The Chamber of Deputies of Mexico approved last week the presidential proposal of place the National Guard under the control of the National Defense Secretariat, A measure that has raised concerns among several UN human rights experts, who believe that it would increase the risk of human rights violations. The text will be put to a vote in the Senate this week.
In a joint statement published on Tuesday, two Working Groups and three special rapporteurs* They mentioned torture, arbitrary detentions, enforced disappearances and extrajudicial executions among the abuses that could be committed.
“We are alarmed that, if the proposed constitutional reform is approved, it would permanently assign public security functions to the armed forces“The potential impact of this amendment on increased enforced disappearances and impunity is extremely worrying,” the experts said.
The National Guard would participate in criminal investigations
They explained that the proposal for constitutional reform would subject members of the National Guard to military jurisdiction and would raise to constitutional level its power to participate in criminal investigation activities, in addition to expanding the functions of the country’s armed forces beyond those related to military discipline.
The experts Recognize Mexico’s challenges in the area of security and have observed how for several years the role of the armed forces has gradually increased through public policies and legislative and constitutional reform initiatives.
For this reason, they called on the Mexican authorities to meet challenges with provisions that comply with international obligations of the country with human rights.
In this regard, they warned that, if the reform project is approved, Mexico would contravene numerous recommendations made by treaty bodies and special procedures of the United Nations, which since 1999 has pointed out the need to ensure that public security tasks are carried out by civilian security forces, guaranteeing that the participation of the armed forces in these tasks is strictly extraordinary, complementary, subordinate to civilian authority and supervised.
Human rights violations by military officials
Experts also expressed alarm at alleged violations of fundamental rights committed in the past by some officials of the Armed Forces. “These allegations must be investigated and those responsible must be brought to justice.“, they emphasized.
According to the reporters, the National Guard must remain dependent on civil institutions, strengthen their capacities from a citizen security perspective, and reinforce accountability mechanisms to ensure their effectiveness.
Similarly, they added, conditions must be created for a dialogue that analyzes and discusses the actions to follow to advance a plan for the gradual withdrawal of the armed forces from public security tasks.
The experts remain in contact with the Mexican authorities and have expressed their willingness to provide cooperation and technical assistance to ensure respect for human rights and accountability, in accordance with international law.
Signatories of the statement: Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances; Morris Tidball-Binz, Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions; Gina Romero, rSpecial Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly; Mary Lawlor, rSpecial Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders; and Working Group on Arbitrary Detention
* The Special Rapporteurs are part of what is known as the Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council. The Special Procedures, the largest body of independent experts in the United Nations human rights system, is the general name for the Council’s independent fact-finding and monitoring mechanisms that address specific national situations or thematic issues in all parts of the world. Special Procedures experts work on a voluntary basis; they are not UN staff and do not receive a salary for their work. They are independent of any government or organization and serve in their individual capacity.
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