Statement by Italia Méndez before the UN Special Rapporteur on torture

Human Rights Council

61st regular session of the Human Rights Council

Item 3: ID with the SR on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment - Interactive Dialogue

My name is Italia Méndez. In November 2023, together with torture survivors from across Latin America, we held a dialogue with Dr. Alice Edwards, the Special Rapporteur on Torture. This meeting marked an important step toward the report being presented today.

In Bogotá, we shared our stories and collectively reflected on the long journey we have undertaken in the pursuit of justice, truth, comprehensive reparation, and guarantees of non‑repetition in response to the human rights violations committed by the States of our region—violations whose consequences remain present in our lives, our families, and our communities.

The Charter of Rights of Victims and Survivors of Torture represents our voices, our struggles, and our knowledge. It recognizes that victims not only demand justice, but must also take an active role in shaping public policies aimed at preventing and eradicating torture.

I am part of a collective of women survivors of sexual torture during the repressive operations in Texcoco and Atenco in 2006. After nearly twenty years of fighting for justice, our case remains in impunity.

For this reason, we acknowledge this report as the result of the collective efforts of victims and survivors, and we call on States and the United Nations system to adopt and integrate this instrument into their policies and actions.

Thank you very much.