SIPAZ Activities (mid-November, 2017 to mid-February, 2018)

INTERNATIONAL PRESENCE AND ACCOMPANIMENT

CHIAPAS

Civil Observation Missions

• On November 1- and 1-, we participated in an observation mission of human rights on the Coast of Chiapas to “provide solidarity and an observation presence in communities affected by the earthquake” of September -.

Highlands

• In November, we attended the Forum “DIALECTICS: Acteal. Resistance, Memory and Truth “, convened by Las Abejas Civil Society in San Cristobal de Las Casas.
• In November and December, we participated in several meetings in order to analyze and find ways to solve the conflict between the municipalities of Chenalho and Chalchihuitan that caused the forced displacement of more than 5,000 people.
• In December, we attended the activities scheduled in the framework of the XX anniversary of the Acteal massacre in the municipality of Chenalho. As observers, we were present at the closed-door meeting between survivors of the massacre who gave their testimonies, and Jan Jarab, representative of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights in Mexico.

Border Zone

• In November and February, joint and bilateral meetings were held with various civil and religious players in the area to discuss the prevailing context in the region.

Jungle Zone

• In January, we held meetings with civil organizations from Ocosingo and attended a space with grassroots processes that seek to organize in defense of their land and territory in the Lacandon Jungle.

Caracoles/EZLN/CNI

• In the term covered by this report, we visited four of the five Zapatista Caracoles at least once.

Women

• In November, we attended the fifth assembly of the Movement in Defense of Land, Territory and for the Participation and Recognition of Women in Decisions whose main objective was “to make visible, discuss and find alternatives to the non-compliance of the State and its institutions responsible for the implementation of the Declaration of Alert of Gender Violence (GVA) in Chiapas” as well as in the march that took place within the framework of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women.
• In February, we were present at the Assembly of the Diocesan Coordination of Women (CODIMUJ in its Spanish acronym) in San Cristobal de Las Casas.

Prisoners

• In January, we visited several organized prisoners in CERSS 5, including Alejandro Santiz, who has just been reinstated to this prison after 27 months in the maximum security prison in Villa de Comaltitlan.

Events

• We participated in the Assembly of representatives of Pueblo Creyente (People of Faith) in November.
• Also in November, we were present during the activities organized in the community of Candelaria, municipality of San Cristobal, in the framework of the mobilizations organized by the Movement in Defense of Life and the Territory (Modevite in its Spanish acronym) in 11 municipalities and an ejido in Chiapas, in defense of Mother Earth, for a dignified life and to demand respect for the self-determination of indigenous peoples.
• In November, we participated in a presentation on the rights of indigenous peoples within the framework of the World Academic Forum on Human Rights that took place during the International Book Fair of Guadalajara, Jalisco State.
• In January, we were present at the Mass organized in the context of the arrival of the new Bishop Rodrigo Aguilar and later we participated in a presentation meeting with him together with other civil organizations with a presence in Chiapas.
• In January, we accompanied the People of Faith (Pueblo Creyente) pilgrimage to honor jTatic Samuel Ruiz, commemorating the – anniversary of his death and raise concerns about the situation that exists in the state.
• In January we were present at the press conference in which workers from the health sector denounced the repression and criminalization suffered by the health workers of Chiapas who are organized in defense of the right to public health.
• In January, we attended the forum called “Stop the militarization. Analysis of the Internal Security Law” that was convened by the Women’s Human Rights Centers of Chiapas (CDMCH in its Spanish acronym) and Fray Bartolome de Las Casas Center (Frayba), as well as the Observatory of Democracies of the Center for Higher Studies in Mexico and Central America (CESMECA in its Spanish acronym).

OAXACA

• In November, we made a week-long trip to Oaxaca where we met with several partners: Unitierra, Consorcio, Tequio Juridico, EDUCA, BARCA-DH, Ser Mixe and Witness for Peace. We also established a first contact with the Ixtepecano Committee and the Cruz de San Juan Chilateca Space. We attended the workshop entitled “The General Law to Prevent Torture, time to implement it: What is needed”? that had been convened by the German Cooperation Agency (GIZ).

GUERRERO

• In January, we interviewed Vidulfo Rosales Sierra, a lawyer from the Tlachinolan Mountain Human Rights Center to discuss various elements of the situation in Guerrero.

EDUCATION FOR PEACE

• In December, we facilitated a new one day Earth and Territory reflection workshop with 14 high school students from the Bartolome de Las Casas Bivalent Technical Baccalaureate, in Guaquitepec, municipality of Chilon.

NETWORKING

• We attended the bi-monthly meetings of the Network for Peace, a space for action and reflection composed of ten organizations that seek to support processes of peace and reconciliation in Chiapas.
• In January, the Jtatic Samuel Jcanan Lum Award was given on this occasion to Vidulfo Rosales Sierra, lawyer and human rights defender, member of the La Montaña Human Rights Center, Tlachinollan, Guerrero, and the Samuel Ruiz Committee for the Promotion and Defense of Life. Chicomuselo, Chiapas. SIPAZ is part of the co-convening team of these recognition awards. Later, and with the presence of Vidulfo, a space of civil organizations was opened to share work experiences in Guerrero and Chiapas.
• In January, we participated in a meeting of the organizations that work in Mexico and integrate the Global Platform for the Prevention of Conflicts (GPPAC in its English acronym) to lay out activities for 2018.
• In February, we co-facilitated a meeting with partners of Mensen met een Missie (MM Holland).

INFORMATION FOR ACTION

• We received the visit of delegations, students, journalists and members of our coalition interested in learning about or deepening their knowledge of the situation of Chiapas, Oaxaca and Guerrero, and the work of SIPAZ.

PUBLIC RELATIONS

• In November, meetings were held with the municipal presidents of Tonala and Arriaga, as well as with State Government officials within the framework of the human rights observation mission in the Coast of Chiapas that sought to “provide a presence of solidarity and observation in communities affected by the earthquake” of September – last.
• In November, we met with two members in charge of issues related to human rights from the United States Embassy.
• In November, we met with the German Cooperation Agency (GIZ) funded by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Germany, which has the general objective of proposing measures and recommendations to accompany the process of implementation of the new General Law to Prevent Torture.
• In December, we met with two members of the Embassy of Canada.