SIPAZ Activities (Mid-May to mid-August 2025)

INTERNATIONAL PRESENCE AND ACCOMPANIMENT

CHIAPAS

MAY

• We attended the quarterly assembly of Believing People of the Diocese of San Cristobal de Las Casas.

JUNE

• We held meetings with church actors and civil organizations present in Comitan de Dominguez.
• We accompanied members of the Mothers in Resistance Collective in activities held in Yajalon.
• We accompanied the 2025 LGBTIQ+ Pride march held in San Cristobal de Las Casas.

JULY

• We participated in activities organized to celebrate the 50^th anniversary of the ordination of the bishop of the Diocese of San Cristobal, Rodrigo Aguilar Martinez.
• We held online meetings with the organization CSW18, which fights against religious intolerance.
• We met with members of the Mayense Intercultural Seminary (SIM).

AUGUST

• We accompanied the start of the Mothers in Resistance collective’s sit-in and a meeting between some of them and the State Attorney General’s Office.
• We attended the inauguration of the International Encounter “Resistance and Rebellion: Some Parts of the Whole,” convened by the Zapatista Army of National Liberation (EZLN).
• We attended the quarterly assembly of the Believing People of the Diocese of San Cristobal de Las Casas.
• We accompanied the Pilgrimage for the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, Respect for Mother Earth, and Peacebuilding that took place in Bachajon.

INFORMATION AND TRAINING FOR ACTION

EDUCATION FOR PEACE

JUNE

• We co-facilitated the session on Active Nonviolence (NOVA), part of the Diploma on Positive Conflict Transformation, convened by the Commission for Community Unity and Reconciliation (CORECO).
• We gave a presentation on peace paradigms at the Meeting of Civil Society Organizations, convened by the Slamalil Kinal Peace Platform.
• We facilitated a reflection on peace with the operational team of the Fray Bartolome de Las Casas Center for Human Rights.
• We shared an analysis with women artisans who participate in the Mujeres de Maiz collective, from several municipalities in the Highlands and the Northern Jungle.
• We facilitated a space for analysis of reality with priests present in the Highlands Tseltal region of the Diocese of San Cristobal de Las Casas.
• We gave a presentation on peace paradigms with the Border Zone Working Group.

JULY

• We facilitated an analysis with young women whose mothers participate in the Mujeres de Maiz collective, from several municipalities in the Highlands and the Northern Jungle.

AUGUST

• We co-facilitated a session on peacebuilding, part of the Diploma on Positive Conflict Transformation, convened by the Commission for Community Unity and Reconciliation (CORECO).

INTERNAL TRAINING

• In May, we participated in a workshop on gender violence convened in Chiapas by the Mennonite Central Committee (CCM).

NETWORKING

• At least once a month, we attended plenary and commission meetings of the Chiapas Peace Coordination (Slamalil Kinal). In May, together with the members of that platform, we held a discussion session on the recent indigenous reform with expert Francisco Lopez Barcenas. In June, we co-convened and co-facilitated a meeting of civil society organizations attended by more than 80 people.
• Bi-monthly, we attended operational meetings of the People’s Movement for Peace and Justice (MPPJ).
• Monthly, we held virtual meetings of the Accompaniment of Unarmed Civilians (USP/A) – Community of Practice.
• We held several meetings with organizations collaborating on the project entitled “Strengthening the Self-Protection Capacities of Human Rights Organizations and Communities in Chiapas,” which we coordinate with Voces Mesoamericanas and Huridocs.
• As members of the Platform for Peacebuilding in Mexico, we participated in meetings to analyze and reflect on best practices.
• In May, we participated in a security analysis session in San Cristobal de Las Casas, which was attended by several organizations located or working in the city.
• In July, we participated in a meeting with representatives from pastoral areas who are part of the Mother Earth Congress Monitoring Commission, a component of the social ministry of the Diocese of San Cristobal de Las Casas.
• In July, we met with several allies in the Netherlands, such as the international secretary of the Global Platform for the Prevention of Armed Conflict (GPPAC) in The Hague, the Dutch Missionary Week organization, and the parish of Hoogkarspel.