Activities are carried out in the State of Mexico to promote the use of our mechanisms.

During the week of 14-18 October 2019, the Regional Project Strengthening Restorative Justice carried out, in the State of Mexico, a series of activities aimed at promoting the use of restorative mechanisms for the resolution of criminal and juvenile criminal conflicts in the Region.

For three days, the training on Inter-institutional Articulation was carried out, based on the Restorative Justice protocol of the State of Mexico on that subject, which was created in 2018 as another product of the present project. The activity was a good opportunity for the delegations of the Mexico, Colombia and Costa Rica to share their experiences in order to promote the participation of the third party, i.e. the community, which is essential to the restoration process. 

The participants had the opportunity to take a guided tour of the Palace of Justice and to exchange views with the President and members of the Higher Judiciary Council of this Judicial Branch. The delegation from Costa Rica consisted of: Mrs Marjorie Ramos Araya, Criminal Judge (Pava), Mr Jordan Nelson Martínez, Criminal Judge (Puntarenas), Mrs Karla Vargas Jiménez and Mr Edwin Murillo Ledezma, both from the Psychosocial Team of Restorative Juvenile Justice (Alajuela), and Mrs María Jesús Ugalde Zamora, Judge of the Conciliation Center.

This same protocol was presented to the Community of the State of Mexico, during the 1-day workshop in which all participants learned about the role played by the different institutions present in the activity, initiating the process of articulation with the State Center for Conciliation, Mediation and Restorative Justice of the Judiciary of the State of Mexico.

Finally, also in Mexico, the Restorative Justice campaign of the State of Mexico's Judicial Branch was revealed: “Para la Justicia Restaurativa Tú eres el Centro” (For Restorative Justice You are the Center) with the aim of launching it mainly on social networks, and promoting greater use of Restorative Justice in criminal and juvenile proceedings in that State. 

The activities were facilitated by Mrs Jovanna Calderón Altamirano, the Project Executor, and Mrs Margarita Maldonado Estrada, the liaison person in México. The Regional Project Strengthening Restorative Justice is funded by the European Union and is led by Mr. Rafael Segura Bonilla, Magistrate of the Criminal Cassation Chamber and Coordinator of the Restorative Justice Programme. The project is being implemented in conjunction with the Judicial Branches of Colombia and the State of Mexico with support from the ADELANTE Technical Assistance Team.