On Oct. 21, 2015, WOLA, in collaboration with the Office of Congressman Alan Lowenthal and the Mexico Institute of the Woodrow Wilson Center, hosted a public briefing on the work of the international group of independent experts who were appointed by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights to work alongside Mexican authorities in the investigation of the 43 disappeared students.
Speakers:
The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights-Appointed Group of Experts:
Claudia Paz y Paz (Guatemala)
Carlos Martín Beristain (Spain)
Angela Buitrago (Colombia)
Alejandro Valencia Villa (Colombia)
Moderated by
Eric Olson, Associate Director of the Latin American Program at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars
With opening remarks by
Congressman Alan Lowenthal
And closing remarks by
Maureen Meyer, Senior Associate for Mexico and Migrant Rights, WOLA
9:30 a.m.–11:00 a.m.
Wednesday, October 21, 2015
Rayburn House Office Building 2255
Washington, D.C. 20515
The September 26, 2014 enforced disappearance of 43 students in the southern Mexican city of Iguala profoundly shook Mexican society and shocked the international community. Massive street protests ensued, and the case was front-page news for months. However, more than a year later, much remains unknown about this case.
Through an agreement with the Mexican government and the families of the disappeared students, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (the human rights body of the Organization of American States) appointed a group of international experts to provide technical assistance to the Mexican government in its investigation of this horrific case. After six months of painstaking review of the case files and dozens of interviews with witnesses, victims, and the accused, the experts produced an extensive report that illustrated major holes in the government’s investigation of the case and provided recommendations for lines of investigation that need to be pursued as the case moves forward.
