Editorial Not Their Family Members of This Human Rights Violation
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In This Issue 1. The Technical Cooperation Agreement is at Risk Setbacks in the System After the completion of the Assessment on the Human of Public Human Rights Commissions Rights Situation in Mexico, recent actions by the government put into doubt the participation of the Office of the High Commissioner and civil society Three years after the beginning of the an individual who had coordinated the organisations in the elaboration and monitoring of the administration of President Vicente Fox, governor’s guards and who was also National Human Rights Program. half of his term, the human rights an official of the judicial police. In page 1 situation in Mexico has not experienced Puebla, the congress elected an 2. Conflict and Violence in the State of Morelos profound changes. The articles that we undersecretary of justice, who during present in this edition of Focus provide the former presidency of the Human The failure of the government to adequately address examples of the few advanced made Rights Commission of Puebla had an unresolved dispute over the presidency of the on this issue. received several recommendations by municipality of Tlanepantla and the lack of guarantees the Commission for human rights for indigenous peoples to elect their authorities by At the same time, the System of Public violations. In the case of Yucatán, given their own customs has resulted in conflict in the Human Rights Commissions, the the lack of an agreement amongst the community and numerous human rights violations. biggest in the world, is experiencing different parties of the congress, the page 3 setbacks in the little advancement that president of the Commission was 3. 2003: A Continuation of Repression has been made in their intent to be more elected by a drawing and not through and Political Violence independent and autonomous. The most an objective evaluation of his recent naming of presidents for several qualifications. An examination of cases in 2003 illustrates that those state human rights commissions who express their disagreement or opposition to the illustrates this situation. On February These setbacks and the lack of government continue to be repressed and criminalized. 4, 2004, the individual named as the advancements are also reflected in the page 6 President of the Human Rights National Human Rights Commission, 4. Public Security and Human Rights Commission of the State of Querétaro whose head, Dr. José Luis Soberanes, was an official of the state government. has hindered in several ways the Recently implemented measures to address public In Jalisco, Guadalupe Morfín was not Technical Cooperation Agreement security problems in the country may put human rights re-elected as the president of the Human between the Mexican government and at risk. Rights Commission of the State, as was the UN High Commissioner for Human page 8 the case in Querétaro, as a result of her Rights, amongst other reasons because 5. Classifying Forced Disappearance as a Crime work that criticised the governor of the the agreement includes a revision of state. In Veracruz, the governor Miguel the functions of said institution. In this A recent campaign begun in the state of Guerrero aims Alemán demanded that the former context, it is concerning that this to classify forced disappearance as a crime and in this president of the State Commission administration, which has most used way contribute to bringing justice to the victims and resign and promoted the Secretary of the human rights discourse, has Editorial not their family members of this human rights violation. the Interior of the state as the president achieved an improvement in the nation of the Commission. In Baja California, system of protection of human rights page 10 the local congress elected as president The Technical Cooperation Agreement is at Risk Perhaps one of the most important steps that Mexico has taken in the area of human rights was the signing of the Technical Cooperation Agreement between the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNOHCHR) and the Mexican government in December 2000. A main factor leading to the signing of the agreement was the work of civil human rights organisations. As has been reported in previous articles in Focus, the main objective of the Technical Cooperation Agreement was the elaboration of an Assessment on the Human Rights Situation in Mexico to assist in the identification of the structural causes that produce human rights violations, as well as to identify the needs and possible actions to improve the situation. In a second moment of the Agreement, said Assessment would also serve as a basis for the elaboration of the National Human Rights Program. Centro de Derechos Humanos Miguel Agustín Pro Juárez, A.C. This past December 8th, Anders Kompass, The elaboration of this assessment was a of their economic, social and cultural rights. the representative of the High Commissioner very important process, not only because Reopen the debate on the constitutional for Human Rights in Mexico, presented the of its final result, but also because it meant reform on indigenous matters in order to Assessment on Human Rights to President placing at the centre of the debate of different clearly establish the fundamental rights of Fox in the presence of most of the sectors of society the importance of the indigenous peoples in accordance with government’s secretaries, the human rights undertaking an analysis that would explain the currently existing international community and members of the international the structural causes of human rights legislation. community based in Mexico. violations in our country and proposals to Give priority to the preservation and address them. protection of the land, territories and The development of the assessment on resources of the indigenous peoples and human rights involved efforts by civil The assessment is made up of seven chapters communities over all other interests in the organisations, citizens, social movements, on: general aspects; civil rights; political solution of agrarian conflicts. academics and many other individuals in rights; economic, social and cultural rights; Effectively and verifiably integrate social order to participate in the process. the rights of women; the rights of indigenous objectives into economic policies and peoples; and the rights of groups in decisions, and adjust them so as to comply Obstacles in the elaboration of the vulnerable and discriminatory situations. with the State’s obligations in the area of Assessment Each chapter contains an analysis of the economic, social, cultural and environmental causes that propitiate human rights violations rights. Several obstacles were present in the and the presentation of several specific Progressively increase- until it is at least elaboration of the Assessment, such as the proposals to address these issues. doubled- the proportion of the Gross opposition of the president of the National National Product that is dedicated to the Human Rights Commission (CNDH), José Amidst this richness, the assessment health sector in the public budget. Luis Soberanes, to the Technical identifies 31 general and substantive Modify the salary policy, looking to Cooperation Agreement. recommendations to comprehensively reverse, in a period of five years, the confront the structural problems related to deterioration in the purchasing power of the Likewise, in the beginning, the Secretariat human rights, based on an analysis of the legal minimal wages that has been of the Interior (Secretaría de Gobernación) situation and on several specific experienced in the past 25 years. was not interested in being involved in this recommendations that are presented Define and put into practice a national process, given that the Secretariat of Foreign throughout the document. The following is food policy that promotes production for Relations (Secretaría de Relacionesa summarised version of several of said the internal market and reduces food Exteriores, SRE) was the one who had recommendations: dependency and levels of malnutrition. negotiated the Agreement. Reform the Constitution to incorporate These recommendations should serve as the On the other hand, halfway through the the concept of human rights as its central indicators to evaluate the will and process of elaborating the Assessment, SRE axis and recognise the superior hierarchy effectiveness of the government in the task decided to eliminate the Undersecretariat of human rights agreements when these of constructing a State policy in the area of for Democracy and Human Rights, which provide more protection to individuals, as human rights. presented many complications to the well as the regulation of the human rights Assessment process, such as the need for that are constitutionally recognised. Present risks and challenges for the future the Undersecretariat for Global Issues, who Confer autonomy to all public human assumed the work on the Assessment in the rights commissions and extend their faculties The assessment does not exhaustively cover Secretariat, to become familiar with the and competence, while making them more the complexity and totality of the reality of process and recognise its importance. transparent. the human rights situation in the country. Carry out a permanent national campaign Furthermore, it undoubtedly represents a In the development process of the to promote knowledge on human rights, big challenge for civil society as the Assessment, the Liaison Committee of civil tolerance and respect for diversity. assessment will serve as the basis for the organisations, created by the then High Promote a deep transformation of the generation of new debates in the future and Commissioner, Mary Robinson, to serve as justice system in order to transform it into it opens up the possibility to establish a tool a Consultative Committee for the High an accusatory system that guarantees due to update the diverse issues and proposals Commissioner in the framework of the process and the limitation of military justice in the assessment as well as to generate a development of the Technical Cooperation, to its own sphere.