BajaNomad - U.N. report advises Mexico on crime fighting, human rights

U.N. report advises Mexico on crime fighting, human rights

Dave - 12-9-2003 at 11:52 AM

U.N. report advises Mexico on crime fighting, human rights

Panel urges army shouldn't be police

By Will Weissert
ASSOCIATED PRESS

December 9, 2003

MEXICO CITY ? Mexico should stop using soldiers to fight crime, improve its investigation of homicides, and revamp its constitution to guarantee the protection of human rights, a top U.N. human rights official said in a report released yesterday.

Requested by President Vicente Fox, the 224-page analysis was compiled over several months by the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights' Mexican envoy and 12 human rights organizations to "design and implement a state human rights policy" for this country.

The commission's Mexican representative, Anders Kompas, said Mexico was "one of the few countries in the world" where U.N. investigators have completed an analysis that explains how the government can fix problems, instead of merely pointing out what's wrong.

In a statement, New York-based Human Rights Watch applauded the report as a road map for Mexican human rights, saying it "opens a window of opportunity for progress."

It recommends the government stop relying on the army to do the work of civilian police officers and investigators. Soldiers are mostly used to battle drug trafficking and investigate guerrilla groups, but their actions have prompted human rights complaints and some soldiers have been accused of taking part in the narcotics trade.

Although military courts have become more open, the report suggests civilian courts be allowed to dole out justice in some military crimes.

"The separation of judicial duties and those of a military nature has been a constant worry of international non-governmental organizations," the report says. It says creating a criminal justice system free from the influence of the armed forces "is a requirement for all democracies."

It calls for Mexico to modify its constitution to guarantee the protection of human rights, including stronger language protecting a defendant's right to the assumption of innocence until proven guilty.

Congress should also begin anew a debate on how the constitution can better protect the rights of Mexican Indians, the report concludes. After taking office three years ago, Fox sent a bill to Congress that would have given Indian groups greater rights and limited autonomy. The measure was watered down by Congress, however.

Receiving the report from Kompas at a ceremony last night, Fox said he would create a national human rights program to try to carry out all 32 of its general recommendations.

The president said the report is "both revealing how much needs to be done to make true personal rights an everyday reality and also indisputably showing that the human rights situation in our country is better now than it was just three years ago."

In an effort to improve homicide investigations, the report urges police and prosecutors to establish guidelines ensuring that forensic experts are properly trained and incorruptible.

It also suggests that authorities work to make the interrogation process more open and uniform in order to prevent the practice of torturing suspects to secure confessions and calls for the creation of a federal juvenile court system with consistent national standards.

JESSE - 12-9-2003 at 03:01 PM

And whos going to fight the drug cartels? the police? i think since 90% of them are under the cartels payrolls, the our best bet is the army.

The U.N. has no clue on whats goin on here, to start they shoul recommend the resignation of dumb ass Vicente Fox.

Dave - 12-10-2003 at 07:51 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by JESSE
And whos going to fight the drug cartels?

I think Mexico should work out a deal with the cartels. In return for selling ALL their product to the stupid gringos, not killing innocents down here and paying a little bit of tax, Mexico should help them operate.
( I mean help them more than they are already helping them:lol

JESSE - 12-10-2003 at 10:11 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Dave

Quote:

Originally posted by JESSE
And whos going to fight the drug cartels?

Problem with that Dave, is that they are too greedy, the goverment already lets them operate, who are we kidding here, maybe Vicente Fox is not aware of this, but who cares, the people who actually run the nation are completely corrupted.

What we need is a strong goverment, and frankly, i dont see anyway that the Fox administration can achieve that, this is the most weak goverment ever in Mexico.