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

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