Conference “Familias en la búsqueda: gobernanza colaborativa y transformación institucional en la crisis por la desaparición de personas en México”.
On October 4, at McGill University, Adriana Pozos (Universidad Veracruzana) gave a lecture entitled “Familias en la búsqueda: gobernanza colaborativa y transformación institucional en la crisis por la desaparición de personas en México”.
Adriana Pozos spoke about the role of families of missing persons in the creation and strengthening of institutions dedicated to the search for missing persons. She analyzed how the care of missing persons by their families and loved ones not only constitutes an act of political resistance, but also leads to institutional reforms. In addition, she examined how active citizenship and collaborative governance have contributed to the construction of a solid normative framework, which nevertheless faces significant challenges in its implementation and in guaranteeing victims' right to joint participation.
Finally, governance in the search for missing persons must be understood as a collaborative process between public institutions, families, civil society and other actors, which is not free from tensions and power dynamics. In this sense, collaborative governance can improve the effectiveness and legitimacy of institutions in charge of tracing, without forgetting that the relationship with victims of gross human rights violations should not be taken for granted.
Adriana Pozos Barcelata holds a PhD in Political Science from UQÀM and is currently leading an interdisciplinary program at the Universidad Veracruzana, focusing on the training of human resources specialized in dealing with the problem of missing persons and human identification in Veracruz, Mexico.
