Document - Mexico: Human rights defender shot in Mexico

UA: 349/11 Index: AMR 41/080/2011 Mexico Date: 5 December 2011

URGENT ACTION

HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDER SHOT IN MEXICO

Human rights defender Norma Esther Andrade was shot by an unknown gunman at her home in Chihuhua state, northern Mexico on 2 December. There are grave fears for her security, and that of her family and colleagues.

Norma Esther Andrade is one of the founders of the organization Our Daughters Return Home (Nuestra Hijas de Regreso a Casa, NHRC). On the afternoon of 2 December, she left her home in the Infonavit Solidaridad neighbourhood of Ciudad Juarez. As she walked up to her car, an unknown man approached. She offered him her keys and wallet, but the man said nothing and shot her several times before fleeing the scene. She was seriously wounded and transferred to hospital where she is now in a stable condition.

In the morning of the same day, staff at the school where Norma Esther Andrade works reported that they had received an anonymous call asking if she had come to school and what time she would arrive but the staff refused to answer. The caller ended by saying: “We will be waiting for her outside the school” (“estaremos esperándola afuera de la escuela”).

Norma Esther Andrade, staff at NHRC, and her family have been threatened repeatedly since June 2002. On 30 September 2011, her daughter Malú García Andrade, who is director of the NHRC, filed a formal complaint with the federal authorities after receiving a telephone threat in which the caller stated they had located her and her family. A few days later, a message was sent through an acquaintance warning Malú García Andrade that they had 12 hours to leave town or she and her family would be killed. Since 2008, four NHRC members have protection orders (medidas cautelares) from the Inter-American Commission of Human Rights requiring the Mexican authorities to ensure their protection. The NHRC continues to carry out work documenting the disappearance and abduction of women in Ciudad Juarez.

Please write immediately in Spanish or your own language:

Demanding the authorities guarantee the safety of Norma Esther Andrade, her family and other members of NHRC;

Urging a prompt, full and impartial investigation into the latest attack, as well as previous threats, and ensuring that those responsible are brought to justice;

Demanding the authorities urgently establish a mechanism to ensure the protection of all human rights defenders in Mexico.

P LEASE SEND APPEALS BEFORE 16 JANUARY 2012 TO :

Governor of Chihuahua State

Lic. César Duarte Jáquez

Gobernador del Estado de Chihuahua,

Palacio de Gobierno, 1er piso, C. Aldama #901, Col. Centro,

Chihuahua, Estado de Chihuahua, C.P. 31000, México

Fax: +52 614 429 3300, then dial extension 11066

Email: despachodelejecutivo@hotmail.com

Salutation: Dear Governor

Minister of the Interior

Dr. Alejandro Poiré Romero