
Geneva, 14 December 2016 (OMCT) - As a human rights lawyer at Mexico’s Centro de Derechos Humanos Miguel Agustin Pro Juarez (Centro Prodh), Stephanie Brewer fights for those who have been victims of abuses in a country whose violent history has had ripple effects to the present day.
In Mexico, the global Cold War between the two ideologically opposed
blocks that followed the world wars took the form of a bloody repression of
opponents to the regime by the PRI-ruled Government.
The nation was not able to recover from this “Dirty War” waged in the
1960s through systematic torture and thousands of disappearances and summary
executions. These crimes having stayed unpunished for decades, violence has
gangrened the entire Mexican society. Violence now continues unabatedly, driven
by both criminal groups and the State, with a yearly toll of tens of thousands
of people tortured and some 28,000 missing or forcibly disappeared.
“There has not been accountability for crimes in the past, so neither is
there accountability of crimes in the present,” she said.
The war on drugs and the militarization of society
The drug war has only made things worse. For years now, Mexico has been
carrying out a crackdown on cartels, supposedly to reduce drug-related crime.
Yet, the heightened security constraints it has meant have in fact only
infringed upon people’s rights. The military are regularly handling public
security, police investigations and other tasks normally undertaken by regular
police forces. This only aggravates the culture of violence.
“Instead of making us more secure, these are actually just creating
exceptions to respect for human rights, even in the Constitution; so obviously
there are massive human rights abuses,” she explained.
In this context of pervasive violence and impunity, human rights
defenders in Mexico obviously face many challenges in their everyday work,
ranging from the authorities’ lack of will to investigate human rights abuses,
to smear media campaigns or indeed physical violence and killings of human
rights defenders.
Though a Harvard graduate who has presented cases before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights and the
United Nations, Ms. Brewer considers that the real defenders of human rights
are the families and the victims who are searching for justice – the very
people she strives to help.
Ms. Brewer is convinced that if change is to come in Mexico, it will
come thanks to these courageous people who keep fighting for the liberation of
their loved ones, wrongfully imprisoned after having been tortured for
instance.
What keeps her going in this austere context is the knowledge that she
is fighting for what is right.
“It’s not a question of ‘which is going to be the winning side’ or
whether we are going to have advances in the near future or setbacks,” she
said. “It’s simply a question of ‘this is the right side to be on?’ We know
we’re not going to give an inch in that fight.”
This article is part of a series of 10 profiles to commemorate
International Human Rights Day, 10 December, and to recognize the vital role of
human rights defenders worldwide.
OMCT wishes to thank
the Republic and Canton of Geneva and the OAK Foundation for their support. Its
content is the sole responsibility of OMCT and should in no way be interpreted
as reflecting the view(s) of the supporting institutions.

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