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:
n Demanding the authorities guarantee the safety of Norma Esther Andrade, her family and other members of NHRC;
n 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;
n Demanding the authorities urgently establish a mechanism to ensure the protection of all human rights defenders in Mexico.
PLEASE SEND APPEALS BEFORE 16 JANUARY 2012 TO:
Governor of Chihuahua State
Lic. César Duarte Jáquez
Palacio de Gobierno, 1er piso, C. Aldama #901, Col. Centro,
Chihuahua, Estado de Chihuahua, C.P. 31000, México
Email: despachodelejecutivo@hotmail.com
Salutation: Dear Governor
Minister of the Interior
Dr. Alejandro Poiré Romero
Secretaría de Gobernación
Bucareli 99, 1er. piso, Col. Juárez
Delegación Cuauhtémoc
México D.F., C.P.06600, MÉXICO
Fax: +52 55 5093 3414 (Say "fax por favor")
Email: secretario@segob.gob.mx
Salutation: Dear Minister
And copies to:
National Human Rights Commission
Comisión Nacional de los Derechos Humanos de México
Email: correo@cndh.org.mx
And:
Nuestras Hijas de regreso a Casa
(Norma Esther Andrade’s organization)
Email: karla_micheel@yahoo.com
Also send copies to diplomatic representatives accredited to your country. Please insert local diplomatic addresses below:
Please check with your section office if sending appeals after the above date.
URGENT ACTION
HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDER SHOT IN MEXICO
ADditional Information
Our Daughters Return Home (Nuestra Hijas de Regreso a Casa, NHRC) was founded in 2001 after a series of abductions and murders of women in Ciudad Juarez which the authorities failed to prevent or investigate adequately. One of those killed was Lilia Alejandra Garía Andrade, daughter of Norma Andrade and sister of Malú García. NHRC have campaigned for justice for the victims and relatives of a long-running pattern of violence against women in Ciudad Juarez and Chihauhau City, and have highlighted the failure of the authorities to effectively investigate these crimes or hold perpetrators to account.
Name: Norma Esther Andrade, Malú García Andrade
Gender m/f: Female
UA: 349/11 Index: AMR 41/080/2011 Issue Date: 5 December 2011
