2009

     “I urge all leaders in the Americas to see the Honduran crisis for what it is: an urgent call for the profound social and institutional changes our region has delayed for far too long.”

This is how Costa Rican President Oscar Arias closed his strongly worded op-ed, which was published in the Washington Post on Thursday, July 9th.

LAWG calls for the restoration of democratic order in Honduras, including return of democratically-elected leader Manuel Zelaya and the restoration of full civil liberties and freedom of the press.

Today, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton met with Honduran President Zelaya and announced, following the meeting, that Costa Rican President Oscar Arias has agreed to act as a mediator and has been accepted by both President Zelaya and the leader of the de facto government, Roberto Micheletti.

“But it has been my view for several days that the most useful role we could play is to convince all that are directly concerned, not only President Zelaya, but also the de facto regime, the OAS, the UN, everyone, that we needed to have a process where the Hondurans themselves sat down and talked to each other,” said Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton at the daily press briefing. “And that is – that’s been my goal, and I believe that we are on the brink of that happening. I’m hoping that it actually occurs soon. So we have tried through our good offices to get people to this point. And we’re very grateful for the willingness of President Arias to serve in this position, and we’re also appreciative of the efforts of the OAS as well.”

http://www.state.gov/secretary/rm/2009a/july/125753.htm

 

ATTN: Foreign Policy Aides
Date: July 10, 2009

WOLA and LAWGEF would like to bring your attention to the July 9 Washington Post article “Mexico Accused of Torture in the Drug War: Army Using Brutality to Fight Trafficking, Rights Groups Say.” To read the full article, click here.

The article underscores the disturbing trend of the Mexican army carrying out forced disappearances, acts of torture, rape and illegal raids in pursuit of drug traffickers, as documented through interviews with victims, their families, political officials and human rights monitors.  The growing number of military abuses is illustrated by amount of complaints received by Mexico’s National Human Rights Commission (CNDH).  During the first six months of 2009 the CNDH received over 2,000 complaints against the army, a dramatic increase from the 1,231 registered for all of 2008. 

“In Puerto Las Ollas, a mountain village of 50 people in the southern state of Guerrero, residents recounted how soldiers seeking information last month stuck needles under the fingernails of a disabled 37-year-old farmer, jabbed a knife into the back of his 13-year-old nephew, fired on a pastor, and stole food, milk, clothing and medication.

In Tijuana, across the border from San Diego, two dozen policemen who were arrested on drug charges in March alleged that, to extract confessions, soldiers beat them, held plastic bags over their heads until some lost consciousness, strapped their feet to a ceiling while dunking their heads in water and applied electric shocks, according to court documents, letters and interviews with their relatives and defense lawyers.”

Impunity for these abuses remains the norm as Mexico repeatedly fails to hold members of the armed forces who commit human rights violations accountable, undermining efforts to strengthen rule of law, reduce violence and improve public security. A CNDH official notes that “army doctors covered up some torture cases by omitting physical evidence from medical reports before suspects were handed over to civilian authorities.” 

Both WOLA and LAWGEF have called attention to the risks associated with continued deployment of the Mexican military in counter-narcotics and other public security tasks that should rightfully correspond to the civilian police.  However, as noted in this article, the “U.S. government has encouraged and, in part, funded, Calderón’s risky strategy of using the army to fight the cartels…” To build success in the long term, remedies to drug-related violence in Mexico require strong, accountable police forces and civilian institutions and a robust judicial sector―with the support and trust of the civilian population.

In the upcoming weeks, the U.S. State Department will deliver to Congress a report on Mexico’s human rights record, as obligated by requirements included in the first two tranches of U.S. counternarcotics assistance package to Mexico, the “Merida Initiative,” including information on Mexico’s efforts to improve police transparency and accountability, ensure investigations into human rights abuses by the federal police and military, consult with civil society on the implementation of this aid package and enforce the prohibition of testimony obtained through torture.  As noted in the article, approximately $90.7 million―fifteen percent of the counter-narcotics and military funds allocated to Mexico as part of the Merida Initiative’s first two installments―cannot be released until Congress accepts the State Department’s findings.  This is apart from the $24 million subject to the 15% withholding included in the FY09 supplemental appropriations bill that President Obama signed on June 24.

WOLA and LAWGEF strongly urge members of Congress to carefully examine this report and other documentation regarding the lack of accountability for abuses perpetrated by the Mexican army, such as those detailed in this article, when considering release of these funds.

Deeply concerned after learning of an assassination attempt against human rights defenders in Guerrero, including Margarita Martín de las Nieves, the Latin America Working Group, Human Rights Watch, the Washington Office on Latin America and Due Process of Law Foundation issued a letter to Ambassador Juan Manuel Gómez Robledo, the Mexican Assistant Secretary for Multilateral Affairs and Human Rights, urging state and federal authorities to take immediate action to ensure the safety of Margarita Martín de las Nieves and fully implement security measures necessary to make certain that human rights defenders in Guerrero can safely carry out their work without fear of reprisals.  These protective measures include those agreed to by the Mexican government within the context of proceedings before the Inter-American system of human rights.