Photo: Francisco Cerezo Contreras (Comite Cerezo), Brent Patterson (PBI-Canada), Manuel Jabonero Prieto (PBI-Mexico).
Over the last two days, the Peace Brigades International-Mexico Project has facilitated meetings for PBI-Canada with Espacio OSC, Front Line Defenders and the Cerezo Committee in Mexico City.
The Space for Civil Society Organizations for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders and Journalists (Espacio OSC) is currently made up of 13 national organizations and is accompanied by Peace Brigades International.
One of their objectives is to: “Promote the operability and effectiveness of the Protection Mechanism to guarantee the safety of human rights defenders and journalists.”
Less than two weeks ago, Mario Hurtado Cardozo, Héctor Hugo Arreola Galván and Elizabeth Guadalupe Mosqueda Rivera participated in this webinar on strengthening the Protection Mechanism for human rights defenders and journalists.
And Elizabeth and Hugo met with representatives from all five of Canada’s parliamentary parties while in Ottawa in September 2025.
You can find out more about the work of Espacio OSC from their website and on Bluesky, Instagram and X.
We also met with Sandra Patargo, the Protection Coordinator for the Americas for Front Line Defenders.
As noted on their website: “Front Line Defenders (FLD) is an international human rights organization founded in Dublin in 2001, with the specific aim of protecting human rights defenders at risk (HRDs).”
They also note: “As identified by human rights defenders themselves, FLD responds to protection and security needs by providing support through grants, capacity building, visibility, networking, and advocacy, at the international, regional and local levels.”
You can find out more about the work of Front Line Defenders from their website and on Bluesky, Instagram, Facebook and X.
And we met with Francisco Cerezo Contreras of the Cerezo Committee.
After our meeting, Francisco posted on social media: “We were visited by Brent Patterson from Peace Brigades International-Canada. We had a very pleasant conversation about the human rights situation in Mexico and about our organization, its origins, and where we are currently. The host was Peace Brigades International – Mexico Project. Thank you both for everything.”
As noted on the Comite Cerezo website: “We are a solidarity collective of volunteer work, dedicated to the defense of the Human Rights of victims of repression for political reasons in Mexico.” Their Facebook page also notes: “We are an independent organization that defends and promotes human rights in Mexico since August 13, 2001.”
The Comité Cerezo was founded after the arrest of three Cerezo brothers, Alejandro, Héctor and Antonio. They were sent to a maximum-security federal prison, suffering physical and psychological torture. Francisco, family members and allies formed the Comité Cerezo to fight for their liberation.
This PBI project information bulletin that interviewed Francisco in March 2005 notes: “PBI has been accompanying Emiliana and Francisco Cerezo Contreras, members of the Cerezo Committee, since February 2002.”
You can find out more about the work of the Cerezo Committee from their website and on Facebook and X.
Additional reading
PBI-Mexico accompanies Cerezo Committee and families in the call to find Edmundo Reyes and Gabriel Cruz (April 6, 2024)
PBI-Mexico accompanies march in solidarity with the disappeared during the Mendez Arceo National Human Rights Award in Cuernavaca (May 21, 2025)
PBI-Mexico concerned Cerezo Committee on list the Ministry of National Defence targeted with Pegasus spyware (October 4, 2022).
