On Wednesday 14 January 2026, Initiative Devoir de Vigilance (Duty of Vigilance Initiative - IDV) issued a press release ahead of the three-year anniversary of the disappearance of two representatives of indigenous Mexicans working in an area operated by a subsidiary of Ternium S.A., a steel multinational headquartered in Luxembourg.

In its press release, IDV stated that Ricardo Arturo Lagunes Gasca, a human rights lawyer, and Antonio Díaz Valencia, an Indigenous Nahua leader, were abducted on 15 January 2023 after defending the territorial rights of their community against the activities of the Aquila mine in Michoacán, Mexico, which is operated by Ternium Mexico, a subsidiary of Ternium S.A.,

IDV said that three years after their disappearance, the families of the two men continue to demand truth and accountability and that throughout 2025 the families, supported by Global Rights Advocacy, the Seattle University International Human Rights Clinic and lawyer Gonzalo Cartas Bonilla, pushed for the establishment of the Independent Mechanism for the Humanitarian Recovery of Antonio and Ricardo (MIRHAR).

According to IDV, this mechanism, authorised by a Mexican district judge in October 2025, aims to coordinate search efforts in a fragmented system, overcome corporate non-cooperation and address institutional weaknesses in handling enforced disappearances. Experts from the Observatory on Disappearances and Impunity in México (ODIM), the Argentine Forensic Anthropology Team (EAAF) and independent specialists Maria Eloisa Quintero and Omar Villareal Salas were appointed to lead assessments throughout 2026.

IDV highlighted that although international human rights bodies formally recognised the mechanism, the experts were only recently granted access to key information, which they will use to provide technical support to Mexican authorities for both search and investigative efforts. They emphasised that full cooperation from the newly appointed officials within the Prosecutor’s Office would be critical to ensuring meaningful progress for the families.

IDV added that international advocacy had also been central to the families’ efforts. In May 2025, representatives travelled to Europe and engaged with the United Nations, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) and authorities in Luxembourg, where they filed the first OECD complaint related to violence against defenders in the steel sector against Ternium, with backing from the Fair Steel Coalition and the Initiative pour un devoir de vigilance.

According to IDV, the complaint calls for the company to engage directly with families and support efforts to locate Ricardo Gasca and Antonio Valencia, highlighting the importance of corporate accountability where domestic remedies face obstacles. The case remains under review.

Moreover, IDV highlighted that Luxembourg, during Mexico’s Universal Periodic Review in January 2024, had issued a recommendation specifically referencing these cases, urging thorough investigations and strengthened protections for human rights defenders and Indigenous communities.

Initiative Devoir de Vigilance (IDV) refers to France’s legal and policy framework establishing mandatory corporate human rights and environmental due diligence obligations. It requires large companies to identify, prevent and mitigate serious risks to human rights, fundamental freedoms, health and safety and the environment arising from their operations.