Mexico - Not a partner for human rights
Mexico is the 2018 country partner of the Hannover Fair. From 23rd to 27th April Mexico will be the focus of industry events with a global reach. At the same time human rights abuses of the most heinous nature are a daily occurrence in Mexico.
Mexico, a country full contrasts – on the one hand a striving, modern, threshold nation, economically one of the strongest in the region. This North American country is an attractive trading partner for Germany. On the other hand Mexico is a country where violence has been escalating for years and where the police, the military and organized crime are responsible for the most severe human rights abuses.
Forced disappearances
On 26th September 2014, in Iguala, a town in the state of Guerrero, the police attacked a bus carrying unarmed students from a left-leaning university in Ayotzinapa. Six people were killed – three by standers and three students. One of them showed clear signs of torture. The police took 43 students and handed them over to members of an organized criminal gang. The remains of only one of the students have ever been found. The search for the other 42 has been unsuccessful – despite the opening of numerous mass graves in the mountains of Guerrero.
Arbitrary arrest
The case of the disappeared students of Ayotzinapa has becomes a symbol of the mass phenomenon of forced disappearance in Mexico: tens of thousands of people are believed to have been disappeared. The police and the military have been implicated in many cases. Many people are arbitrarily arrested, in other words taken into custody by the police without ever being accused of any recognizable crime. They often have no contact with the outside world. This leads to further human rights abuses such as torture and forced disappearance. This disproportionately affects poor people who barely have the means to defend themselves. Even children are arrested arbitrarily and tortured. Official complaints remain unanswered, the cases are not investigated and those responsible are not held to account.
In June 2016 a new procedure came into force in Mexico giving the police more powers during investigations. It is intended to facilitate a more efficient approach in fighting crime. However, most police personnel are too badly trained to take on this additional responsibility. Many of them do no respect the principle of presumed innocence although this is a fundamental human right. The judicial authorities generally never question the source of the evidence although it is known that the police often tamper with evidence to incriminate suspects. Members of the judiciary, the police and the public prosecutor’s office complain about the lack of resources preventing them from effectively fighting crime. Furthermore, they are often put under pressure by their superiors and even from the government to influence cases and judgements in their favour.
Mexico: Arbitrary detentions
Dear President of the Senate Ernesto Cordero Arroyo,
I have become aware of the worrying situation in Mexico regarding arbitrary arrests by the police in the country. According to an Amnesty International investigation, in which the organization interviewed people who serve or served in recent years as prosecutors, courts, and police bodies, arbitrary arrests by police in Mexico are common throughout the country and happen mainly against those people who face historical situations of discrimination, affecting young men living in poverty.
Anyone who is arrested has a number of rights that protects them from abuse. These rights are not always respected by police officers in Mexico. Arbitrary detentions allow for grave and persistent human rights violations in the country to happen, such as torture and other ill-treatment, enforced disappearances and extrajudicial executions.
For this reason, I ask you to take the first steps to stop arbitrary detention in Mexico by following the steps presented below:
Establish, as a matter of urgency, through the enactment of legislation, a unified register of arrests. This should be nationwide, consistent, in line with international human rights standards and the decisions of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights and include both state and federal bodies. Information should be recorded in real time and be easily accessible. Clear oversight and accountability mechanisms should be established to ensure such a register is implemented.
Urgently adopt a general law on the use of force in accordance with international human rights standards.
Kind regards
Background to human rights abuses in Mexico
In the last twelve years – since the then President Felipe Calderón came into office in 2006 – the human rights situation in Mexico has continued to worsen. In the fight against the drug cartels Calderón pursued a strategy of force and the internal use of the military. The result was an escalation of violence with thousands of dead and disappeared. But still the current government is sticking to this policy. The drug cartels are fighting each other and against the security forces in many states to gain territorial control.
The drug cartels and other criminal gangs often act with the silent collusion of the police and other government officials. The military and the police are also directly responsible for human rights abuses including torture, forced disappearances, extrajudicial killings and rape. A major problem is the degree of impunity for human rights abuses – the perpetrators are almost certain not to be prosecuted thus preparing fertile ground for further human rights abuses.
