Miguel Pro Human Rights Center

Miguel Pro Human Rights Center

Abbreviation	PRODH
Named after	Blessed Miguel Pro, SJ
Formation	1988
Founded at	Mexico City
Purpose	Defense of human rights
Location	Serapio Rendón 57-B San Rafael, México City
Director	Mario E. Patrón Sánchez
Website	PRODH

Miguel Pro Human Rights Center (PRODH), founded by the Jesuits in 1988, defends victims and promotes human rights in Mexico.^[1] It is named for José Ramón Miguel Pro Juárez who was executed for carrying on his priestly ministry secretly in 1927 when the Church was outlawed in Mexico; in 1988 the Catholic church gave him the title "Blessed" as a martyr.

Activities

PRODH's personnel have opposed all manner of human rights violations in Mexico,^[2] at risk to their own lives.^[3][4]

PRODH offers legal help in obtaining the release of prisoners of conscience. Successes include the release of a Honduran jailed and tortured in a case fraught with racism.^[5]

PRODH is also active in advocacy efforts, including collaboration with the Inter-American Human Rights System,^[6] Human Rights Watch,^[7] UN treaty bodies and Special Rapporteurs, and with international and regional NGOs.^[8] PRODH advocates for the demilitarization of Mexico's security apparatus^{[9] [10] [11]} where soldiers are ordered to kill criminals, ^[12][13] as well as for greater attention to the sexual torture of women^[14] and for attention to the impact of security policy on the most defenseless groups.^[15][16] Defense of land rights is another work of the Center.^[17]

PRODH offers training for victims, movements, organizations, and human rights defenders. and facilitates human rights activists’ legal, media, and advocacy work in various regions of Mexico,^[18] The Center monitors elections^[19] and points out the evils perpetrated with US aid.^[20]

Since September 2001, Center PRODH has held Consultative Status before the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations and is an Accredited Organization before the Organization of American States.

FOCUS magazine

FOCUS magazine publishes articles on the wide variety of issues in which PRODH is involved. A selection from these issues follows.

• Review of the historic and positive Constitutional reforms of the past two decades, since the origin of PRODH. Vol. 0, Spring 2012.^[21]
• Reflection on the PRI victory in 2012. Vol. 1, Fall 2012.
• Human rights situation under the twelve-year control of the National Action Party (PAN). Vol. 2, Winter 2013.
• Review of human rights abuses over the 71-year reign of the Institutional Revolution Party (PRI); abuses did not begin with the National Action Party (PAN) that held power the past 12 years and has currently drawn international attention. Vol 3, Summer 2013
• Several human rights situations in Mexico are examined, including the right to protest. Vol. 4, Fall-Winter 2013-2014.
• Cases of people's efforts to bring their cases of injustice with impunity before the courts and before international bodies; the case of 65 miners who lost their lives in 2006 is included. Vol. 5, Spring 2014.
• Interviews with survivors of torture. Vol. 6, Summer 2014.
• Review of 25 years of service by PRODH. Vol. 7, Spring 2015.
• The Ayotzinapa case where many civilians, soldiers, and members of the Navy have been killed in shoot-outs and extrajudicial executions. Vol. 8.
• Defense of the human right to land as mega-development projects and extraction of minerals have deprived peasants of their livelihood. Vol. 9, July 2016.

See also

Thematic microsites (available in Spanish only):

• Sistema Integral de Información en Derechos Humanos
• Torturar NO es Justicia
• Campaña Rompiendo el Silencio
• Presencia en México del Grupo Interdisciplinario de Expertas y Expertos Independientes de la CIDH

References

1. "PQDT Open". pqdtopen.proquest.com. Retrieved 2016-11-30.
2. "About Us – Center Prodh". centroprodh.org.mx. Retrieved 2016-12-02.
3. PRODH personnel threatened and killed. New York: Human Rights Watch. ISBN 1-56432-207-6.
4. Christian Solidarity Worldwide report: former PRODH worker, lawyer and former religious sister, murdered in Mexico City.
5. "Mexico: Release of tortured prisoner of conscience comes years too late". www.amnesty.org. Retrieved 2016-11-30.
6. "University of Minnesota Human Rights Library". hrlibrary.umn.edu. Retrieved 2016-11-30.
7. Solomon, Joel A. (1997). Implausible Deniability: State Responsibility for Rural Violence in Mexico. Human Rights Watch. p. 95. ISBN 1564322106.
8. "WOLA and Prodh Publish Report of Human Rights Violations in Ciudad Juarez". Transnational Institute. 2010-10-05. Retrieved 2016-11-30.
9. "Mexico Army Ordered Soldiers to Kill Criminals: NGO". NDTV.com. Retrieved 2016-12-02.
10. "Prodh center | VICE News". VICE News. Retrieved 2016-12-02.
11. "In Mexico, the human rights abuses of the 'war on drugs' have been a daily reality for more than a decade". openDemocracy. 2016-05-16. Retrieved 2016-12-02.
12. "Mexico army ordered soldiers to kill criminals: NGO". ABC News. 2015-07-03. Retrieved 2016-11-30.
13. (www.dw.com), Deutsche Welle. "Mexican army ordered troops to kill criminals, says rights group | News | DW.COM | 02.07.2015". DW.COM. Retrieved 2016-11-30.
14. CEDWA report on police abuse of women. Retrieved 2 December 2016.
15. Zaken, Ministerie van Buitenlandse. "Centro Prodh". www.humanrightstulip.nl. Retrieved 2016-11-30.
16. Solomon, Joel A. (1997). Implausible Deniability: State Responsibility for Rural Violence in Mexico. Human Rights Watch. p. 95. ISBN 1564322106. PRODH contributes to the debate on human rights violations in Mexico, and impunity for the perpetrators. Military courts in San Diego Union-Tribune.
17. kpolisse (2016-06-03). "Indigenous Forest Defender Illegally Jailed in Mexico". Indian Country Today Media Network.com. Retrieved 2016-11-30.
18. , A Dangerous Journey through Mexico: Human Rights Violations against Migrants in Transit (PDF). Washington: Centro de Derechos Humanos Míguel Augustín Pro Juárez, A.C. (Center Prodh). December 2010.
19. Azul, Rafael. "Mexican elections held under conditions of police-military siege - World Socialist Web Site". www.wsws.org. Retrieved 2016-12-02.
20. "Regime of Exception: Mexico's Two-Track Justice System | the narcosphere". narcosphere.narconews.com. Retrieved 2016-11-30.
21. "Focus – Center Prodh". centroprodh.org.mx. Retrieved 2016-11-30.

Coordinates: 19°26′14.8″N 99°9′35.1″W / 19.437444°N 99.159750°W