15 January 2026, GENEVA – On the third anniversary of the enforced disappearance of Ricardo Lagunes and Antonio Díaz, UN experts* demanded immediate answers about the fate and whereabouts of the two Mexican human rights defenders.
“Mexican authorities must comply with the State’s international obligations, including by investigating the enforced disappearance, proactively searching for them, determining their fate and whereabouts, and holding perpetrators criminally responsible,” the experts said.
On 15 January 2023, Ricardo Lagunes, a human rights lawyer, and Antonio Díaz, an Indigenous leader, were forcibly disappeared in the state of Colima, Mexico. Their enforced disappearance occurred amid an ongoing dispute over natural resources between the Indigenous community of San Miguel de Aquila, Michoacán, and the Luxembourg-based mining company Ternium (part of the Argentine-Italian Techint Group). They were last seen after attending a community meeting to discuss collective action in response to the human rights impacts of the mining company’s operations.
“Refusing to succumb to despair after their enforced disappearance, the families of Mr Lagunes and Mr Díaz have undertaken a tireless quest for truth and justice over the past three years,” the experts said, noting that the authorities have so far not provided an effective response and that the company concerned has reportedly failed to fully cooperate with ongoing investigations and search activities.
The cases have been registered under the Committee on Enforced Disappearances’ Urgent Actions procedure and benefit from precautionary measures granted by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, acknowledging the serious, urgent and irreparable risk faced by the two human rights defenders.
“Enforced disappearances have a chilling effect on human rights defenders, including those advocating for land, natural resources and environment issues, as well as Indigenous leaders, and serve to silence critical voices,” the experts said, urging the Government to ensure that human rights defenders can carry out their work in a safe environment, including by strengthening the protection mechanism for human rights defenders.
In the context of resource-extraction projects, business enterprises have often reportedly sown and exacerbated community divisions, inciting violence among locals with opposing views on the projects and the use of land and natural resources. “The Government must ensure that businesses respect human rights across all their activities pursuant to the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, including when engaging with human rights defenders and affected communities,” they said.
The experts recalled that business must avoid infringing on the human rights of others and that, in particular, where there are reports of enforced disappearance, they are expected to cooperate effectively in investigations and search activities, including by assisting authorities with the collection and provision of all evidence at their disposal.
Moreover, in line with international standards and evolving jurisprudence, business enterprises must address adverse human rights impacts with which they are involved, including by providing or cooperating in their remediation. Business enterprises must also take effective steps to prevent and mitigate these adverse human rights impacts.
The experts are in touch with the Government of Mexico and the business concerned in this regard.
In view of the ongoing procedure of Urgent Action related to the cases of reference, the Committee on Enforced Disappeareances decided not to join the present press release.
*The experts: Gabriella Citroni (Chair-Rapporteur), Grażyna Baranowska (Vice-Chair), Aua Baldé; and Mohammed Al-Obaidi, Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances; Damilola Olawuyi (Chairperson), Robert McCorquodale (Vice-Chairperson), Fernanda Hopenhaym, Lyra Jakulevičienė and Pichamon Yeophantong, Working Group on Business and Human Rights; Astrid Puentes Riaño, Special Rapporteur on the human right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment; Albert K. Barume, Special Rapporteur on the rights of Indigenous Peoples, Mary Lawlor, Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders; Irene Khan, Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression; Gina Romero, Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association.
Special Rapporteurs are part of what is known as the Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council. Special Procedures, the largest body of independent experts in the UN Human Rights system, is the general name of the Council’s independent fact-finding and monitoring mechanisms. Special Procedures mandate-holders are independent human rights experts appointed by the Human Rights Council to address either specific country situations or thematic issues in all parts of the world. They are not UN staff and are independent from any government or organization. They serve in their individual capacity and do not receive a salary for their work.
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The Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances issued in 2025 a thematic report on enforced disappearances in the context of the defence of land, environment and natural resources, which provides a comprehensive analysis of risk factors, patterns of impunity, and the structural drivers behind enforced disappearances. The report can be found here, in Spanish, English, Portuguese, Swahili, French and Thai.