On February 18 and 19, in Cocoyoc, state of Morelos, Mexico, the Working Group on pretrial services for indigenous peoples of the Regional Network for Pre-Trial Justice convened a meeting titled “Formal law, Indigenous Justice and Remand”. This meeting was held under the auspices of the Open Society Justice Initiative (OSJI), and co organized by the Mexican human rights organizations ASILEGAL and the Instituto de Justicia Procesal Penal (IJPP).  The meeting brought together  thirty NGO representatives and judicial operators from Brazil, Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador, Guatemala and Mexico who specialize on this subject to shared their experiences and research. The panels and debates addressed issues such as: legal pluralism; the indigenous worldview; jurisdictional responsibilities: and lack of information about the indigenous population now under pre-trial detention in Mexico and the region.

Throughout this event, DPLF was an active participant sharing from our extensive work over the years (in the form of research/publications, training of NGO and local authorities and various advocacy activities including IACHR hearings) on issues related to indigenous Peoples in Mexico, and in particular in the Mexican states of Oaxaca and Guerrero. One of the main outcomes of the meeting was the working group’s strategy for addressing issues related to indigenous people in detention.