Photo: PBI-Canada hosted an advocacy visit by Mexican human rights defenders Elizabeth Mosqueda and Hugo Arreola in September 2025. The Espacio OSC activists called on the Government of Canada to help strengthen the Protection Mechanism for human rights defenders and journalists in Mexico.
PBI-Canada is campaigning to strengthen the Protection Mechanisms in Colombia, Honduras, Guatemala and Mexico, including ensuring that union activists are recognized as human rights defenders and that these state mechanisms recognize and address the safety and security threats they face.
An initial research survey has found:
COLOMBIA: The National Trade Union Schol (Escuela Nacional SIndicale) highlighted in 2018 that: “For its part, the Government has shown progress since 2011 with the creation of the National Protection Unit, NPU (Unidad Nacional de Protección), including the expanded coverage of the number of protected trade unionists and measures taken, the increase in risk studies, the implementation of measures to accelerate the response to requests for protection, the increase of economic and human resources; the creation of the Committee for the Evaluation of Risks and Recommendation of Measures (CERREM in Spanish) and the granting of labor guarantees for threatened teachers, considering that this is one of the most victimized union sectors.”
HONDURAS: The International Labor Organization has also noted: “The Government states that, in order to provide prompt and effective protection for all trade union leaders and members in a situation of risk, an Act and mechanism are in place.” That 2018 report documented: “Current cases involving trade unionists under the National Protection System: There are currently four reports submitted by trade unionists under the protection of the National Protection System.”
GUATEMALA: A protection mechanism for human rights defenders was established via Ministerial Accord on August 28, 2024. Prensa Comunitaria has reported: “The policy defines a human rights defender as ‘any person who, individually or collectively, acts or seeks to act to promote and procure the protection and realization of human rights and fundamental freedoms,’ according to international standards. The document also emphasizes that the status of defender is determined exclusively by the activity carried out, regardless of whether he receives remuneration, belongs to an organization or acts occasionally or permanently.”
MEXICO: Our understanding is that neither the Protection Law nor the Mechanism Regulations limit the access of trade unionists to the Mechanism. As long as their defence of human rights is framed, for example in the right of association, they can enter the Mechanism. However, challenges can arise given unions have historically been linked with political parties and structures of corruption.
Initial comments
-References to the Mechanisms in Colombia and Honduras appear to explicitly mention union activists. In Guatemala, that has more of a newly announced policy intention than an actual Mechanism, the inclusion is inferred. While there is a dearth of commentary on Mexico, our information is that union activists are not covered by the federal or state Protection Mechanisms now in place.
-All of the articles and commentary we have seen have indicated significant weaknesses in existing Protection Mechanisms and the need to strengthen these protection tools.
-Perhaps because of the weaknesses in the Mechanisms across these countries, likely in relation to the limits on numbers of applicants accepted, there also appears to be instances of a lack of awareness that the Mechanism exists.
-There is a need to further compare and contrast existing Protection Mechanisms, to build on the best examples in practice, to document and amplify the range of recommendations to improve these Mechanisms, and to acknowledge that these Mechanisms are but one tool in a range of measures that should be implemented to protect the lives of human rights defenders, journalists and union activists.
More to come.
