IDHEAS presented a report to the UN CEDAW Committee on the search of missing women and girls in Mexico, ahead of the Mexican State’s assessment in the 78th session of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women which started on Feb.15, 2021
We investigated on the implementation the Amber Alert, the Alba Protocol, and the Alert for Gender Violence for the search of missing women and girls in Mexico, and hope that the #CEDAW Committee will present our recommendations to the Mexican Government to improve and harmonize search processes.
We found that, until December 2020, 9 mexican states had still not implemented the Alba Protocol, which seeks to coordinate authorities’ efforts for the localization of missing women. Besides, in the States which do implement it, we noted strong discrepancies regarding its activation, implementation, and coordination.
The lack of homogeneity and harmonization of search processes of women and girls means that, based on where they live in Mexico, women and girls are unequally protected from the crime of disappearance.
Apart from promoting the implementation of the Alba Protocol, the Mexican State should also promote its homologation and harmonization at the State level.
Mexico should also adopt specific measures to overcome the difficulties that have risen due to the COVID-19 pandemic, in the activation and implementation of search protocols for missing women and girls.
The Mexican States should systematize relevant information on the victims (age, sex) and places of disappearance and of localization, in order to design effective strategies to prevent disappearances.
Please have a look at IDHEAS’ press release and report for #CEDAW (in Spanish).