There are now more than 52,000 unidentified bodies in morgues and mass graves in Mexico.
The number was determined by the Movement for Our Disappeared in Mexico, an organization of relatives of the disappeared, through field research and enquiries with authorities, and confirmed by the government.
Mexico's deputy minister for human rights, Alejandro Encinas, announced it on Thursday at President Andrés Manuel López Obrador's daily press conference.
More than 99,000 people are now considered disappeared in the North American country, which has had very high murder rates since the so-called drug war began in 2006.
Groups of relatives search for buried remains on their own. When such are found, however, they often remain in morgues for a long time without being identified.
There is no national DNA database that would allow samples from corpses to be matched with genetic material from missing persons.
There is also a lack of uniform statistics on unidentified as well as identified but unclaimed bodies, Encinas said. "This is a very serious legal omission."
The high number of unidentified bodies reflects a crisis in Mexico that has to do not only with a lack of resources, but also with a lack of will on the part of local authorities to change the situation, he said.
