Visiting the UK to defend Indigenous rights in Mexico

Following Global Witness reporting that 54 land and environmental defenders were killed in Mexico in 2021 (making it the world’s deadliest country for activists working on land, environmental and Indigenous rights issues), this week PBI UK welcomed Diana Villalobos Díaz, prominent Mexican human rights defender and Director of Chihuahuan organisation CONTEC, to London. Together with PBI UK, Diana advocated for parliamentarians, lawyers, and the foreign ministry (FCDO) to support Indigenous communities at risk of and experiencing displacement.

Internal displacement in Mexico

Approximately 357,000 people are internally displaced in Mexico. While some groups have been displaced by climate change and natural disasters, the majority have been forced to flee by either organised crime groups fighting for control of territory or companies displacing communities to access natural resources, including timber. Despite the scale of the issue, Mexico does not have specific legislation on forced internal displacement, leaving victims without recourse for justice, and hindering efforts to prevent further displacement.

Diana has spent the last 30 years defending the rights of Indigenous communities in the Sierra Tarahumara, an expansive forested mountain chain in southwestern Chihuahua.

Diana’s organisation provides legal support, capacity building and technical assistance to Indigenous Rarámuri and Ódami communities facing merciless violence, displacement and environmental destruction from drug cartels and formal economic interests including logging, mining, tourism, energy pipelines and hydro projects in the Sierra.

Diana was in the UK to raise the profile of the vulnerable situation of Indigenous communities in the face of this violence (and the violence her organisation faces for speaking out), and build international support for the initiatives that could change things: legal work, emblematic cases, and impunity and corruption reduction programmes.

Diana with Baroness Hooper
(and PBI UK’s Ben and Laura)

This visit was part of a Europe-wide tour to build support for CONTEC, raise awareness of the serious humanitarian crisis of forced displacement in Mexico, and campaign for the adoption of the Law to Prevent, Attend and Comprehensively Repair Forced Internal Displacement - legislation unanimously approved in the Chamber of Deputies that has been held up in the Senate of the Republic for more than a year.

In meetings with decision makers, PBI echoed CONTEC’s call for the law to be passed, for the Mexican government to properly resource its implementation, and for the international community to support those human rights defenders currently risking their lives to support the victims of enforced displacement.

Emblematic cases: the communities of El Manzano and Monterde

Diana with Fabian Hamilton MP, Shadow Minister for Peace and Disarmament, Latin America and the Caribbean

Diana’s organisation CONTEC is working to bring justice for the communities of El Manzano and Monterde from the Sierra Tarahumara, communities that have faced violence from organised criminal groups seeking to exploit their land, leading to the forced expulsion of 120 people since 2014.

The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights issued precautionary measures in 2015, but these measures, and response from the authorities, were ultimately insufficient to guarantee protection, and three community members have since lost their lives.

In May 2022, The National Human Rights Commission (CNDH) issued a recommendation to the Government of the State of Chihuahua to register the communities as victims of forced displacement, provide humanitarian aid to the communities, and advance the criminal investigations into the violence, giving deadlines of between four and six months to comply. Despite the deadlines, the Government has so far not accepted the resolution, and no action has been taken.

During meetings, Diana called on the UK government to urge the Mexican authorities to implement the rulings in the cases of the communities of El Manzano and Monterde, so that the communities may finally begin to heal.

The importance of Mandatory Human Rights Due Diligence

Meeting allies at the Business & Human Rights Resource Centre

The violence that indigenous communities in the Sierra Tarahumara face is emblematic of the situation indigenous and local communities face across the world in the context of irresponsible and aggressive corporate behaviour. That’s why it’s so important for real protections to be afforded to those on the frontline of this ecological and humanitarian catastrophe and for companies ensuring their operations do not cause harm.

A new UK Failure to Prevent law (known as the Business, Human Rights and Environment Act) would build on proposed amendments to the Environment Bill and on the Modern Slavery Act’s Transparency in Supply Chains requirement. It would provide a stronger, overarching approach to tackling irresponsible business conduct across all human rights and environmental risks, that would complement and go beyond sectoral or issue-specific approaches.

Big name companies, investors worth trillions, consumers and campaigners are all united in their support for the proposed Act. It is time for the Government and opposition parties to back it too.

Diana’s testimony revealed to decision-makers the impact of business-led attacks and displacement that could be prevented by this new law could prevent. In our meetings, we pressed the need for certainty about the standards expected from businesses, clarity on legal consequences when those standards are not met, and increased engagement and leverage with value chain partners.

What you can do

In the Q&A held after our public screening of Cruz at Amnesty International UK’s offices, PBI UK’s Director Ben Leather reminded us that “if there’s no noise, there’s no response”. Help us make some noise, and support Diana, and defenders like her by…

• Taking 10 minutes to write to your MP to ask them what they are doing to ensure the UK government and its embassies are supporting land and environmental defenders, and standing up for indigenous communities in Mexico. You can find your MP here and use our handy template to send them an e-mail.

• Taking 5 minutes to sign the Corporate Justice Coalition petition calling on parliament to support a new law against human rights abuses and environmental destruction in supply chains everywhere – a Business, Human Rights and Environment Act. This legislation will help ensure that ALL companies are obliged to conduct business responsibly and will face consequences if they don’t. This is essential to overcoming the challenges faced by indigenous communities in the Sierra Tarahumara, and around the world.

• Taking 30 seconds to sign up to PBI’s quarterly newsletter to learn about additional opportunities to support threatened human rights defenders, in Mexico and globally. And please help us to continue to support Diana and other brave activists by donating to PBI today.

Still from Cruz by Teresa Camou