"Mexico Must Clarify Fate And Whereabouts Of Human Rights Defenders Ricardo Lagunes And Antonio Díaz", 21 February 2023

...UN experts...demanded answers about the fate of two disappeared Mexican human right defenders and urged the Government of Mexico to investigate their disappearance and bring the perpetrators to justice...

The human rights defenders disappeared after attending a community gathering to discuss collective action related to the human rights impacts of the company...

“The Government of Mexico must investigate the disappearance of Ricardo Lagunes and Antonio Díaz, whose fate and whereabouts are still unknown,” the UN experts said. “It must bring those responsible for the crime to justice, provide redress to victims and their families and guarantee their safety”...

“Enforced disappearances have a chilling effect on human rights defenders and silence critical voices,” the experts said, urging the Government to ensure that human rights defenders can carry out their critical work in a safe environment, including strengthening the protection mechanism for human rights defenders.

“The government must ensure that businesses respect human rights across all their activities, including in the engagement with human rights defenders and affected communities” they said.

“Businesses should provide all the information they may have in connection to the disappearance of Mr Lagunes and Mr Díaz,” the experts said.

“Businesses must engage with human rights defenders and affected communities, particularly those with special protection needs, such as Indigenous Peoples, to help identify adverse human rights impacts and address them effectively, in line with their responsibility to respect human rights,” they said...