Peace Brigades International-Canada is following social media and news reports on the Mexico-Canada Dialogue on Human Rights and Multilateral Issues happening today (May 20) in Ottawa.
We are specifically looking for progress on strengthening the Protection Mechanism for Human Rights Defenders and Journalists.
Today, the Embassy of Canada in Mexico posted on social media: “Protection of vulnerable people; Right to life and physical integrity; Freedom of expression; Gender equality. We are in Ottawa for the Mexico-Canada Dialogue on Human Rights and Multilateral Affairs to discuss our cooperation on these issues.”
We note that at the Canada-Mexico Dialogue that took place on May 8, 2025, in Mexico City, the Protection Mechanism was discussed under the theme of “Freedom of Expression and the Right to Security”.
Those themes are reflected in today’s Dialogue.
The report from 2025 notes: “Discussions addressed concerns related to attacks on freedom of expression, the influence of social media in spreading hate and discrimination, and the risks faced by journalists and human rights defenders in Mexico and globally. Topics also included the increase of digital threats, the importance of cybersecurity, the issue of disappearances in Mexico, Mexico’s human rights protection mechanisms and the possibility of a database to monitor disappearances. Both countries agreed to share experiences regarding data protection and databases.”
A year prior to this, in January 2024, Canada called on Mexico at their United Nations Universal Periodic Review (UPR) to: “Strengthen, from an intersectional and gender perspective, the federal Protection Mechanism for Human Rights Defenders and Journalists, specifically in the areas of prevention, protection, investigation, and reparation.”
Global Affairs Canada has indicated to PBI-Canada and the Americas Policy Group (APG) that the Protection Mechanism will be raised at the Human Rights Dialogue today (May 20, 2026) in Ottawa.
We continue to follow for news reports and social media posts today as well as an anticipated meeting with Global Affairs Canada officials in the coming weeks to gauge if progress has been made on this area of concern.
