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Failure of the State

Organised Crime and Mexico's Disappeared
ISBN:
978-3-03-183716-6
Verlag:
H2020 European Research Council, Springer, Springer International Publishing
Land des Verlags:
Schweiz
Erscheinungsdatum:
02.06.2025
Reihe:
Interdisciplinary Studies in Human Rights
Format:
Hardcover
Seitenanzahl:
338
Ladenpreis
164,99EUR (inkl. MwSt. zzgl. Versand)
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This Open Access book explores an issue that has so far received little attention in human rights research: organised criminal groups (OCGs) as perpetrators of human rights violations, especially disappearances. To do so, it takes an interdisciplinary approach, combining doctrinal legal research with a qualitative study on present-day disappearances in Mexico. Disappearances are among the most complex human rights violations and have a detrimental impact not only on the disappeared person, but also on relatives, who are left in an agonising limbo of uncertainty about the fate of their loved one. Originally committed as part of state-led repression against political opponents and to spread terror, today disappearances also occur in different contexts, often involving OCGs. However, disappearances committed by OCGs, a non-state actor, are not human rights violations under International Human Rights Law (IHRL), thereby potentially leaving a gap in the legal protection of victims. To explore the protective capacity of IHRL vis-à-vis victims of disappearances committed by OCGs, and their relatives, the book analyses state obligations in IHRL and case law involving state responsibility for human rights violations committed by non-state actors, and assesses how cases involving OCGs should be approached. This ‘internal’ legal perspective is complemented by an ‘external’ study, based on desk-based research and a series of qualitative in-depth interviews with human rights practitioners working on disappearances Mexico, which have risen sharply since 2006 and are often committed by OCGs. The study provides a unique perspective on human rights protection ‘in reality’. By focusing specifically on OCGs, the book adds to scholarship on non-state actors and disappearances, and to incipient international legal scholarship on the issue of organised crime and international law. Moreover, the combination of two disciplinary lenses contributes to discussions around methodology for human rights research and interdisciplinarity in this field. Finally, the qualitative study on Mexico contributes to a richer understanding of the challenges faced by human rights practitioners ‘on the ground’ who work in a context where OCGs commit human rights violations alongside, or in collusion with, state forces. Given the book’s interdisciplinary approach, it will be of interest to a diverse audience: legal scholars and practitioners may draw on the legal analysis for research and litigation; the qualitative study on Mexico will be useful for human rights scholars in fields such as political science, international relations, or socio-legal studies, as it provides important insights for thinking critically about human rights protection in contexts where the lines between the state and crime are blurred; finally, the study may interest funders who are supporting the work of NGOs in Mexico and similar contexts, and NGOs themselves.

Biografische Anmerkung

Lene Guercke is a senior researcher for the Investigations Program at UC Berkeley’s Human Rights Center. She holds a PhD in Law from KU Leuven and an MA in Human Rights from University College London. For several years, she worked as an independent consultant and researcher on diverse human rights issues.