CCPR/C/127/D/2760/2016
Pérez, the son of the first two authors and brother of the third, also a national of Mexico,
born on 23 November 1991 and missing since 8 July 2011. The authors claim that the State
party has violated the rights of Mr. Moreno Pérez under articles 6 (1), 7, 9 and 16 of the
Covenant, read alone and in conjunction with article 2 (3). The authors also claim to be
victims of a violation by the State party of their rights under article 7 of the Covenant, read
alone and in conjunction with article 2 (3). The Optional Protocol entered into force for the
State party on 15 June 2002. The authors are represented by counsel.
Factual background
Context
2.1
The authors state that the facts of the present case occurred against a backdrop of
serious human rights violations attributable to the security policy introduced by the State
party in 2006 known as the “War on Drugs”, which pitted the police and armed forces
directly against organized crime groups. This policy led to a drastic increase in serious
human rights violations that were seldom if ever properly investigated. 1 This is the context
in the State of Oaxaca, the part of the country with the eighth highest number of complaints
of human rights violations.
2.2
The authors also refer to the concluding observations of the Committee on Enforced
Disappearances on Mexico, which describe a situation of widespread disappearances in
much of the State party’s territory. The Committee noted the existence of a number of
obstacles reportedly preventing investigations from being conducted. In certain cases, the
competent authorities had allegedly: (a) failed to initiate the investigation promptly; (b)
classified the acts as other offences; and (c) destroyed and tampered with evidence. 2
2.3
The authors also make reference to the report of the Inter-American Commission on
Human Rights on its visit to Mexico in 2015, which confirms the widespread nature of
enforced disappearance,3 and the statement made by the United Nations High
Commissioner for Human Rights after his visit to Mexico the same year, which mentioned
a “relentless wave of human rights violations”.4
Disappearance of Mr. Moreno Pérez and complaints filed in this connection
2.4
On 4 July 2011, Mr. Moreno Pérez (who was 19 years of age at the time of the
events and studying geography at the National Autonomous University of Mexico)
travelled from Mexico City, where he lived, to the state of Oaxaca, where he intended to
tour the beaches in the area as part of a month-long holiday. The last time his relatives
heard from him was on 8 July 2011, when they exchanged text messages upon his arrival at
a beach in Chacahua, in the State of Oaxaca.
2.5
Unable to contact his son, Mr. Moreno Zamora filed a complaint at the Missing
Persons Centre of the Office of the Attorney General of the Federal District5 on 8 August
2011.
2.6
On 10 August 2011, having made the journey from Mexico City to Oaxaca City, Mr.
Moreno Zamora filed a complaint with the Prosecution Service of San Pedro Tututepec
(where the town of Chacahua is located), which led to a preliminary investigation being
1
2
3
4
5
2
The authors cite Human Rights Watch, Ni Seguridad, ni Derechos. Ejecuciones, desapariciones y
tortura en la “guerra contra el narcotráfico” de México [Neither Rights Nor Security. Killings,
Torture and Disappearances in Mexico’s “War on Drugs”], 2011, pp. 4, 5 and 16, available at
https://www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/reports/mexico1111spwebwcover.pdf.
CED/C/MEX/CO/1.
Preliminary observations on the on-site visit of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights to
Mexico, 2 October 2015, available at http://www.oas.org/es/cidh/prensa/comunicados/2015/112A.asp.
Statement by the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein, on
the occasion of his visit to Mexico, 7 October 2015, available at
http://www.hchr.org.mx/index.php?option=com_k2&view=item&id=767:declaracion-del-altocomisionado-de-la-onu-para-los-derechos-humanos-zeid-ra-ad-al-hussein-con-motivo-de-su-visita-amexico&Itemid=265.
Case file 644/EXT/2011.
GE.19-21673