Amnesty urges Mexico to protect women searchers during World Cup opening; demands truth and justice

Amnesty International is calling on Mexican authorities to safeguard the right to peaceful protest for women searching for missing relatives. The group plans to demonstrate on June 11 in Mexico City, coinciding with the opening match of the FIFA World Cup 2026.

Amnesty International stated that thousands will participate in the march organized by women seeking disappeared family members, many of whom are believed to have been recruited by criminal groups or killed for resisting them. The organization announced it will act as an observer during the protest.

As of May 25, 2026, Mexico's National Registry of Disappeared and Unlocated Persons listed 134,460 individuals. Amnesty International noted that due to insufficient government support, many women have independently undertaken the search for their loved ones.

The organizers' primary demands include justice for the disappeared, improved security conditions, and international support for search efforts, under the slogan: “Do not play with our pain.” Amnesty International Mexico's Executive Director, Edith Olivares Ferreto, believes the World Cup opening will provide a platform to highlight the country's disappearance crisis. She stated that thousands of women will use the international attention on the event to demand answers from authorities.

The organization also warned that searchers regularly face attacks, insults, smear campaigns, and criminalization for their human rights work. Amnesty International emphasized the vast scale of the disappearance crisis in Mexico and urged authorities to heed the demands for truth, justice, and reparation. They also called on all governments to respect the right to peaceful protest and avoid repressive actions against demonstrations.

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the inauguration of the World Cup will provide a platform to make visible the crisis of disappearances in the country