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

INTERNATIONAL PRESENCE AND ACCOMPANIMENT

CHIAPAS

JUNE

• We attended the discussion on the experience of struggle of former prisoners and their families, and the presentation of the “Factory of the Guilty” Platform, which took place in San Cristobal de Las Casas.
• We accompanied the Forum “Towards Other Narratives: The Reconstruction of Societies that Care – Human Mobility and Transterritorial Citizenship”, organized by Mesoamerican Voices – Action with Migrant Peoples, which took place in San Cristobal de Las Casas.
• We attended the press conference on the violence that has affected minors in the state during the last month, which was organized by the Network for the Rights of Children and Adolescents in Chiapas (REDIAS).
• We were present at the photography exhibition “Against Pain, Memory” by Gabriela Sanabria in San Cristobal de Las Casas. Her images capture the pain and struggle of the Mothers in Resistance collective, who continue to demand justice for the femicides of their daughters and the disappearance of their relatives in Chiapas.
• JULY
• We participated in a meeting of the Believing People coordination to prepare their annual Assembly to be held in August.
• We were present at the session “The Southern Border and the Structure of a Society Devastated by Organized Crime,” part of the “Dialéctica” Forum coordinated by the J’Tatik Samuel Museum.
• AUGUST
• We attended several sessions of the 9^th edition of the “Social Forum on Other Democracies,” convened by the Observatory of Southern Democracies of Mexico and Central America (ODEMCA), which took place in San Cristobal de Las Casas.

OAXACA/GUERRERO

• In August, we participated in the forums, both closed and public, entitled “Defense of Territory and Criminalization of Defenders and the Social Movement,” organized by the Fray Bartolomé de Las Casas Center for Human Rights (Chiapas), La Montaña Tlachinollan Human Rights Center (Guerrero) and Services for an Alternative Education C.A., EDUCA (Oaxaca). These events were held in the City of Oaxaca, where participants were able to share their experiences and testimonies of struggle against the various forms of violence they face.

INFORMATION AND TRAINING FOR ACTION

• In May, we held a meeting with the Colombian Ambassador in Mexico City.
• In June, together with members of the People’s Movement for Peace and Justice (MPPJ), we carried out several advocacy activities in Washington, United States. These included meetings with congressmen, human rights officials from the State Department, and representatives of the presidential campaigns, where we shared the reality of the state of Chiapas, the alarming increase in violence, and the serious human rights violations faced by people and communities in the region.
• In July, within the framework of the 190^th period of public sessions of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACHR), we participated as speakers in the virtual hearing “Mexico: Impact of the Situation of Violence in Chiapas on Human Rights.”

EDUCATION FOR PEACE

JUNE

• We held a new session on risk analysis, security and protection measures with members of the Luna Maya organization.
• We held a work session within the framework of the strategic planning process of Economic and Social Development (DESMI A.C.).
• We shared an analysis with artisan women who participate in the Mujeres de Maíz collective from various municipalities in the Highlands and the Northern Jungle.
• Together with the organization specialized in digital security Sursiendo, we participated in a space with journalists and communicators in which training and articulation proposals for greater security for the sector continued to be defined.

JULY

• We had a two-day workshop on Peace Building with young people from the Diocesan Area of ​​Adolescent and Youth Pastoral (ADIPAJ) bringing together representatives of the Ch’ol area that took place in Tumbala.

INTERNAL TRAINING

• A member of the team has started the diploma course in Positive Conflict Transformation, organized by the Commission for Community Unity and Reconciliation (CORECO).
• We attended the 1^st training session on digital care for cell phones coordinated by Sursiendo.

NETWORKING

• At least once a month, we attend plenary and commission meetings of the Slamalil Kinal Peace Movement in Chiapas. In July, this platform organized a meeting of civil and social organizations in the state to carry out a post-election analysis and a strategic reflection on the challenges and opportunities. 90 people from 38 organizations participated in the event.
• Every two months, we attend the operational meetings of the People’s Movement for Peace and Justice (MPPJ). This process facilitated a series of meetings and activities in which we participated in Washington, United States, in June.
• Every month, we hold virtual meetings of the Accompaniment of Unarmed Civilians (USP/A) – Community of Practice.
• In May, we held a meeting with the organizations that collaborate in the project “Strengthening the Self-protection Capacities of Human Rights Organizations and Communities in Chiapas”, coordinated with Voces Mesoamericanas and Huridocs.
• In June, we participated in a virtual meeting with the partners of the Global Platform for the Prevention of Armed Conflict (GPPAC).
• In July, we attended a meeting with representatives of the pastoral areas that are part of the Monitoring Commission of the Mother Earth Congress, a component of the social pastoral of the diocese of San Cristobal de Las Casas. In addition, in June, we were at the Meeting held in Cancuc to commemorate the tenth anniversary of the Mother Earth Congress, which was attended by approximately 80 people.
• In July, we participated in a space for analysis on security in San Cristobal de Las Casas, which was attended by various civil organizations with a presence in that city.
• In May and August, we took part in virtual meetings of the members of the Platform for the Peace Building in Mexico.