In keeping with its policy of openness and cooperation with the international human rights organizations, Mexico is attending the 165th session of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) being held in Montevideo, Uruguay from October 23-27. The last session took place in Mexico City last September.
The Mexican delegation took part in three public hearings in Montevideo, along with IACHR commissioners and members of civil society. The delegation began by emphasizing that the Mexican government has an obligation to ensure the safety of everyone in its territory, to combat crime and ensure human rights.
At the first hearing on the situation of preventive detention in Mexico, the Mexican delegation highlighted the recent entry into force of the new adversarial criminal justice system throughout the country, which harmonizes the principle of presumption of innocence and provides alternatives to pre-trial detention to protect the human rights of individuals involved in any stage of criminal proceedings.
The delegation also highlighted the recent entry into force of the General Law to Prevent, Investigate and Punish Torture and the approval of the General Law on enforced disappearances. In addition to classifying these crimes, the laws will regulate the actions of officials at all levels of government and establish measures to help, protect and make reparations in order to guarantee the rights of the victims.
At the hearing on the human rights situation in Coahuila de Zaragoza, the Mexican government highlighted the progress made in legislation, programs and public policy there. For example, special institutions have been created to investigate crimes, specialized public safety protocols are in place, and there is an ongoing dialogue with crime victims, their families, civil society organizations and academia.
In a third hearing, the Mexican government reported on the most recent progress made on the IACHR precautionary measures in the case of the 43 students who disappeared in Ayotzinapa, Guerrero.
At all three hearings and in the working meetings convened by the IACHR, Mexico emphasized that the three levels of government are working to address the human rights challenges currently facing the country.
The high-level Mexican delegation was led by Ambassador Miguel Ruiz Cabañas, Undersecretary for Multilateral Affairs and Human Rights of the Foreign Ministry; Roberto Campa, the Interior Ministry’s Undersecretary for Human Rights; and Sara Irene Herrerías Guerra, Deputy Attorney General for Human Rights, Crime Prevention and Community Services. The Special Prosecutor for the Iguala Case, Alfredo Higuera, and the former Deputy Attorney General for Missing Persons in Coahuila, Juan José Yáñez also took part.