The gruesome discovery of a mass grave containing the remains of at least 31 individuals in northern Mexico highlights the urgent need for robust action to tackle the country’s rapidly deteriorating human rights crisis, said Amnesty International.

Local authorities from the state of Nuevo León, near the Mexico-US border, confirmed yesterday (1 September) that they had discovered the grave on a local ranch. Tests are being carried out to identify the remains.

Erika Guevara-Rosas, Americas Director at Amnesty International, said:

“Mexico is miserably losing the battle against disappearances, with nearly 25,000 people going missing since 2007. This latest discovery must be a wake-up call for the authorities to take real action to stop what seems to be an endless list of horrors taking place across the country.

“As a first step, Mexican authorities must ensure that, unlike too many times in the past, forensic investigations into this shocking discovery are conducted in a way that protects all evidence and leads to the identification of the remains and to justice for the relatives of the victims.”

In recent years, several mass graves have been discovered in the area, which is known for the presence of criminal gangs.