Latest News
16.11.2023
The situation of the people in the community has significantly worsened. On the night of 13 November, the government evicted everyone from the shelter it had provided for them, despite the fact that many families do not have homes nor adequate resources to afford food, medicine or rent.
An Update UA will be issued in the coming week, once more information is known about the situation. However, the calls and target of the current UA remain strategic and relevant, please continue to take action on this UA.
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Here are two social media posts published today by Amnistía Int. México and Amnistía Internacional Américas, please feel free to share widely.
Climate displaced community needs urgent relocation
Eighty-four people from the «El Bosque» community, in southern Mexico, were evacuated to Frontera village (12 km far from El Bosque) on 1 November 2023 due to sea level rise and the devastating effects of the climate crisis. Mexican authorities promised to relocate the community in April 2023 in the face of the terrible impacts of sea level rise, that has threatened the community since 2019. Despite the continued destruction of homes and critical infrastructure, the relocation has not yet materialized. The Mexican State must guarantee the human rights of the people from El Bosque in face of the current humanitarian emergency, and immediately provide participatory and just relocation.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
El Bosque is a fishing community in the state of Tabasco, southern Mexico, affected by rising sea levels and coastal erosion intensified by the climate crisis. Since 2019, due to constant tidal waves and extreme weather events, the coastline of El Bosque has lost 200 meters (about 656.17 ft), resulting in the destruction of homes and community infrastructure. In April 2023, El Bosque community started negotiations with the Ministry of Agrarian, Territorial and Urban Development (Secretaría de Desarrollo Agrario, Territorial y Urbano) of Mexico and the Mexican National Housing Commission (Comisión Nacional de Vivienda en México) to be relocated. However, this process has not progressed, leaving the community vulnerable to new extreme weather events, such as the torrential rains of Cold Front 8 on 1 November.
Amnesty International has received information and , about the humanitarian crisis faced by nearly 64 families of El Bosque. Prior to the events of 1 November, the community had already lost more than 50 houses to rising sea levels, forcing people to live in temporary shelters in the community or to be displaced. Also, before 1 November, the community reported that the water wells of El Bosque were already infiltrated by seawater, the healthcare services were neither constant nor adequate; electricity service was intermittent; and due to the destruction of their schools, children were forced to attend classes in an inadequate infrastructure to guarantee their right to education. Following the events of 1 November, the community’s situation has only worsened.
Under international human rights law, the Mexican State must adopt measures to protect, prevent and reduce the risks, losses and damages caused by the foreseeable and unforeseeable consequences of climate change. See also below (1)
The development of robust mitigation and adaptation measures could reduce the number of people forced to move due to the consequences of climate change and prevent the aggravation of losses and damages generated by the climate emergency. Unfortunately, the Mexican government has chosen to continue increasing oil production, instead of generating solid commitments for a just energy transition to comply with the commitments made in the Paris Agreement. See also below (2)
The situation in El Bosque, and in Acapulco, Guerrero (city that on 25 October suffered the impacts of Hurricane Otis, the strongest storm ever to hit Mexico's Pacific coast), shows the failure of the Mexican government to protect the most marginalized groups that bear the brunt of the climate crisis. See also below (3)
The Mexican State also has a duty to ensure that planned permanent relocations are a measure of last resort, and in cases such as El Bosque in Tabasco, where such internal displacement is imminent, it must comply with the framework of international obligations on internal displacement, which establish that a durable solution for displaced persons be achieved. See also below (4)
This durable solution must ensure that displaced persons can enjoy, without discrimination, all their human rights, including security; an adequate standard of living, including access to food, water, adequate housing, employment and elementary education; access to work and means of subsistence; and access to effective mechanisms for the restitution of housing, land and property of displaced persons, or to provide them with adequate compensation.
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(1) Stop burning our rights! What governments and corporations must do ...
(2) Producción mexicana de petróleo aumenta tras impulso de Pemex
(3) MEXICO: Families without food and children out of school two weeks after Hurricane Otis
Take action
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Write an appeal in your own words or use the model letter below.
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Take action on Social media: Infos see the yellow field on the right.
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Please take action before 7 January 2024.
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Preferred language: Spanish. You can also write in your own language.
Model letter
Model letter in Spanish open here / Aqui modelo de carta en español
Señor presidente López Obrador,
Le escribo para expresar mi preocupación por la devastadora situación que enfrentan 84 residentes de la comunidad de El Bosque, en Tabasco, debido al aumento del nivel del mar potenciado por la crisis climática. El 1 de noviembre, estas personas fueron evacuadas por una marejada causada por el Frente Frío 8. Actualmente, 69 personas se encuentran en un albergue temporal en la ciudad de Frontera (a 12 km de “El Bosque”), y el resto volvieron a la comunidad o se han trasladado a otros pueblos. Esta situación es más que preocupante, dadas las promesas hechas por su Gobierno en abril de 2023 de que la comunidad sería reubicada de manera segura y urgente.
Como usted sabe, la comunidad ha informado de importantes pérdidas y daños, incluida la destrucción de refugios temporales y de 13 viviendas (además de las más de 50 casas ya perdidas por el aumento del nivel del mar), la pérdida de infraestructuras y la alarmante infiltración de agua de mar en los pozos de agua.
Instamos a su gobierno a agilizar urgentemente el proceso de reubicación de “El Bosque”, asegurando que este sea participativo y justo, garantizando siempre los derechos humanos de las personas afectadas. Asimismo, solicitamos que su gobierno adopte medidas para prevenir, reducir y mitigar los riesgos, pérdidas y daños causados por la crisis climática, como de mitigación y adaptación al cambio climático basadas en los derechos humanos.
Atentamente,
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Mr. President López Obrador,
I’m deeply concerned about the dire situation faced by 84 residents of El Bosque, Tabasco, due to rising sea levels intensified by the climate crisis. On 1 November, they were evacuated due to a tidal wave caused by Cold Front 8 (Frente Frío 8). Currently, 69 people are in a temporary shelter in «Frontera» village (12 km far from El Bosque), and the rest have returned to the community or moved to other villages. This situation is significantly more distressing, given the promises made by your Government in April 2023 that they will be safely relocated urgently.
As you are aware, the community has reported significant losses and damages, including the destruction of temporary shelters and 13 homes (in addition to the more than 50 houses already lost to rising sea levels), loss of infrastructure and the alarming infiltration of sea water to the water wells.
We urgently request that your government expedite the relocation process of El Bosque, ensuring it is participatory and just, always guaranteeing the human rights of the affected people. We also urge your government to take measures to prevent, reduce and mitigate the risks, losses and damages caused by climate change, like robust mitigation and adaptation measures based on human rights.
Yours sincerely,
Appeals to
Andrés Manuel López Obrador
President of México
Plaza De La Constitución S/N Palacio Nacional,
Centro, Cuauhtémoc, Ciudad de México,
México C.P. 06067
Twitter/X: @lopezobrador
Email*: atencionciudadana@segob.gob.mx / alejandro.esquer@presidencia.gob.mx
*Email with cc to:
maurowinzig@gmail.com (Civil protection of Tabasco state: Mauro Winzig Negrín)
presidencia@centla.gob.mx (Mayor of Centla: Lluvia Salas López)
celiabosch@tabasco.gob.mx (National System for the Integral Development of the Family Tabasco (DIF Tabasco / Celia Margarita Bosch Muñoz, General Coordinator of DIF Tabasco)
Copies to
Botschaft von Mexiko
Weltpoststrasse 20
3015 Berne
Fax: 031 357 47 48
E-Mail: informacionsui@sre.gob.mx
Twitter/X: /EmbaMexSui
FB: /EmbMexSui
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Letter delivery to other countries - General info:
It is possible to send PRIORITY letters to almost all countries.
Please check on the Website of the Swiss Post, whether letters are currently being delivered to the destination country.
If not, we ask you to use other communication channels (email, fax or social media, if available) for the delivery of your appeal and/or send it via the embassy with the request for forwarding to the named person.
Response on your appeal/letter
It might be that you will receive a reply to your appeal letter. You do not have to answer to it by yourself, but we would be grateful if you would send us this letter. Ideally scanned by e-mail to ua@amnesty.ch. We forward the replies to the relevant research team (via Amnesty's International Secretariat). The colleagues analyze the content and decide on how to proceed, which may be reflected in a Further information.
Incidentally, we do not fear any consequences for UA activists in Switzerland. However, it makes sense to consider not to wrtite a letter if you intend to travel to the country (or have family there). This applies above all to «problematic» and repressive countries. (Russia, Turkey, China, ...)
