From 1964 to the present day, more than 100,023 missing persons have been registered in the country, of which more than 24,700 are women and more than 74,700 are men. The sex of 516 people is unknown.
The number has risen by more than 20,000 in the last two years alone, according to figures who were met with outrage and urgent calls for better search and rescue systems.
Only 35 of the reported disappearances have led to the conviction of the perpetrators, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michel Bachelet said in a statement Tuesday.
“Efforts must not be spared to put an end to these human rights violations and abuses of the extreme, and to protect the rights of victims of truth, justice, reparation and guarantees of non-repetition,” Bachelet said.
Marlene Harbig of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) discussed the trauma suffered by families with missing people.
“The first few hours are most important, when someone goes missing, their relatives have a right to know what happened,” Harbig said in a press release. “Knowing the fate of missing persons is above all a humanitarian act.
Despite the figures, Bachelet noted the progress made by the Mexican government, recognizing Mexico as the first country to allow a visit to the UN Committee on Enforced Disappearances to work with authorities in 13 Mexican states.
Both the ICRC and the UN have called on family members to have the right to work with government authorities to find their loved ones.
According to a statement to the media, Michele Bachelet asked the government to “put the families of the missing at the center of its efforts and provide the necessary resources for effective investigations and searches.”
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