Representatives of more than 150 displaced Protestant Christians in Mexico say they’re being pressured by government officials to sign an agreement that violates human rights protections.
The Christians, who belong to the Great Commission Baptist Church, were forcibly displaced from the neighbouring villages of Coamila and Rancho Nuevo on 26 April.
They were forced to flee after village leaders cut off their electricity, vandalised and blocked access to their church and some of their homes, and posted guards at the entry points to the villages.
They were initially sheltered in the Municipal Presidency building then moved to another location, where they say they have been dependent on humanitarian aid and food provided by local churches. The municipal government is no longer providing food or water to the group, which includes 75 children and infants.
In a press conference last week, the group’s representatives, Pastor Rogelio Hernández Baltazar and church leader Nicolás Hernández Solórzano said that they do not want to accept the agreement which would allow the leaders responsible to fine the victims 150,000 Mexican Pesos (approximately £7,085 GBP), ban three families from returning, and permit the other families to return but with the same severe restrictions on freedom of religion or belief (FoRB) that have been imposed on the religious minority group.
Human rights violations linked to FoRB have been ongoing and severe in the neighbouring villages of Coamila and Rancho Nuevo since 2015. Local authorities have repeatedly attempted to force members of the religious Protestant minority to participate in Roman Catholic religious festivals, including through financial donations, lighting candles and actively participating in acts of worship. Despite detailed documentation of the case dating back to 2015, the municipal government continues to deny that the incidents in Rancho Nuevo and Coamila are linked to FoRB.
CSW’s Head of Advocacy Anna Lee Stangl said: ”The position of the Huejutla de los Reyes Municipal Government is indefensible. By pushing this illegal agreement, they make themselves complicit in the ongoing, egregious violations of freedom of religion or belief in Coamila and Rancho Nuevo. This is unacceptable in a democratic country like Mexico which guarantees freedom of religion or belief for all in its constitution and the international human rights conventions to which it is party. We call on the Hidalgo State and federal governments to intervene as a matter of urgency.”