SIPAZ Activities (Mid-February to mid-May 2024)

INTERNATIONAL PRESENCE AND SUPPORT

CHIAPAS

FEBRUARY

• We attended the quarterly assembly of the Believing People of the diocese of San Cristobal de Las Casas.
• We were at the presentation of the report “Childhoods Facing Criminal Violence in San Cristobal de Las Casas, Chiapas”, prepared by the Melel Xojobal organization.

MARCH

• We accompanied the marches that took place in San Cristobal de Las Casas, within the framework of International Women’s Day.
• We attended the Meeting entitled “Intertwining Hope”, organized by the Fray Bartolome de Las Casas Center for Human Rights (Frayba), within the framework of its 35^th anniversary.

APRIL

• We attended an event organized as part of the change of coordination of the Institute of Intercultural Studies and Research in San Cristobal de Las Casas (see Article).
• We attended the workshop “The Reality of Religious Freedom in Mexico, Religious Discrimination and the Challenges of Objective Communication”, facilitated by the organization Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) 18, in San Cristobal de Las Casas.
• We attended a hearing as part of the retrial of the trial against five Tseltals from San Juan Cancuc, defenders of the territory, accused of the murder of a police officer.
• We attended the presentation of the report “Touching the Void”, whose objective is to take a first x-ray of the problem of disappearances, a phenomenon that has been growing exponentially in the state. It was coordinated by the Fray Bartolome de Las Casas Human Rights Center (Frayba).
• We accompanied the more than 300 people who marched for peace and security in San Cristobal de Las Casas, which was called after a few days before an eleven-year-old boy was kidnapped in the northern part of this city.

MAY

• We attended the quarterly assembly of the Believing People of the diocese of San Cristobal de Las Casas.
• We accompanied the activities organized in the event titled “Flowers of Hope”, an action for missing people that took place within the framework of Mother’s Day in San Cristobal de Las Casas.

INFORMATION AND TRAINING FOR ACTION

PUBLIC RELATIONS

• In February, together with other organizations, we participated in a meeting with the Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples of the United Nations (UN), Francisco Cali Tzay (of Guatemalan origin), on his unofficial visit to Chiapas in within the framework of the 28^th anniversary of the San Andres Agreements on Indigenous Rights and Culture.
• In February we held a meeting with several representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) during a visit to Chiapas.
• Likewise, in February, we met with members of the Canadian Embassy in San Cristobal de Las Casas.
• In April, together with other organizations, we held meetings with the State Human Rights Commission (CEDH) and various state authorities (including representatives of the Government Secretariat, the Civil Protection Secretariat, the State Attorney General’s Office, the Secretariat of Security and Citizen Protection, of the Search Commission and of the Victims Commission). The main objective was to share our concerns about the situation of violence in the Border and Sierra areas.

EDUCATION FOR PEACE

FEBRUARY

• We facilitated a space for analysis of the situation with members of the Independencia parish.
• We had a three-day workshop on Peace Building with more than 70 youth leaders from the Diocesan Area of ​​Adolescent and Youth Ministry (ADIPAJ) of the diocese of San Cristobal de Las Casas.
• We held a workshop on security and protection measures with representatives of a community in San Andrés Larrainzar.

MARCH

• Together with the organization specialized in digital security Sursiendo, we participated in a space with journalists and communicators in which training and networking proposals towards greater security for the union continued to be defined.
• We facilitated a workshop on risk analysis, safety and protection measures with members of Luna Maya, a midwifery house in San Cristobal de Las Casas where comprehensive sexual and reproductive health care services are provided.

APRIL

• We held a work session framed in the strategic planning process of Economic and Social Development (DESMI C.A.).
• We shared an analysis with artisan women who participate in the Mujeres de Maíz collective from several municipalities in the Highlands and the Northern Jungle.
• We facilitated a space for monitoring and evaluation with beneficiaries of the Commission for Community Unity and Reconciliation (CORECO)
• We held a new session on risk analysis, security and protection measures with members of the Luna Maya organization.
• We facilitated an analysis with the coordination of the Movement in Defense of Life and Territory (MODEVITE) that was carried out in Oxchuc.
• A member of SIPAZ made a presentation at the Dialectic Forum on “Memory and Resistance of Afro-descendant Peoples in Latin America” organized by the Jtatik Samuel Museum in San Cristóbal de Las Casas.

INTERNAL TRAINING

• In March, the team participated in a self-care space on the topic “Active Hope.”
• In May we were part of the first module of “Sprouts in the Ruins”, a support program in trauma processes facilitated by the Institute of Intercultural Studies and Research C.A., in collaboration with the Brookfield Institute of Massachusetts, which was held in San Cristobal de Las Casas.
• In May, we received fundraising training coordinated by the Mennonite Central Committee (MCC).

NETWORKING

• With a minimum monthly frequency, we attend plenary meetings and commissions of the Peace Organization in Chiapas, Slamalil Kinal.
• On a bimonthly basis, we attend operational meetings of the People’s Movement for Peace and Justice (MPPJ). In February, we attended an Assembly of that movement that was held in Mexico City. Meetings were held with the campaign teams of two of the candidates for the presidency of the Republic to raise concerns regarding human rights and peacebuilding.
• On a monthly basis, we have virtual meetings on Accompaniment of Unarmed Civilian Persons (USP/A) – Community of Practice.
• In February and May, we participated in virtual meetings of the partners of the Global Platform for the Prevention of Armed Conflicts (GPPAC).
• In March, we had a meeting of organizations that collaborate in the project titled “Strengthening the Self-protection Capacities of Human Rights Organizations and Communities in Chiapas,” which we coordinated with Voces Mesoamericanas and Huridocs.
• In March, we attended a meeting of partners of the Mennonite Central Committee (CCM) that took place in Morelos, where the issue of gender violence was addressed.
• In March, we participated in a virtual meeting of the members of the Platform for the construction of peace in Mexico.
• In March and May, we participated in a meeting with representatives of the pastoral areas that are part of the Monitoring Commission of the Congress of Mother Earth, a component of the social pastoral care of the diocese of San Cristobal de Las Casas.
• In April, we were part of a security analysis space in San Cristobal de Las Casas, which was attended by various civil organizations with a presence in the city.