Noel Castillo Aguilar was a member of the Committee for the Defence of Indigenous Peoples (Comité de Defensa de los Pueblos Indígenas - CODEDI), an organization promoting the rights of indigenous communities to land, autonomy and self-determination, with a particular focus on the defence of human rights violations produced by hydroelectric and mining projects in the state of Oaxaca, Mexico. He worked to protect the beaches and the communal and land rights of the community of Barra de la Cruz, Oaxaca.
Several international organisations and bodies have previously expressed concern for the lack of protection for human rights defenders and those who exercise freedom of expression in Mexico, such as the recommendations issued on the occasion of the 2009 Universal Periodic Review of Mexico, and the recommendations of the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of Human Rights Defenders, the High Commissioner for Human Rights, the UN and OAS Special Rapporteurs on Freedom of Expression, who noted that in the past decade Mexico has become one of the world's most dangerous countries for journalists to exercise their profession. Despite the establishment of a mechanism for the protection of HRDs and journalists, the decision process and subsequent implementation of these measures has not yet responded adequately to the needs of HRDs.
