UN Expert Warns of Persistent Risks for Human Rights Defenders
On 23 April 2026, UN Special Rapporteur Mary Lawlor warned that serious attacks against human rights defenders in Mexico continue despite some government measures. She highlighted the tragic situation in Chiapas, where organised crime, public authorities and business interests intersect to drive insecurity. The statement cited emblematic cases including the murders of Father Marcelo Pérez Pérez and Simón Pedro Pérez López, the arbitrary detention of Versaín Velasco García, raids on the Fray Matías de Córdova Human Rights Centre, and the dangers faced by "madres buscadoras" searching for disappeared relatives. Lawlor called on all three levels of government to tackle root causes of injustice and to protect defenders, indigenous peoples and those searching for the missing.
JURIST: UN Expert Warns Mexico Faces Persistent Attacks on Human Rights Defenders
JURIST reported on 24 April 2026 that UN Special Rapporteur Mary Lawlor warned of persistent structural challenges undermining the safety of human rights defenders in Mexico. The article added broader context: according to Front Line Defenders, Mexico ranked second worldwide in killings of human rights defenders in 2024 with 32 cases recorded. It also noted that in January 2026 UN experts demanded truth and justice on the third anniversary of the enforced disappearance of human rights lawyer Ricardo Lagunes and indigenous leader Antonio Díaz in Colima. Additionally, the UN Committee on Enforced Disappearances found strong indications that enforced disappearances in Mexico constitute crimes against humanity, citing approximately 72,000 unidentified human remains, and requested the matter be referred to the UN General Assembly.
Human Rights Watch: World Report 2026 — Mexico
Human Rights Watch's 2026 country chapter on Mexico documents severe and ongoing human rights challenges under President Claudia Sheinbaum. Violence remained at extremely high levels with a 2024 homicide rate above 25 per 100,000. The report highlights widespread impunity, torture by security forces, expansion of mandatory pretrial detention, and military abuses including extrajudicial executions and corruption links between the Navy and criminal groups. The official total of disappeared persons surpassed 130,000. HRW also documents democratic backsliding through judicial reforms undermining judicial independence, the shutdown of the independent transparency institute, new surveillance laws, and attacks on journalists — seven of whom were killed in 2025. On a positive note, 13.4 million people were lifted out of poverty between 2018 and 2024, same-sex marriage is available nationwide, and a new Ministry of Women was created.
Reuters: Murders of Mexican Journalists Nearly Doubled in 2025
Reuters reported on 6 May 2026 that Article 19 documented eight journalists who disappeared or were murdered in Mexico in 2025 — one disappearance and seven murders, nearly double the four killed in 2024. Mexico again topped the Latin American list for press violence. The country also recorded 53 physical attacks against reporters and a record 153 cases of judicial harassment, with public officials identified as aggressors in nearly one-third of cases. The murders occurred primarily in states with high violence and strong criminal presence including Durango, Guanajuato, Guerrero and Sonora. Earlier in 2026, the Committee to Protect Journalists named Mexico the deadliest country for journalists in 2025 outside active war zones.