Actor Gael García Bernal calls on UN to help end impunity in Mexico

Mexican actor and director Gael García Bernal has called on the United Nations to take action to end the spiraling violence in Mexico. The actor, considered one of Latin America’s most important figures on and off the screen, called on the Human Rights Council of the United Nations to create a “mechanism against impunity” to put an end to the “heinous crimes” committed in Mexico “in the name of security.” “I am fed up with the violence and impunity,” García Bernal told a press conference in Geneva on Tuesday.

“The international community cannot allow for the number of victims of human rights abuses to continue to rise in Mexico nor for freedom of expression or the defense of human rights to be limited,” he said. The star of animation blockbuster Coco says he is just a “citizen, [who,] like thousands of Mexicans count the number of dead and disappeared in the thousands.”

Around 200,000 people have died in Mexico as a result of the war on drugs

“We need the cooperation of countries in this Council to have a mechanism against impunity that will guarantee that the heinous crimes taking place now will not happen again in the future,” said García Bernal, speaking on behalf of the Mexican Commission for the Defense and Promotion of Human Rights.

Activists and UN investigators have accused Mexican security forces of committing murder, torture and forced disappearances under the guise of the war against drugs, launched by former Mexican President Felipe Calderón in 2006. Since then, an estimated 200,000 people have died as a result of the violence – nearly 27,000 in last year alone, making it one of the bloodiest years in Mexico’s recent history. That same year around 23,000 people also went missing.

I am fed up with the violence and impunity Gael García Bernal

“The numbers are growing; the pain of families and entire communities is also growing,” said the 39-year-old actor, who added that he does not want to turn 40 knowing that state impunity and violence are still systematic problems.

García Bernal said that the international community must put an end to a situation where “freedom of expression is being limited and journalists and human rights defenders are being attacked, discredited and murdered,” before ending his speech to the UN Council with the message “Mexico wants peace.”

A delegation from the Mexican government was set to take part in the session of the forum, but according to UN sources it pulled out. Mexican journalists and members of not-for-profit organizations did however participate in the session. The government of Mexican President Peña Nieto has reaffirmed its commitment to investigate and punish human rights abusers and denied involvement or knowledge of cases such as the disappearance of 43 student teachers from Ayotzinapa in September 2014.

García Bernal also asked for international observers to monitor the upcoming presidential elections on July 1. “Elections are coming, stakes are pretty high. This is the moment, the moment to overturn things,” he explained. Mexican authorities are also refusing to investigate or charge “corruption on a broad scale,” he added.

English version by Melissa Kitson.