Overview by Georgios Plevris, Research Associate PILPG-NL
Speakers:
Mariclaire Acosta – Mexican Commission for the Defense and Promotion of Human Rights
Michael W. Chamberlin – Deputy Direction of Diocesan Center for Human Rights Fray Juan de Larios
Eric Witte – Senior Project Manager of National Trials of Grave Crimes, Open Society Justice Initiative
Highlights:
The conclusion of the report titled “Undeniable Atrocities: Confronting Crimes Against Humanity in Mexico” launched in June 2016, is that there are substantial reasons to believe that federal state and non-state actors have committed Crimes Against Humanity.
The current situation in Mexico is characterized by a militarization of the law enforcement and the deployment of the armed forces against drug cartels, a practice that has produced, according to reports, empirical and statistical data, thousands of homicides and disappearances.
The results of report call for the creation of an internationalized investigative body based in Mexico with powers to independently investigate and prosecute atrocity crimes, as well as cases of grand corruption.
The event revolved around Open Society Justice Initiative’s report titled “Undeniable Atrocities: Confronting Crimes Against Humanity in Mexico” launched in June 2016, in collaboration with five Mexican human rights organizations. The report is the culmination of three years of research and examines the devastating toll of drug related violence in Mexico through the lens of Crimes Against Humanity (CAH) violations. The panel of speakers included Mariclaire Acosta, Board Member of the Mexican Commission for the Defense and Promotion of Human Rights, Michael W. Chamberlin, Deputy Director of the Diocesan Center for Human rights Fray Juan de Larios, and Eric Witte, Senior Project Manager, National Trials of Grave Crimes, of the Open Society Justice Initiative.
The remarks and comments of the speakers drew a dreary and obscure picture of state sponsored violence in Mexico, with accountability and impunity in its center. Citing the high number of cases of torture and forced disappearances, amounting to hundreds of thousands, Mr. Witte reminded the audience many forced disappearances cases like those in Ayotzinapa and Guererro, as a widespread practice in Mexico. The conclusion of the report in question, he noted, is that there are substantial reasons to believe that federal state and non-state actors have committed Crimes Against Humanity. One of the main reasons to conclude that, is the political obstruction and lack of accountability by the Calderon and Pena-Nieto governments, in the forms of denial and minimization of such crimes, encouraging torture during investigations, politicizing prosecution and fabricating evidence, and many more.
During the discussion, many further comments were made towards the lack of accountability and bad governance in Mexico. Mrs. Acosta quoted the latest annual report of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) that underlined “[an] absence of rule of law in Mexico”, as well as “lack of legal security for people”. The current situation in Mexico is characterized by a militarization of the law enforcement and the deployment of the armed forces against drug cartels, a practice that has produced, according to reports, empirical and statistical data, thousands of homicides and disappearances. At the same time, generalization and systematization of torture during prosecutorial and police investigations are a regrettable and condemned practice. Furthermore, the double image of Mexico was criticized, with Mrs. Acosta underpinning the discrepancy between what Mexico stands for abroad regarding human rights, and what really happens inside the country.
However, the aim of the report is not to trigger jurisdiction of ICC. On the contrary, the report calls for the creation of an internationalized investigative body based in Mexico with powers to independently investigate and prosecute atrocity crimes, as well as cases of grand corruption. This caused a serious of questions in the audience, including one from the Senior Legal Advisor to Amnesty International, who was present at the event, about why the report does not recommend an official investigation under the Rome Statute in Mexico. The answer came from Mr. Witte, who remarked the many disadvantages justice in The Hague has in comparison to domestic prosecution. The aim of the report is to encourage and empower the rule of law in Mexico, keeping in mind the proximity of such prosecutions to the victims. Mr. Witte continued saying that even if the ICC opened an investigation this would be at best on a handful of cases, marginalizing in this way many thousands of cases and victims. According to all speakers, the aim of the report is to establish a Guatemala-type of CCIG international mechanism against impunity. In any case, such a recommendation is only a snapshot in time, and can change in the future.