Update, February 3rd, 2012: Norma Andrade has been attacked again, this time outside her home. She is currently in hospital. Take action – sign this petition to pressure the Mexican government to provide Norma with protection and ensure she continues to receive proper medical care!
Take action: http://alzatuvoz.org/norma
Learn more: Slasher attacks human rights activist
December, 2011
There are grave fears for the safety of Mexican human rights activist Norma Andrade and her family after she was shot on December 2nd. Norma Esther Andrade, the founder of Nuestra Hijas de Regreso a Casa (NHRC), was approached by an unidentified gunman outside of her home in Ciudad Juarez and shot numerous times in the shoulder and hand. She was taken immediately to hospital, but soon after had to be moved to an undisclosed location due to direct threats against her and the doctors treating her.
The day of the shootings, the school where Norma works received anonymous phone calls requesting her whereabouts. After school officials refused to release the information, the call ended with “we will be waiting for her outside the school”. Norma, her family and her colleagues have been repeatedly threatened since June 2002. Since 2008, four members of NHRC have had protection orders put in place by the Interamerican Commission on Human rights requiring Mexican officials to ensure their protection.
Nuestra Hijas de Regreso a Casa was founded in 2001 after a series of abductions and murders of women in Ciudad Juarez which the authorities failed to prevent or investigate adequately. One of those killed was Lilia Alejandra Garía Andrade, a daughter of Norma Andrade.
LEARN MORE
Norma Andrade Shot: Women’s Activist Hit Twice in Juarez, Mexico. The Huffington Post, December 3, 2011.
Mexico: Human Rights Defender Shot in Mexico. Amnesty International, December 5, 2011.
TAKE ACTION
Please write immediately in Spanish or your own language.
- Demand the authorities guarantee the safety of Norma, her family and her colleagues
- Urge a prompt, full and impartial investigation into the latest attack as well as previous threats
- Demand the authorities urgently establish a mechanism to ensure the safety of all human rights activists in Mexico
Please send appeals before January 16, 2012 to:
Governor of Chihuahua State
Lic. César Duarte Jáquez
Gobernador del Estado de Chihuahua,
Palacio de Gobierno, 1er piso, C. Aldama #901, Col. Centro,
Chihuahua, Estado de Chihuahua, C.P. 31000, México
Fax: +52 614 429 3300, then dial extension 11066
Email: despachodelejecutivo@hotmail.com
Salutation: Dear Governor
Minister of the Interior
Dr. Alejandro Poiré Romero
Secretaría de Gobernación
Bucareli 99, 1er. piso, Col. Juárez
Delegación Cuauhtémoc
México D.F., C.P.06600, MÉXICO
Fax: +52 55 5093 3414 (Say “fax por favor”)
Email: secretario@segob.gob.mx
Salutation: Dear Minister