Since 1964, more than 100,023 people have gone missing in the country, including more than 24,700 women and more than 74,700 men. Gender of 516 people unknown.
According to the data, this number has increased to more than 20,000 people in the last two years alone, which was met with outrage and urgent calls for better arrangements for search and rescue.
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet said in a statement on Tuesday that only 35 of the missing persons had been convicted.
“Efforts should be made to end these human rights abuses and abuses and to establish victims’ rights to guarantee truth, justice, compensation and non-recurrence,” Bachelet said.
Marilyn Harbig of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) discusses the trauma suffered by the families of missing persons.
“The first few hours are crucial, when someone goes missing, their relatives have a right to know what happened,” Harbig said in a news release. “Knowing the fate of the missing is primarily a humanitarian task.”
Despite the numbers, Bachelet highlights the Mexican government’s progress, recognizing Mexico as the first country to allow a visit to the UN Committee on Enforced Disappearances to work with authorities in 13 Mexican states.
Both the ICRC and the UN have called on family members to work with government authorities to find their loved ones.
According to a statement to the media, Michelle Bachelet called on the government to “keep the families of the missing at the center of their efforts and provide the necessary resources to carry out the investigation.”
