Janice Gallagher, a postdoctoral fellow in International and Public Affairs, led a team of students that researched and compiled information on key events of Ayotzinapa. Recently launching a website on their findings, Gallagher describes the project on openDemocracy. An excerpt follows:
Last week marked 18 months since the disappearance of 43 college students at the hands of Mexican police, arguably the most important human rights event in the Americas in decades. We regard all violations of human rights—especially those that deprive a person of their basic right to life and physical integrity—as grave. But the unique importance of the disappearance of the Ayotzinapa students stems from what it can teach us about the nature and status of human rights; the power of movements relative to the power of states; and the ways in which the international community, woven together by dense treaty networks proclaiming liberal values, works in practice.
For more information on the research, visit the website.