ORDER OF THE
INTER-AMERICAN COURT OF HUMAN RIGHTS
OF MARCH 1, 2012
PROVISIONAL MEASURES
REGARDING THE UNITED MEXICAN STATES
MATTER OF MARTÍNEZ MARTÍNEZ ET AL.
HAVING SEEN:
1.
The brief of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (hereinafter “the
Inter-American Commission” or “the Commission”) of November 23, 2011 and its
attachments, in which it submitted a request for provisional measures to the Inter-American
Court of Human Rights (hereinafter the Inter-American Court,” or the “Court”), pursuant to
Article 63.2 of the American Convention on Human Rights (hereinafter “the American
Convention” or “the Convention”) and Article 27 of the Court’s Rules of Procedure
(hereinafter “the Rules of Procedure”), for the purpose of requiring the United Mexican
States (hereinafter “Mexico” or “the State”) to adopt measures aimed at “protect[ing] the
life and personal integrity of Margarita Martínez Martínez, Adolfo Guzmán Ordaz, and the
children Ada Saraí Martínez Martínez and Eduardo Abel León Martínez.”
2.
The background information presented by the Commission regarding the request for
provisional measures, namely:
a)
according to the Fray Bartolomé de las Casas Center for Human Rights
(hereinafter the "Center Fray Bartolomé de las Casas" or "representatives") of the
state of Chiapas Mexico, Mrs. Margarita Martínez Martínez (hereinafter “Mrs. Martínez
Martínez”) is a “human rights defender of indigenous peoples, the daughter of
Guatemalan refugees from the conflict that took place in that country.” Her partner,
Mr. Adolfo Guzmán Ordaz (hereinafter “Mr. Guzman Ordaz”) is “a native of the
Zapotec peoples and is dedicated to defending the rights of indigenous peoples,
mainly in the states of Oaxaca and Chiapas[.] [I]n addition, he promotes a regional
peasant flea market in Comitán.” Both are “human rights defenders and members of
the organization ENLACE, Communication and Training” (hereinafter “ENLACE”);
b)
ENLACE is an autonomous civil and secular organization, founded in 1982,
“responsible for promoting local sustainable development processes in indigenous
and rural areas of the country’s central and southern regions;”
c)
on November 8, 2009, between 18 to 20 people, allegedly members of the
Ministerial Police, using force and threats, carried out a search at the home of Mrs.
Margarita Martínez Martínez and Mr. Adolfo Guzmán Ordaz, which allegedly took
place without a search warrant. The search of the home was carried out in the
presence of the four family members, and the children's rooms were also searched.
It was reported that during the search, the family members were threatened with a
firearm;