the Mexican government and international bodies. This would would make it possible to:
– change the investigative methodology and group cases by location, method, and timeframe to create macro-cases -this would allow the Mexican justice system to prosecute a multitude of crimes, rather than prosecuting them on a case-by-case basis;
– prosecute not only the perpetrators but also the masterminds behind the crimes by identifying chains of command and modus operandi; and
– seek assistance from the International Criminal Court or through international cooperation to advance these complex investigations.
The Mexican government, however, is striving to deny the systematic and widespread nature of enforced disappearances, despite the overwhelming evidence gathered over a span of 20 years and the fact that international bodies and the general public are aware of the situation.
The impact: for the first time there is international acknowledgement of existence of evidence of the systematic and widespread nature of enforced disappearances in Mexico
Confronted with these obstacles, the FIDH decided to bring the matter before the highest international body. Because of the Mexican government’s persistent denial and the ICC’s failure to act, in 2025 the FIDH submitted all their documentation and reports to the United Nations Committee on Enforced Disappearances.
The Committee is well aware of the facts: Mexico was one of only two countries, the other is Iraq, for which it received the greatest number of urgent reports regarding enforced disappearances. The work of the FIDH acted as a catalyst. It triggered, for the first time in history, an unprecedented procedure, a legal instrument never before utilised, which turned this emblematic case into a testament to the impact of the work of civil society in Mexico and the FIDH.
The Committee communicated that "The information submitted to the Committee includes specific information provided by the International Federation for Human Rights on documented cases that appear to indicate that enforced disappearances have been, and are being, committed in a systematic and widespread manner in the past and in the present in Mexico". It added: "The most recent information received from the International Federation for Human Rights in February and April suggests that the problem of disappearances, including enforced disappearances, is sufficiently serious in the State Party to merit action by the Committee under article 34 of the Convention."
Article 34 of the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance reads "If the Committee receives information which appears to it to contain well-founded indications that enforced disappearance is being practised on a widespread or systematic basis in the territory under the jurisdiction of a State Party, it may, after seeking from the State Party concerned all relevant information on the situation, urgently bring the matter to the attention of the General Assembly of the United Nations, through the Secretary-General of the United Nations."
The implications: Mexico facing up to its responsibilities, civil society ready to cooperate with the justice system
Subsequent to its decision, the Committee received a letter signed by 20,495 individuals and organisations in support of initiating the procedure. On 4 April 2025, the Committee adopted a decision to request from Mexico any relevant information regarding the situation.
Mexico reacted to the initiation of the procedure. Unfortunately, it continues to deny the facts and publicly refuses to recognise the decision of the Committee on Enforced Disappearances. The reaction contravenes its international commitments, as Mexico is a party to the Rome Statute. It also undermines the country’s international credibility regarding its ability to uphold the rule of law and act when crimes against humanity are committed on its territory.
Mexican civil society is prepared to cooperate with the justice system. Given the police’s failure to act, the madres buscadoras (searching mothers) have learnt to search for bodies, and the FIDH supports women’s groups in training and becoming established organisations. Civil society is conducting analyses of systematic patterns, using rigorous tables. Civil servants are now being trained in context analysis.
Mexico must acknowledge before the Committee on Enforced Disappearances what the world already knows: the systematic and widespread nature of enforced disappearances. If the State persists in its denialist stance, the Committee will have no choice but to alert the United Nations General Assembly, highlighting to Member States Mexico’s failure to act in the face of impunity.
The Committee on Enforced Disappearances is to issue a decision in the coming weeks.