SIPAZ Activities (mid-February to mid-May, 2021)

INTERNATIONAL PRESENCE AND ACCOMPANIMENT

CHIAPAS

Civil observation missions

• From April 25^th to May 4^th, we accompanied the Zapatista maritime delegation part of the Journey for Life, Europe Chapter as observers, which left Chiapas for Isla Mujeres bound for Europe.

Gender

• In February, we attended the discussion “Mexico before CEDAW: Findings of Civil Society in the Framework of the Evaluation of the Mexican State on Gender Violence”, convened by Amnesty International and several women’s organizations.
• In March, we were present at the 11^th Assembly of the Movement in Defense of the Land, Territory and for the Participation and Recognition of Women in Decision Making, which was held in San Cristobal de Las Casas.
• Within the framework of International Women’s Day, March 8^th, we accompanied the marches that took place in both Chenalho and San Cristobal de Las Casas.
• In March, we participated in the survey carried out by UN Women on Latin American women’s organizations and networks that are dedicated to dialogue, prevention or conflict resolution, on issues related to peace and security, in their countries or in the Latin American region.
• In March, we attended various activities organized within the framework of the III Feminist Congress in Chiapas.

Internal Forced Displacement

• In February, we were at the online forum “Latin American Experiences of Forced Displacement and Prevention Measures”, organized by the Fray Bartolome de Las Casas Center for Human Rights.
• In April, we attended the press conference in Acteal (Chenalho municipality) in which the Civil Society Organization Las Abejas de Acteal reported that due to lack of conditions for their safety, six families displaced for a year and eight months suspended the planned return to their community of Los Chorros.

Indigenous Peoples

– In April, we attended the presentation of the report “The Struggle of Indigenous Peoples for Self-determination in Mexico: Pending Issues and Challenges”, an event organized by Fundar and Oxfam, among others.

Human Rights Defenders and Freedom of Expression

• In March, we attended the online discussion “Defenders for Life and Dignity”, convened by the Fray Bartolome de Las Casas Center for Human Rights.
• In March, we participated with a presentation at “Toolbox for Strengthening Self-protection”, prepared by the Swedish Movement for Reconciliation (SweFOR).

Land and Territory

• In February, we were at the online event organized by the organization Water and Life: Women, Rights and Environment in which the report “Megaprojects, Extractivism and Socio-environmental Conflicts in Chiapas” report was presented, based on the learnings of the ecofeminist school “ Women Defending the Land-body Territory.”
• In February, we attended the “Water, Territory and Life – Justice for Samir Flores” discussion, organized by the Fray Bartolome de Las Casas Center for Human Rights and the Ajmaq Resistance and Rebellion Network.
• In February, we were at the presentation of the book “Defending Territories against Dispossession. Socio-environmental Struggles and Dispute over Social Projects in Mexico”, by academic and researcher Carlos Rodriguez Wallenius.
• In February, we attended various events that were part of the Conference on Human Rights and Business, organized by the International Peace Brigades (PBI).
• In March, we were at the online event entitled “Impacts of Canadian Mines on Indigenous Communities in Mexico”, organized by Peace Brigades International (PBI).

Militarization

• In March, we attended the online session “Militarization and Women’s Rights”, part of the “Information Days on the Risks of Militarization”, coordinated by the Miguel Agustin PRODH Rights Center.
• In April, we were at the online session “Why Militarization has Deepened”, part of the same Conference.
• In May, we attended the online session “Military in Public Security”, also part of these sessions.

Events

• In February and May, we participated in the Assembly of Believing People in San Cristobal de Las Casas.
• In March, we attended the webinar organized by Pax Christi International to reflect on the encyclical of Pope Francis, “Fratelli Tutti”.
• In March, we were at the discussion “Micro-territories of Violence: Approaches to Criminal Spaces and the Development of Alternative Criminalities”, convened by Ibero, Mexico City.
• In March and May, we participated in an analysis space with various organizations with a presence in the municipality of Chilon, to share information and reflections on the reality in that area.
• In March, we shared a space for analysis on the situation in the border area, in which various religious players and civil organizations from the area (or with work in the area) were present.
• In March, we participated in an analysis space on security in San Cristobal de Las Casas, which was attended by several civil organizations with a presence in this city.
• In April, we met with various civil and religious organizations that work in the Palenque area, to update our analysis of this region.
• Invited by the Vicariate for Justice and Peace, in May we participated in a meeting in the diocese of San Cristobal de Las Casas on the socio-political conflict in Chiapas and the role that the Catholic Church can play in it (in particular in the case of Venustiano Carranza).

OAXACA

• In February, we attended the session “Historical Territoriality and the Dispute over the Isthmus”, convened by the CLACSO Working Group “Borders, Regionalization and Globalization.”
• In March, we were at the presentation of the organization Project of Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, AC (ProDESC), “Business Due Diligence in Human Rights: the Case of Unión Hidalgo, Oaxaca, in France.”

GUERRERO

• In March, we attended the virtual event “A’gu, Like the Oak and the Wind of La Montaña“, organized by the Tlachinollan Human Rights Center to highlight the situation of violence suffered by women -particularly indigenous-, in the Guerrero region.
• In March, we participated in the Conversation “Women Victims of Internal Forced Displacement and Forced Disappearance”, convened by the Jose Maria Morelos y Pavon Center for the Defense of Human Rights.
• In March, we had a virtual meeting with members of the Collective Against Torture and Impunity (CCTI) based in Acapulco, to update analysis and coordinate actions.
• In May, we held a virtual meeting with members of the team from La Montaña Tlachinollan Human Rights Center, to update our analysis of what is happening in Guerrero, and to agree on joint actions.

INFORMATION AND TRAINING FOR ACTION

PUBLIC RELATIONS

• In March, we participated in the discussion from the Americas on the European Union Action Plan on Human Rights and Democracy 2020-2024.
• In March, we had an online meeting with several members of the US Embassy.

EDUCATION FOR PEACE

• In March, we facilitated a workshop on Non-violent Strategies, organized within the framework of an Assembly of the Movement in Defense of Life and Territory (MODEVITE), in which around 80 people participated.
• In April and May, we co-facilitated a planning, monitoring and evaluation day with the operational team of the Commission for Reconciliation and the Community Unit (CORECO).
• In May, we co-facilitated the session on Peacebuilding that was held within the framework of the Diploma in Conflict Transformation organized by CORECO.

INTERNAL TRAINING

• In March, we participated in several sessions on Non-violent Communication organized within the framework of the Living without Violence Third Online Festival.

NETWORKING

• We attend the bimonthly meetings of the Network for Peace, a space for action and reflection, made up of ten organizations that seek to support peace and reconciliation processes in Chiapas.
• In February, we participated in the 3^rd Online Meeting on Peacebuilding, an event that had the participation of the expert in Positive Conflict Transformation, John Paul Lederach, and which was convened, among others, by GPPAC.
• In March, we were at 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 of the diocese of San Cristobal de Las Casas.
• In April, we participated in a online meeting of the French Committee for a Civil Peace Intervention in which we were partners of several projects financed by Non-violence XXI.
• In April, we had a face-to-face meeting of the partners that participated in the “Latin America Project, Between Violence and Hope – Phase III: Accompaniment of Communities in Non-violent Resistance to Extractivism”, coordinated by Pax Christi International.
• We held several meetings with members of Peace Brigades International (PBI) teams and the Swedish Movement for Reconciliation (SweFOR) to share analysis and coordinate actions.