Enfoquedh – HUMAN RIGHTS PUBLIC POLICY ACTIVITY
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EnfoqueDH – HUMAN RIGHTS PUBLIC POLICY ACTIVITY: Annual Progress Report Cooperative Agreement Number: AID-523-A-15-00005 Activity Start Date and End Date: October 30, 2015 to October 29, 2020 Total Estimated Cost: 10,675,685.00 USD AOR Name: Bárbara Pérez-Martínez Submitted by: Patricio Toussaint, Chief of Party Prime Implementing Partner: Chemonics International Inc. Varsovia 36, Col. Cuauhtémoc, Z.C. 06600 Mexico City, Mexico Tel: 52 1 557474 0336 Email: [email protected] Date: November 29, 2019 Version: 1 Reporting Period: November 1, 2018 to October 31, 2019 DISCLAIMER This publication was produced at the request of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). It was prepared independently by Chemonics International Inc. Acronyms AMELP Activity Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning Plan CADHAC Ciudadanos en Apoyo a los Derechos Humanos A.C. CAT United Nations Committee Against Torture CEAV Executive Commission for the Attention of Victims CEDEHM Centro de Derechos Humanos de las Mujeres CEPAD Centro de Justicia para la Paz y el Desarrollo CMDPDH Comisión MeXicana de Defensa y Promoción de los Derechos Humanos CNB National Search Commission CSO Civil Society Organization EAAF Equipo Argentino de Antropología Forense FIPD Federal Institute of Public Defense FJDL Centro Diocesano para los Derechos Humanos Fray Juan de Larios FLACSO Facultad Latinoamericana de Ciencias Sociales GIZ German Development Agency GLD General Law of Disappearance GLT General Law of Torture GOM Government of MeXico ICRC International Committee of the Red Cross IFED Instituto para el Fortalecimiento del Estado de Derecho IJPP Instituto de Justicia Procesal Penal ITESM Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey ITESO Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Occidente LGBT Lesbian, Gay, BiseXual, and Transgender LLE Laboratorio de Litigio Estructural MEL Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning NHRP National Human Rights Program OHCHR Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights PIRS Performance Indicator Reference Sheet SIMO Sistemas de Inteligencia y Mercados de Opinión S.C. USAID United States Agency for International Development Template updated 02/25/2019 Page 1 Table of Contents 1. Executive Summary 3 2. Context Analysis 4 3. Indicator Progress 8 4. Accomplishments and Overall Status 9 5. Problems and Delays (and/or Lessons Learned) 21 6. Major activities or corrective actions 22 7. Updates on Evaluation and Learning plans or activities 24 8. Financial Projections Report 25 9. Participant Training 25 10. Partnerships Report 26 11. Annexes 26 Template updated 02/25/2019 Page 2 1. Executive Summary Activity Name EnfoqueDH – Human Rights Public Policy Activity Activity Start October 30, 2015 to October 29, 2020 and End Date EnfoqueDH, is a technical assistance program, focused on building capacities of both government agencies Activity Purpose and civil society, for the design, implementation and evaluation of effective public policies on human rights in Mexico. The Government of Mexico (GOM) has responded to the human rights crisis with diverse initiatives. To further select initiatives, the General Laws of Torture and Disappearance were approved by the GOM in 2017. For these General Laws to be implemented at the federal and state levels, it is essential that there are competent authorities, efficient institutions, and an active and participatory civil society. EnfoqueDH works at the federal and state levels to help ensure that these conditions are met and, as such, facilitate the proper implementation of these General Laws, contributing to address and reverse gross human rights violations. For this year, EnfoqueDH is reporting progress on the following objectives: Objective 1. Strengthen the prevention and response capacities of local systems to enable the implementation of the General Law of Torture § Promoting better registries of torture § Improving registries and increasing knowledge of torture through the creation and use of tools to obtain statistical information § Promoting human rights-focused oversight in Mexican prisons § Engaging the student community to create awareness about torture in Mexican prisons § Promoting independent monitoring mechanisms on the General Law of Torture’s implementation § Building capacities of the government’s judicial branch to address cases of torture § Promoting best practices in criminal proceedings to address torture § Stopping torture. From the General Law towards its implementation § Raising public awareness and generating recommendations to address torture § Fostering collaboration between government and civil society to respond to torture § Raising awareness on current challenges to eradicate torture § Promoting strategic planning and budgeting tools to address cases of torture Activity § Offering psychosocial support to victims of torture Description § Developing the capacities of authorities to respond to cases of torture and disappearance Objective 2. Strengthen the prevention and response capacities of local systems to enable the implementation of the General Law of Disappearance § Improved local systems to cope with and prevent disappearances § Enhancing the GOM’s efforts to search for missing persons § Introducing state-of-the-art forensic technologies for the search of missing persons § Promoting better registries of missing persons § Furthering the adoption of strategic planning and budgeting tools to respond to cases of disappearance § Introducing context analysis to respond to enforced disappearances § New narratives to approach the struggles of human rights organizations § Bringing local actors together to address disappearances in the Northeast region § Building a National Search Program § Facilitating the dialogue between authorities and civil society § Paving the way in the search for missing persons § Forensic assistance for missing persons § Taking advantage of current judicial mechanisms to respond to disappearances § Creating local capacities to investigate and sanction enforced disappearances Cross-cutting Activities: Gender-Based-Violence and Vulnerable Groups § Elaborating a crosscutting strategy that incorporates attention to women and other groups at risk of suffering gross human right violations § Promoting cross-sector collaboration to address gender based violence Template updated 02/25/2019 Page 3 § Collective advocacy to promote the rights of LGBT individuals § Raising awareness to end murders against the LGBT community in Mexico § Removing prejudices about LGBT population in local press Other Technical Assistance to the Federal Government § Supporting the Federal Government in the design of a new National Human Rights Program Geographic EnfoqueDH works at the federal level and within the three priority states of Chihuahua, Coahuila and Areas Jalisco. Reporting Year Four (November 1, 2018 to October 31, 2019) Period 2. Context Analysis Changes in Key Government Institutions This year was marked by the appointment of new institutional actors and structural modifications to the governmental operation of the country. On December 1, 2018, Andrés Manuel López Obrador was sworn in as president, pledging the transformation of MeXico. Under the new administration, there have certainly been positive steps towards reversing the current human rights crisis. Just two days after starting his duties, Mr. Obrador signed his first presidential decree, creating a commission that will conduct a new investigation into the case of the 43 students who disappeared in Guerrero over four years ago. Furthermore, Alejandro Encinas, Undersecretary for Human Rights, announced a series of efforts to intensify and prioritize the search for missing persons under the oversight of the National Search Commission (CNB for its acronym in Spanish), which has been one of EnfoqueDH’s key partners throughout the past year. In February 2019, Karla Quintana Osuna was appointed National Search Commissioner, a decision welcomed by both civil society organizations (CSOs) and relatives of missing persons. Even though Ms. Quintana faces a series of challenges in her new role, her extensive technical background and political will to collaborate with civil society, have made her a key ally to push for the adequate implementation of the General Law of Disappearance (GLD). Another key institutional development was the transformation of the Attorney General’s Office into a General Prosecutor’s Office, and the appointment of Alejandro Gertz Manero as the country’s first General Prosecutor for the neXt 9 years. Moreover, Sara Irene Herrerías, another strategic ally of EnfoqueDH, was confirmed as Special Prosecutor for Human Rights. Since 2016, Ms. Herrerías had been serving as Deputy Attorney for Human Rights, Crime Prevention and Community Services in the former Attorney General's Office. Given that an estimated 93 percent of crimes in MeXico are not reported or investigated, the creation of a new, functional National Prosecutor’s Office is central to MeXico’s fight against impunity. Nevertheless, the transition towards a modern, autonomous National Prosecutor’s Office, will depend on the assigned financial, human and material resources, as well as the collaborative processes it establishes with other federal and local law enforcement institutions. On June 7, 2019, the Executive Commissioner for the Attention of Victims, Jaime Rochín, resigned after 6 years in the position. After the interview process of twenty-two potential candidates, the President proposed