July 7, 2011
Peacebuild // Paix Durable
Abstract:
Peacebuild, in collaboration with the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada (DFAIT) convened the third in a series of six workshops on peacebuilding and conflict prevention policy issues on 31st May 2011 in the CANADEM conference room in Ottawa. The purpose of the workshop series is to exchange current information and analysis among expert civil society practitioners, academics and Government of Canada officials aimed at developing policy and programming options to respond to new developments and emerging trends.
This workshop examined the dynamics of peace and conflict, including drug violence and crime, in Latin America. This policy brief provides a synopsis of the findings and analysis from discussion and the papers presented during the event, highlighting key recommendations to improve prevention and responses to conflict and crime that emerged from the workshop....
July 7, 2011
Peacebuild // Paix Durable
Abstract:
Femicide, the killing of women by men because they are
women, is a worldwide phenomenon. Victims of femicide are
often mutilated, raped and tortured before their deaths. These
acts of extreme violence are most likely to occur in
environments where every day forms of violence are accepted,
and impunity is facilitated by the government’s refusal to deal
with the problem. Femicide is considered to be the most
extreme form of misogynistic violence, one which stems from
the violation of human rights of women in the public and
private sphere. In Mexico, particularly on the Mexico-US
border, the killing of women first made international headlines
in 1993, as a growing number of female bodies started to
emerge at the outskirts of Ciudad Juárez. Since then, the
number of femicides continues to rise despite international
pressure and government-led initiatives. In 2007, for example,
the federal government promulgated a law that sought to
prevent all forms of violence against women, La Ley General
de Acceso a las Mujeres a una Vida Libre de Violence. Four
years after the passing of the law, the levels of gender-based violence remain the same, while the number of femicides
continues to increase, rendering the law inoperable. From
1993 to 2005, approximately 370 women were killed in
Ciudad Juárez and Chihuahua City....
June 16, 2011
RAND Corporation
Abstract:
Colombia currently accounts for the vast bulk of cocaine produced in
Latin America. In 2009, the country produced 270 metric tons (MT)
of cocaine, making it the principal supplier for both the United States
and the worldwide market. Besides Colombia, Peru and Bolivia constitute
two additional important sources of cocaine in Latin America.
In 2009, these two countries generated enough base material to respectively
yield 225 and 195 MT of refined product.
Between 60 and 65 percent of all Latin American cocaine is trafficked
to the United States, the bulk of which is smuggled via the eastern
Pacific/Central American corridor. The remainder is sent through
the Caribbean island chain, with the Dominican Republic, Puerto
Rico, and Haiti acting as the main transshipment hubs. In both cases,
Mexico serves as the main point of entry to mainland America, presently
accounting for the vast majority of all illicit drug imports to the
United States....
June 15, 2011
United States Senate Caucus on International Narcotics Control
Abstract:
This report urges Congress and the Administration to strengthen firearms laws to stem drug-relating violence, citing report that 70% of weapons recovered in Mexico originated from the United States.
Firearms are trafficked from the United States to Mexico and into the hands
of the country’s drug trafficking organizations. Congress has been virtually
moribund while powerful Mexican drug trafficking organizations continue to gain
unfettered access to military-style firearms coming from the United States.
In a June 2009 report, the Government Accountability Office stated that
around 87 percent of firearms seized by Mexican authorities and traced over the
previous five years originated in the United States.
In a June 9, 2011 response to an inquiry from Senator Feinstein, Bureau of
Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) Acting Director Kenneth
Melson stated that of the 29,284 firearms recovered in Mexico in 2009 and 2010
and submitted to the ATF National Tracing Center, 20,504 were United Statessourced.
A country of origin for the remaining firearms could not be determined
by ATF. A copy of this letter and the request letter from Senator Feinstein are
attached in the report appendix.
In 2009, according to tracing data from the ATF, the most frequently
recovered caliber of firearms in Mexico included .223 caliber, 7.62 mm, 9 mm, .22
caliber and 5.7 mm. Other than the .22 caliber, these firearms are the most
commonly found assault rifle and assault pistol calibers in the United States.
Firearms recovered in Mexico overwhelmingly come from the Southwest
border. The Government Accountability Office found that between Fiscal Year
2004 and 2008, approximately 70 percent of firearms traced in Mexico to an
original owner in the United States came from Texas (39 percent), California (20
percent), and Arizona (10 percent)....
June 1, 2011
The Committee to Protect Journalists
Abstract:
Russia and Mexico, two of the world’s most murderous countries for the press, are heading in different directions in combating deadly anti-press violence, the Committee to Protect Journalists has found in its newly updated Impunity Index. The index, which calculates unsolved journalist murders as a percentage of each country’s population, found improvement in Russia as journalist murders ebbed and prosecutors obtained two high-profile convictions. But deadly anti-press violence continued to climb in Mexico, where authorities appear powerless in bringing killers to justice.
Colombia continued a years-long pattern of improvement, CPJ’s index found, while conditions in Bangladesh reflected a slight upturn. But the countries at the top of the index—Iraq, Somalia, and the Philippines—showed either no improvement or even worsening records. Iraq, with an impunity rating three times worse than that of any other nation, is ranked first for the fourth straight year. Although crossfire and other conflict-related deaths have dropped in Iraq in recent years, the targeted killings of journalists spiked in 2010.
“The findings of the 2011 Impunity Index lay bare the stark choices that governments face: Either address the issue of violence against journalists head-on or see murders continue and self-censorship spread,” said CPJ Executive Director Joel Simon. “Convictions in Russia are a hopeful sign after years of indifference and denial. But Mexico’s situation is deeply troubling, with violence spiking as the government promises action but fails to deliver.”
CPJ’s annual Impunity Index, first published in 2008, identifies countries where journalists are murdered regularly and governments fail to solve the crimes. For this latest index, CPJ examined journalist murders that occurred between January 1, 2001 through December 31, 2010, and that remain unsolved. Only the 13 nations with five or more unsolved cases are included on the index. Cases are considered unsolved when no convictions have been obtained.
Impunity is a key indicator in assessing levels of press freedom and free expression in nations worldwide. CPJ research shows that deadly, unpunished violence against journalists often leads to vast self-censorship in the rest of the press corps. From Somalia to Mexico, CPJ has found that journalists avoid sensitive topics, leave the profession, or flee their homeland to escape violent retribution....
Mexico 
