Ginebra, 14th June 2017
(The side event will take place on Romm XXVII on Thursday 15th June at 12:30).
Four Mexican victims of modern day slavery in form of kidnapping, attend the Session of the Human Rights Council to raise their voices against what seems to be a lack of proper balance and attention to the more than 13.000 victims in less than 10 years only in Mexico.
They will present their horror stories on how modern slavery in form of kidnapping, based on torture and cruel, inhuman and degrading mistreatment, converting them into objects to be trade for money and too often become killed despited paying for their rescue.
This is precisely the definition of slavery in all Human Rights instruments to take a person and convert them in a mere property, and exercising over the person any of the attributes of property.
Some of the victims will tell their story which includes mutilation, others how their kids were murdered by the modern slavers and in all these cases after years of no real and fair justice, the victims continue to claim truth and justice.
The Side event organized by ECOSOC NGO Fundacion Vida GEV, will show actual “proof of life” of some of the victims that demonstrates exactly why the person is cruelly converted in merchandise.
The dimension of suffering and anger is overwhelming because this form of slavery not only affects one person but the complete family and friends of the victim. From the beginning the kidnappers know that he can set the rules for the negotiation, the family knows that they can not pay as they will immediately be asked again for more money, making it an endless suffering vicious circle which to often ends in ruin, and worst, in death.
The modern slavers frequently tell the victim that they are no important for their family and are not will to pay the price for them. Families are then destroyed for the psychological pressures of the criminals. The above breaks for many years the stability. Unfortunatedly, the lack of justice in Mexico allows for many criminals to claim having been “tortured”. In some instances this has produced an industry of indemnizations based on false evidence.
This mexican drama has to stop. The United Nations Human Rights Council has the responsibility to ensure human rights are for everyone and not just for the perpetrators of crimes.
The event, will also count with the expertise of the Mexican non profit ngo Alto al Secuestro (Stop Kidnapping), which is fighting since many years to make visible this sad scene that is taking place in the Mexican country.
