States have obligations to protect the right to life, which include obligations to prevent and respond to violations of this right by non-State actors. Yet, there is no clear approach to determining State responsibility for failing to comply with these obligations. One actor that is notably absent from scholarship on State responsibility and non-State actors is organised criminal groups, despite the fact that their activities can infringe the right to life in many ways. This article critically examines current approaches by the European and Inter-American Human Rights Courts for determining State responsibility for a failure to prevent, in light of the current crisis of disappearances in Mexico. It is argued that in cases where the non-State actors are organised criminal groups, their particular nature and their relationship to the State should be taken into account as criteria for assessing the State’s knowledge of risk and the reasonability of measures taken.

中文翻译：

---

国家对未能防止有组织犯罪集团侵犯生命权的责任：墨西哥的失踪

国家有义务保护生命权，其中包括防止和应对非国家行为者侵犯这一权利的义务。然而，没有明确的方法来确定国家未能遵守这些义务的责任。有组织犯罪集团在国家责任和非国家行为者的学术研究中明显缺席，尽管他们的活动可能以多种方式侵犯生命权。鉴于墨西哥目前的失踪危机，本文批判性地审视了欧洲和美洲人权法院在确定国家对未能预防的责任方面的现行做法。有人认为，在非国家行为者是有组织犯罪集团的情况下，