Jose Luis Apaseo Magueyal was disappeared on April 6, 2020 in the Mexican state of Guanajuato. From that day until she was murdered on May 2, her mother, Teresa Magueyal, tirelessly dedicated herself to her search.
According to the information of the Office in Mexico of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rightsthe woman would have been followed while she was going to a store and, when she returned on her bicycle, she was shot down by two hooded men who was shot as he passed her on a motorbike.
The crime was committed in the town of San Miguel Octopan, in the municipality of Celaya, Guanajuato, in broad daylight and in front of people waiting at the door of a kindergarten for their children to come out.
The Human Rights Office condemned in the strongest terms the murder de Magueyal, who was a member of the collective “Una Promesa por Complir”, formed a year ago by relatives of the disappeared who are looking for their loved ones.
They deserve protection and justice
The deputy representative of Mexico for UN-Human Rights affirmed that the families of the disappeared “deserve protection and justice, not death or the misfortune of dying without knowing where your loved one is”.
“It is shocking to receive the news of another seeker mother murdered in Guanajuato. Nor the disappearance of her son; nor the risks that she and her companions faced in their demand for an effective search, truth and justice; nor the murder of her had to happen. It’s about a set of grievances that should never have happened”, stressed Jesús Peña Palacios.
The UN called on the authorities to provide immediate care and protection measures integral to the family of Teresa Magueyal, to her group and to all the persons and organizations that search for disappeared persons in Mexico.
At least five murders
The Human Rights Office has documented the murder of at least five human rights defenders who they were looking for their missing relatives in Guanajuato from 2020 to date.
Peña Palacios called to stop these crimes and urged to thoroughly analyze the patterns that surround them so that the federal and state authorities adopt adequate measures of protection and effective protection of the people who demand the reunion with their disappeared relatives.
also threatened to bring to justice those responsible of the disappearances.
“The effective, prompt and diligent investigation of the murder of Teresa Magueyal, with a gender perspectiveand the adequate punishment of the perpetrators is essential to discourage the commission of such criminal behaviors in Guanajuato and the rest of the country”, stressed Peña Palacios.
The UN recalled that the Guiding Principles for the Search for Disappeared Persons of the UN Committee against Enforced Disappearances establish that the authorities have the inescapable obligation to guarantee the safety and protection of the victims who participate in search processes, and added that the collective “A Promise to Keep” is a beneficiary of the Protection Mechanism for Human Rights Defenders and Journalists.
Solidarity with mothers
The Human Rights Office offered its condolences to family, friends and colleagues of Teresa Magueyal and reaffirmed its commitment to work with the victims and corresponding authorities to develop effective measures for prevention, protection, and access to justice.
Likewise, it urged Mexican society as a whole to express their solidarity with the seeking mothers that will be mobilized throughout the country within the framework of May 10, Mother’s Day, since the disappearance of people in Mexico is everyone’s problem.
