English

Conclusions

After its 6^th visit and based on 286 interviews of 607 people, the CCIODH considers the human rights situation in Mexico to be extremely critical. The government of Felipe Calderón has not provided enough concrete answers andbecause of this is entirely responsible for the magnitude of the violations.

The CCIODH can confirm that during the current government’s term of office no substantial advances have been made with respect to the recommendations which we made in previous visits. As much in the case of Chiapas as in those of Oaxaca and Atenco, human rights violations which have already been noted continue to be made without serious action being taken either against the main perpetrators or with respect to the reasons for their actions. Because of this the CCIODH feels obliged to reaffirm the conclusions and recommendations forwarded in previous reports.

Having been practically overwhelmed by evidence and complaints of violations which occurred in 2007, theCCIODH has not been able to limit itself to cases analysed in previous reports. During this period the harassment of social organisations has continued, and new political prisoners and prisoners of conscience have been incarcerated. The arbitrary arrest of Ariadna Nieto, Núria Morelló, Ramón Sesén and Laia Serra, last August, with the intervention of state and federal authorities should also be mentioned. Moreover, the case of Laia Serra concerns an integral part of the 5^th visit of the CCIODH. 

The CCIODH has not detected a real interest on the part of the federal government in making the basic respect of human rights a priority in its governmental action beyond mere declarations of its intentions and certain diplomatic gestures. The case of the journalist Lydia Cacho, whom the High Commissioner for Human Rights of the UN recently advised to leave the country in the interests of her security, speaks volumes about the situation. It is also worth mentioning the situation of the widows of the miners of Pasta de Conchos.  

The CCIODH has not always encountered the attitude which it would hope for in federal government entities. It was impossible to gain access to the maximum security prison of La Palma when the visit had already been arranged by telephone; at the time of writing the Attorney General has still not provided us with the minimum and most essential information about its part in the cases analysed, despite us having given sufficient notice when asking for it; and we have not been received by the most relevant members of the entities which we have interviewed.