Rights group reports failure of Mexican strategy to protect migrants

[News_Editor]

Rights group reports failure of Mexican strategy to protect migrants

2011-08-31 07:42:39 GMT+7 (ICT)

MEXICO CITY (BNO NEWS) -- The Mexican government's strategy to protect migrants has failed to tackle the number of crimes and abuses perpetrated in the country against Central American migrants, rights group Amnesty International reported on Tuesday, a year after the plan was first launched.

The pro-migrant strategy was announced by the Mexican government in August 2010 after the bodies of 72 immigrants from Central and South America were found in the municipality of San Fernando, in the northern state of Tamaulipas. Allegedly, the migrants were killed by a criminal gang after they refused to pay extortion fees to cross the border.

The Mexican government's strategy, which has proved ineffective, promised a radical overhaul of the government's approach to the series of kidnappings and killings of irregular migrants in Mexico.

"Despite the government's claims to be addressing the issue, there is no evidence that the implementation of the widely publicized policy has had any impact," Rupert Knox, Mexico researcher at Amnesty International, said.

The plan also included commitments to ensure effective coordination between federal, state and municipal authorities to prevent further kidnappings, prosecute those responsible, and guarantee assistance to migrants who have suffered abuses.

"The Mexican government should provide a detailed report on the impact of the strategy and information on the prosecution and conviction of all those responsible for abuses against migrants," Knox added.

The London-based rights group said it has documented dozens of cases in which Central American migrants travelling through Mexico on their way to the United States have been kidnapped, tortured, raped, killed and disappeared.

An estimated 11,000 irregular migrants were kidnapped over a six month period in 2010, according to figures issued by Mexico's National Human Rights Commission.

In recent months, a total of 193 bodies, some believed to be migrants, were discovered in mass graves near the location of the San Fernando Massacre.

Last week, Mexico's Federal Attorney General's Office announced that 82 suspects, including municipal police, had been arrested and charged in connection with the string of crimes in Tamaulipas. Two members of the Los Zetas drug cartel allegedly responsible for the slaughter remained fugitive.

"It's positive to see that the authorities have made public some information about the abduction and murder of 193 people in Tamaulipas," Rupert Knox said. "However, we are concerned about the absolute lack of clear information about advances in investigations into the human rights abuses against migrants throughout 2010 and 2011."

The Mexican government's strategy has proven inefficient as mass graves are constantly found in different parts of Mexico, especially in those states that suffer drug-related violence.

On June 24, dozens of migrants, including women and children, were reportedly kidnapped in the southern state of Veracruz when at least 10 gunmen forced them off the train where they were travelling en route to the northern border.

Investigations by state and federal authorities have not established the whereabouts and fate of those abducted or the identity of their kidnappers.

According to reports of Amnesty International delegates, who visited Mexican migrant shelters in July, migrant rights defenders are also in a vulnerable position as they frequently face threats because of their work.

"The continuing failure to hold the vast majority of those responsible to account or provide adequate support and protection to victims and their relatives is a major concern," Knox concluded.

According to government figures, a total of 15,273 drug-related crimes occurred in Mexico in 2010, while more than 42,000 people have died in drug-related violence since Mexican President Felipe Calderón began his campaign to fight organized crime in December 2006.

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