Press Conference Recap: Peace Summit 2023!

Yesterday, we launched the Peace Summit 2023 – a coming together of social movements from both sides of the U.S. Mexico border to advance a shared agenda for policies that put peace, justice, and the well-being of our communities at the center.

WATCH: PEACE SUMMIT 2023 PRESS CONFERENCE

Over 50 partner human rights organizations, activists, and communities of color have committed to working together to build a shared vision of long-lasting peace and justice for the Mexico-U.S. region. (Find a complete list here.)

The destinies of the U.S. and Mexico, as well as our movements for social and environmental justice, are inextricably intertwined. Unfortunately, communities on both sides of the border are being impacted by mounting armed violence, environmental devastation, racial discrimination, inhumane immigration policies, and political disenfranchisement.

While our governments’ diplomatic efforts are focused on preserving economic dynamism and “security” cooperation, our communities continue to urgently need policies that protect human rights, promote equality, ensure environmental sustainability, and promote long-term peace.

We will no longer be divided or silenced.

During yesterday’s press conference, victims and leaders from across the region raised their voices to call for an end to the current profit over people agenda and build a community-centered approach that puts our health, human rights, and a peaceful and sustainable future at the center.

“Immigrants and refugees at Mexico’s southern border face prosecution and militarization just like many African American communities in South Bend, Indiana,” said Jorden Giger from Black Lives Matter South Bend, Indiana. “The guns that are killing us are the same in Mexico and in the U.S.”

“We should work together to end this tragedy,” said Bella D’Allacio, from March for Our Lives. 

“We want communities from both countries to come together to call for an end to violence,” said Cristina Bautista, a mother of a young student who disappeared with 42 other students in Ayotzinapa, Mexico, in 2014.

And as Odilia Romero, Zapotec Indigenous leader, and Melissa Oakes, Mohawk leader from the U.S.-Canada border, said, “we need to end the lie that our communities can’t work together and that we do not share a history.”

We are excited to officially kick off our work to cultivate community-based solutions and build our people-first agenda.

Over the next five months, we will host a series of online and in-person community-led forums to hear the experiences of those on the frontlines of the struggle and to hear solutions from the communities (Indigenous, migrant, women, economically disadvantaged, and youth) most impacted by regional policies at the center.

We will hold meetings in the Bronx, Los Angeles, Baja California, Mexico City, and an Indigenous community in Mexico. We will conclude with the Peace Summit 2023 on February 24 in Mexico City, where we will announce our binational agenda for peace and justice. Both Mexico and the U.S. will have critical national elections in 2024. The time to build united, inclusive political power is now.

To get involved and register to attend local forums of the Peace Summit 2023, please go to www.peacesummit2023.org

We hope you will join us!