Nine years later, women who denounced use of sexual torture in San Salvador Atenco await the IACHR’s final report

Complainants reject the State’s attempts to delay the international report and demand an end to the practice of sexual torture in Mexico

Mexico City, May 4^th, 2015.- Nearly a decade after the acts of suppression that took place between May 3^rd and 4^th, 2006 in San Salvador Atenco,  11 survivors of sexual torture who presented their case before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) urge for a prompt decision in their case and reject the actions of the Mexican State to delay, block or interfere with its processing.

Since the submission of the petition to the IACHR in 2008, these survivors expressed on several occasions—including at a public hearing before the IACHR in March 2013 – their wishes that those responsible are punished, which would make reconciliation unlikely.

In spite of this, the Mexican State insists on conducting insufficient actions without the consent of the complainants. For example, a “damage reparations” fund created on their behalf; an act which is not only offensive to the petitioners, but also places them in a situation of insecurity.

Even with accusations of torture and cover-up brought up against various State agents involved in the events, no penalty has been imposed; no public official at the federal level has responded to these violations, nor have they been stripped of responsibilities within the chain of command. Nine years later, the case remains in a state of impunity.

Within this context, the survivors, all of whom are women, reiterate their confidence in the IACHR’s ability to resolve their case and to urge this international body to issue the final report as quickly as possible. The publication of the report will constitute a means of redress for the women who, for years, have fought for truth and justice regarding the events that took place during and after the acts repression that affected their rights.

Finally, these women reaffirm their commitment in the fight against the use of sexual torture in Mexico as a technique to demobilize, suppress and frame people, among other purposes. They hope that their case will set a precedent in the advancement towards the eradication of this abhorrent practice toward Mexican women.