On May 19th, the Miguel Agustín Pro Juárez Center for Human Rights (Centro ProDH) convened a forum to “reopen the debate, from diverse perspectives, on the impact of military aid from the United States on militarization and human rights in Mexico.” As the forum opened, the director from Centro ProDH expressed grave concern at the increasing militarization of the country.
The Centro ProDH asserted that the creation of bilateral political-military accords can be considered a first violation of community rights as these types of accords are made without the participation of those they will affect (thereby violating access to information and consultation). Furthermore, the Centro ProDH called attention to the fact that although the requisite standards for human rights laid out in the 2009 Mérida Initiative (which froze fifteen percent of promised funds) have not been met, additional funds are being negotiated (somewhere between $66 and $470 million) without any conditions being laid out to assure human rights.
Everyone agreed that the current military politic not only provokes direct violations of human rights, but also obscures the underlying issues that affect these rights, especially economic, social, cultural, and environmental rights. According to the ex-General F. Gallardo, the biggest threat facing Mexico at this point does not stem from land rights, but from the collapse of the health, education, and justices systems that has come about due to the failing of the democratic system and the illegitimacy of its leaders. The Tlachinolan Center for Human Rights exposed various cases that illustrate ruptures in Mexico’s judicial system. The Centro ProDH proposed the creation of a database (“No more abuses”) that would be accessible to all human rights organizations in order to document human rights violations and to develop a more visible political impact.
For more information, please visit:
The website for the Miguel Agustín Pro Juárez Human Rights Center
