Since entering office two years ago, President López Obrador prioritized resolving the Ayotzinapa case, reopening the investigation undertaken by the Peña Nieto administration and establishing a Commission for Truth and Justice. Despite the recent measures taken by the Mexican government to address the issue of enforced disappearances—including the adoption of the General Act on Enforced Disappearance of Persons and the launching of a National Missing Persons System—enforced disappearances remain an ongoing tragedy, with over 73,000 people whose whereabouts are currently unknown.
In a 2017 follow up report to his 2014 country visit to Mexico as Special Rapportuer on Torture, Prof. Mendez expressed his deep concern that two years after the disappearances of the students, the tragic event remained without due clarification. His report also emphasized that an exhaustive investigation into the events had not been carried out and that several of the lines of investigation indicated by the Interdisciplinary Group of Independent Experts (GIEI) appointed by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) remain to be exhausted. The final report presented by the GIEI indicated that in at least 17 cases, there were significant indications of mistreatment and torture against the detainees accused of the disappearance of the students.
As part of its current anti-torture work, the ATI will support litigation efforts in the Ayotzinapa case as well as accountability mechanisms to combat impunity.