MEXICO CITY (AP) — A United Nations committee says Mexico is responsible for a forced disappearance that occurred in Veracruz state in 2010 and has asked for a renewed investigation.
The victim’s lawyer says it marks the first time a U.N. body has issued a binding resolution condemning Mexico for forced disappearances.
The U.N. Human Rights Committee said Wednesday that its experts believe local police worked with gangs to disappear Christina Téllez Padilla.
The officers’ superiors were subsequently fired for supposedly cooperating with the notorious Zetas cartel, though they denied the accusations. Committee members said they were calling for a new investigation of the case because “Mexican authorities did very little in terms of investigation” at the time.
The Human Rights Committee asked for Mexico to respond to the investigation call within 180 days.