The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights presented its Report on Disappearances in Mexico at Casa ITESO Madero, a document analyzing the crisis of more than 130,000 missing persons in the country. The report compiles testimonies from families searching for their missing loved ones, official data, and observations on impunity, the forensic crisis, and shortcomings in search and investigation processes.
At the Casa ITESO Madero facilities, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) presented its latest Report on Disappearances in Mexico. This document offers an in-depth analysis of the crisis the country is experiencing, incorporating testimonies from victims, official data, and a series of strategic recommendations for the Mexican State.
The panel included Marcos del Rosario Rodríguez, director of the Department of Sociopolitical and Legal Studies at ITESO; Luis Enrique González Araiza, director of the Francisco Suárez University Center for Dignity and Justice (CUDJ); Tania Reneaum Panszi, executive secretary of the IACHR; and Andrea Pochak, IACHR commissioner and rapporteur for Mexico.
During the opening remarks, Marcos del Rosario Rodríguez emphasized that the event transcended the academic sphere to focus on an urgent reality. “We are here because Mexico is experiencing one of the most serious humanitarian crises in its history,” the academic warned, referring to the phenomenon of enforced disappearances.
In this regard, she noted that the National Registry reports more than 128,000 missing persons, a figure that adds to the 70,000 unidentified bodies that remain in official custody. Del Rosario recalled that Jalisco is, unfortunately, one of the states with the highest number of missing persons cases nationwide.
In her remarks, she detailed that the report exposes structural flaws in criminal investigations, a clear forensic emergency, and a lack of coordination among institutions. She also emphasized that the text insists on the need to consolidate memory processes and ensure that the State assumes its duty to search for missing persons without delegating it to families.
Tania Renaum Panszi explained that the report is the result of direct dialogue with search collectives throughout the country. Between 2021 and 2024, the Commission organized numerous hearings to hear firsthand the demands for justice and the difficulties in accessing the truth.
According to Tania, the preparation of this specific report was a direct request from civil society organizations in 2023. The primary objective was to make visible the reality of the families searching for their missing children and to document how the crisis impacts different sectors of society in distinct ways.
The official explained that the IACHR has the mission of documenting these violations to build a regional collective memory. In this sense, the report systematizes nearly two decades of previous findings and incorporates the technical expertise gained by the Interdisciplinary Group of Independent Experts (IGIE) in the Ayotzinapa case.
The methodology included the analysis of primary sources, state questionnaires, and official pronouncements. “Our work requires listening to all perspectives, including the State’s response,” she stated, detailing the document’s technical rigor. To strengthen the analysis, contributions were received from 18 civil society organizations, and 50 direct testimonies were collected between 2023 and 2025. This listening process allowed for a more accurate portrayal of the magnitude of the problem and the shortcomings of the justice system.
The study period focused on the years 2018 to 2025, a time when key agencies such as the National Search Commission were created. After a review and comment process by the federal government, the final version was approved by the international body in February 2026.
Andrea Pochak, commissioner and rapporteur for Mexico, described the phenomenon as “widespread and indiscriminate.” She warned that the Mexican situation is a worrying exception in the Americas due to the volume of disappearances occurring within a formal democratic system.
Andrea clarified that the report is not only descriptive but also has a political purpose: to promote real changes in public policy. “We seek to have a direct impact to transform this reality,” she stated, explaining the purpose of the recommendations sent to the authorities.
The study analyzes the evolution of the problem, noting a transition from enforced disappearances committed by the State in past decades to a current scenario dominated by organized crime, often with the complicity or tolerance of official agents.
The rapporteur warned that groups such as migrants, journalists, women, and the LGBTIQ+ population face specific risks. She also alerted the public to the forced recruitment of minors as one of the most brutal facets of this crisis.
A central point of the presentation was state responsibility. Regardless of who perpetrates the disappearance, the State is obligated to prevent, investigate, and redress the harm, a task that, according to the report, has been insufficient thus far.
Regarding prevention, Pochak questioned the militarized security approach, stating that this strategy has led to higher levels of violence. The report also denounced the prevailing impunity due to deficient investigations, where families often provide all the evidence.
The report also highlights the excessive staff turnover in prosecutors’ offices and the lack of technical resources. Regarding search efforts, it identified an uneven application of immediate response protocols and chronic lack of coordination between the federal government and the states.
One of the document’s theoretical contributions is the definition of the “right to search.” This concept establishes that families have the prerogative to actively participate in designing search strategies and to receive comprehensive protection from institutions.
Andrea emphasized that this right does not exempt the State from its responsibility; on the contrary, it obliges it to collaborate closely with the victims. “The family has the right to search alongside public institutions,” she stated.
Regarding the forensic crisis, the report characterizes the fact that thousands of remains still unidentified in official morgues as a serious state responsibility. Similarly, while acknowledging the existence of victim assistance commissions, it criticized the persistence of bureaucratic barriers to accessing basic support.
The text concludes with 40 specific recommendations, ranging from strengthening specialized prosecutor’s offices to standardizing forensic identification systems nationwide. The primary goal is to guarantee the safety of those who undertake the search on their own:
- Prevent disappearances
- Strengthen the search for and identification of missing persons
- Guarantee effective access to justice
- Improve support and reparations for victims
- Build a collective memory of past and present disappearances.
To ensure these suggestions are not merely put into practice, the IACHR will implement a monitoring mechanism. This system will evaluate progress using clear indicators and will include the active participation of organizations and the victims themselves.
At the event’s closing, Luis Enrique González summarized the critical points: the alarming number of disappearances, the impact of criminal networks, and the failure of the militaristic model. He outlined the proposed immediate action in four pillars: territorial prevention, participation of collectives, forensic rigor, and protection for families. To read the full report, you can visit the official website www.cidh.org or access it through their social media channels on Facebook and Instagram, where you can find them as cidh.oea or cidh_iachr
Original article by Vanessa Briseño at Zona Docs, May 17th, 2026.
Translated by Schools for Chiapas.