Mexico and the United States must cooperate for peace, not for war.

Mexico and the United States must cooperate for peace, not for war.The undersigned organizations, part of the People’s Movement for Peace and Justice, as well as the Advocacy Assembly for Human Rights in the USMCA agreement, reaffirm our demand for urgent attention to the serious crisis of violence and human rights facing the Mexico-US region, while rejecting any form of military or other intervention of any nature from the United States as a supposed solution to these structural crises.

Human rights organizations, migrant groups, farmers and advocacy organizations, as well as independent unions in Mexico and the United States, have historically denounced the historical roots of inequality, racism, colonialism, and sexism, among others, as structural causes of inequality, poverty, exploitation, armed violence, disappearances, forced displacement and the migration that weighs on millions of people in the region, particularly women, afro-descendant, indigenous peoples and youth. 

These groups have proposed and advanced various peace initiatives, focusing on human rights, equity, and human mobility as possible solutions to reduce violence by placing people at the center. Our movements have proposed the Binational Agenda for Peace and Justice and the Human Rights Agenda within the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement as legitimate exercises in binational citizen participation and advocacy.

Instead of engaging in dialogue with these sectors, Mexico has closed most spaces for effective and binding participation of civil society, and the United States has launched an unprecedented attack on vulnerable populations, organizations, and the international and Inter-American human rights system.

And it is in this scenario, facing a crisis of violence that shows no signs of abating and the growing evidence of collusion between organized crime and government actors in Mexico and the United States, that the governments of the two countries are now facing a diplomatic crisis that transcends borders. 

In light of this, we make the following appeal.

  1. The United States must respect the sovereignty of the Mexican people and assume its responsibility for the root causes of the violence that plagues our nations. It is urgent that effective measures be taken to stop arms trafficking, racist and discriminatory practices, as well as to stop extractivism, exploitation of our natural resources, and violence against community leaders both in the US and internationally.
  1. Mexico must take action against violence, corruption, discrimination and impunity and accept all international technical support available to address the serious human rights crisis within a framework of respect for national and popular sovereignty, but always based on the material commitment to address the grievances of families, communities, and peoples impacted by forced disappearance, violence, and criminalization.
  1. We demand that both countries work on a joint democratic and participatory mechanism to build a binational agenda for democracy, peace, and human rights. Together with civil society actors from both countries, the observation of international organizations, and the institutional backing of both countries, building a binational agenda that carries the same weight as regional trade and security agreements. Only in this way can firm steps be taken to restore the possibility of a future of shared prosperity with peace, justice, and dignity for all the people on both sides of the border.

Continuing to ignore the facts and using regional cooperation as a political platform for personal and partisan interests will only extend the tragic night that hangs over millions of people in our beloved region.

Finally, we call on all sectors of civil society to mobilize beginning on June 9th, prior to the formal beginning  of the World Cup on June 11th at 7:00 a.m. at the Estela de Luz in Mexico City. This action calls for communities  of the region in defense of basic democratic values, human rights and to demand an end to the US Government’s threats of intervention and violence against Mexico and the region as a whole

PEOPLE’S MOVEMENT FOR PEACE AND JUSTICE

Advocacy Assembly for Human Rights in the USMCA Agreement

Platforms of the People’s Movement for Peace and Justice (PMPJ)

  • Black Co-Networks for Peace and Justice (PMPJ)
  • Indigenous and Native Peoples Constituent Platform (PMPJ)
  • Monthly Binational Roundtable on Migration and Human Rights
  • Binational Network for Gun Violence Prevention and Gun Violence Survivors

Member Organizations

Canada

  • Black Lives Matter–YYC

Mexico

  • Academic Group for Transnational Processes BUAP CA 230
  • Afrodescendant Women’s Network CDMX
  • Afrodescendant Youth Network of Latin America and the Caribbean
  • Afro-Mexican Youth National Network
  • Afro-Mexican Community of Temixco, Morelos
  • Afropoderosas
  • ALDEA
  • Americas Program (AMERICAS.ORG)
  • Attention Center for Indigenous Migrant Families (CAFAMI)
  • Benemérita Autonomous University of Puebla
  • Casa Tochan
  • Casa Nyahbinghi México
  • Casa Tecmilco
  • Center for Ecumenical Studies, A.C.
  • Exodus Center for Migrant Attention
  • Mothers and Fathers of the Ayotzinapa 43
  • Hospitalidad y Solidaridad, A.C.
  • Huella Negra
  • José María Morelos and Pavón Regional Center for the Defense of Human Rights
  • Justice for the Forcibly Disappeared A.C., Querétaro
  • International Peace Service (SIPAZ)
  • LV Advocacy and Arts for the Rights of Women, A.C. (Las Vanders)
  • Mano Amiga Collective of Costa Chica
  • Mexican Commission for the Defense and Promotion of Human Rights (CMDPDH)
  • México Negro A.C.
  • Native Peoples in Resistance (MOPOR Chiapas)
  • Network of Women from Native and Afrodescendant Communities (REMIAC)
  • Mujeres Afrodescendientes CDMX
  • NuestraRed.mx
  • Puebla Region Citizens’ Initiative
  • RIA Institute
  • Tembembe Center for Afro-Mexican Studies
  • SERAPAZ

United States

  • Black Lives Matter–South Bend
  • Change the Ref
  • CODEPINK
  • Friends of Latin America
  • Global Exchange
  • Hacer las Paces (Making the Peace)
  • International Tribunal of Peoples’ Conscience in Movement
  • Lila LGBTQ Inc.
  • Mexico Solidarity Project
  • Migrant and Minorities Alliance
  • National Lawyers Guild – SF Bay Area Chapter
  • Newtown Action Alliance
  • North American Indigenous Center of New York
  • San Francisco Living Wage Coalition
  • Transnational People’s Network (RPT)
  • Witness at the Border

Additional Participating Organizations

  • Alianza Campo Justo
  • Alianza por la Salud Alimentaria
  • Alianza Ríos Mayas
  • Aluna Acompañamiento Psicosocial
  • Amigas da Terra Brasil
  • Aperture SC
  • Asociación Nacional de Empresas Comercializadoras de Productores del Campo, A.C.
  • Asociación de Consumidores Orgánicos
  • Asociación Morelense de Lucha contra el Cáncer, A.C.
  • Brigada Feminista
  • CADHAC (Ciudadanos en Apoyo a los Derechos Humanos, A.C.)
  • Calmil Comunicación
  • Campaña Nacional Sin Maíz No Hay País
  • Centro de Derechos Humanos Fray Francisco de Vitoria
  • Centro de Estudios Ecuménicos
  • Centro de Reflexión y Acción Laboral
  • Centro Lindavista
  • Centro Mexicano de Derecho Ambiental, A.C.
  • Centro Solidario Tsomanotik
  • CESTA Amigos de la Tierra El Salvador
  • Coecoceiba – Amigos de la Tierra Costa Rica
  • Colectivo Comunitaria Cultura
  • Colectivo Sí a la Vida
  • Colectiva Kataz Nodos de Autoformación
  • Colectivo de Federaciones y Organizaciones Mexicanas Migrantes
  • Comunidades Campesinas y Urbanas Solidarias, A.C.
  • Comisión de Solidaridad y Defensa de los Derechos Humanos, A.C.
  • Comité de Derechos Humanos Ajusco, A.C.
  • Comité Fronterizo de Obreros A.C.
  • Consejo del Pueblo Maya, Guatemala
  • Consorcio para el Diálogo Parlamentario y la Equidad Oaxaca
  • Cultura Ecológica
  • Del Campo
  • El Poder del Consumidor
  • Encuentro Internacional de Economía de los Trabajadores
  • Enlace Comunicación y Capacitación, A.C.
  • Eskuela Radical ESE-ERRE, A.C.
  • Espacio OSC para la Protección de Personas Defensoras de Derechos Humanos y Periodistas – México
  • Espiral por la Vida, A.C.
  • Federación Internacional de Escritores por la Libertad
  • FIAN México
  • Fortaleza Comunitaria Integral, A.C.
  • Frente Auténtico del Trabajo
  • Frente Petenero Contra Represas
  • Fundar, Centro de Análisis e Investigación, A.C.
  • Fundación para la Seguridad Alimentaria y el Apoyo a Mexicanos en Condición de Pobreza, A.C.
  • Fundación Monica Alejandrina por los Derechos Humanos
  • Fundación Semillas de Vida
  • Grupo de Estudios Ambientales (GEA) A.C.
  • Grupo Urkiola
  • Guerreros Verdes A.C.
  • Huerto Roma Verde
  • Incide Social A.C.
  • Impunidad Cero
  • INDRA Red Educativa para la Preservación de Semillas Nativas
  • Instituto de Estudios Obreros “Rafael Galván” A.C.
  • International Rivers
  • Jtatic Samuel Ruiz García A.C.
  • Kataz, Nodos de Autoformación
  • La Gremia, Red de Mujeres del Cine y la TV
  • Maderas del Pueblo del Sureste A.C.
  • Mexteki
  • Micelio Rojo
  • Movimiento por la Defensa del Bosque y Cuencas de Agua de Tancítaro
  • Nosotrxs
  • Observatorio Universitario de Seguridad Alimentaria y Nutricional del Estado de Guanajuato (OUSANEG)
  • Oceana
  • Otros Mundos Chiapas / Amigos de la Tierra
  • ONG Más Música, Menos Balas
  • Red de Mujeres Sindicalistas
  • Red Iberoamericana de Agenda 2030
  • Red Mujeres Unidas Contra las Violencias Jalisco
  • Red Cultura Viva Comunitaria Jalisco
  • Red Vive Libre Colectiva
  • REDES – Amigos de la Tierra Uruguay
  • Regeneration International
  • RIP.mx / Adherente a la Sexta / Otros Horizontes Políticos
  • SAC Consultoría para la Construcción de Paz
  • Scalabrinianas Misión con Migrantes y Refugiados (SMR)
  • Servicios y Asesoría para la Paz
  • Tierra Nativa – Amigos de la Tierra Argentina
  • Trascendiendo con Resiliencia y Dignidad A.C.
  • Unión Campesina Democrática CDMX
  • Unidad Latina en Acción
  • Vía Orgánica