México: The CCIODH presents the provisional recommendations of their sixth visit to Mexico

After their sixth visit to Mexico and some 280 interviews with 596 people in the country, the International Civil Commission for Human Rights Observation (CCIODH, Comisión Civil Internacional de Observación por los Derechos Humanos) stated that “the human rights situation in Mexico is extremely critical. Independent of their scope, the magnitude of the violations and the lack of concrete responses points to the government of Felipe Calderón as wholly responsible.”

The CCIODH, during the course of their last visit (between February 1 and 16, 2008) followed up their previous reports on Chiapas, San Salvador Atenco (in the state of Mexico) and Oaxaca in order to help develop their new report regarding the human rights situation in those three cases which will be published in the next few months.

On February 20, after publishing their provisional recommendations regarding the three specific locations they visited, the CCIODH presented their general provisional recommendations concerning the visit.

In response to the CCIODH’s visit, the Oaxacan government’s Sub-Secretariat of Human Rights published a piece in the newspaper El Imparcial on Saturday, March 1, 2008. Among other things the agency stated, “We are surprised and note with concern the preliminary results of the civil organization (CCIODH)… We propose that within their conclusions there are statements made without support [or] objectivity and with inaccurate facts and some of the statements do not cite the international instruments used in reference to the criteria through which they construct scales and categories of measurement…”

More information about the CCIODH:

International Civil Commission for Human Rights (CCIODH) website [in Spanish]

Provisional conclusions and recommendations of the Sixth Visit of the CCIODH. México (CCIODH, 20/02/2008) [in Spanish]

Provisional conclusions and recommendations of the Sixth Visit of the CCIODH. Oaxaca (CCIODH, 14/02/2008) [in Spanish]

Provisional conclusions y recommendations of the Sixth Visit of the CCIODH. Chiapas (CCIODH, 09/02/2008) [in Spanish]

The Oaxacan government’s response:

Article from the Sub-Secretariat of Human Rights in response to the CCIODH visit (Published Saturday, March 1, in El Imparcial) [in Spanish]