Written declaration No. 618 | Doc. 14176 | 12 October 2016

The human rights situation in Mexico

Signatories: Mr Frank SCHWABE, Germany, SOC ; Ms Luise AMTSBERG, Germany, SOC ; Ms Doris BARNETT, Germany, SOC ; Ms Maryvonne BLONDIN, France, SOC ; Ms Lise CHRISTOFFERSEN, Norway, SOC ; Mr Boriss CILEVIČS, Latvia, SOC ; Mr Constantinos EFSTATHIOU, Cyprus, SOC ; Lord George FOULKES, United Kingdom, SOC ; Mr Jean-Claude FRÉCON, France, SOC ; Ms Geneviève GOSSELIN-FLEURY, France, SOC ; Ms Maria GUZENINA, Finland, SOC ; Mr Andrej HUNKO, Germany, UEL ; Ms Susanna HUOVINEN, Finland, SOC ; Ms Eva-Lena JANSSON, Sweden, SOC ; Mr Mogens JENSEN, Denmark, SOC ; Ms Yuliya L OVOCHKINA, Ukraine, SOC ; Mr Pierre-Yves LE BORGN', France, SOC ; Mr Dirk Van der MAELEN, Belgium, SOC ; Ms Liliane MAURY PASQUIER, Switzerland, SOC ; Mr Attila MESTERHÁZY, Hungary, SOC ; Ms Carina OHLSSON, Sweden, SOC ; Ms Catherine QUÉRÉ, France, SOC ; Ms Mechthild RAWERT, Germany, SOC ; Ms Soraya RODRÍGUEZ RAMOS, Spain, SOC ; Mr Stefan SCHENNACH, Austria, SOC ; Mr Nico SCHRIJVER, Netherlands, SOC ; Ms Petra De SUTTER, Belgium, SOC ; Mr Manuel TORNARE, Switzerland, SOC ; Mr Phil WILSON, United Kingdom, SOC ; Ms Gisela WURM, Austria, SOC

This written declaration commits only those who have signed it.

Tabled by Mr. Frank Schwabe and other members of the Assembly

The human rights situation in Mexico, particularly given that enforced disappearances remain widespread, is particularly worrying.

Following the disappearance of 43 students from a teacher’s college in Ayotzinapa, the Interdisciplinary Group of Independent Experts (GIEI), set up by the Mexican government and the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), exposed serious flaws in the government’s investigations of the case. In two reports, the GIEI refuted central conclusions proposed by the Attorney General’s Office, and called on the authorities to pursue new lines of investigation.

As of 30 April 2016, the GIEI’s mandate has not been renewed. A follow-up mechanism to ensure the implementation of the recommendations made by the GIEI has been set up however.

We call on Mexico, an observer State to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, to fully implement the recommendations made by the Group. This includes pursuing the lines of investigation the experts proposed, but also investigating the Mexican officials responsible for obstructing justice in the case, strengthening Mexico’s criminal justice system and passing and implementing the general laws on torture and enforced disappearances, fulfilling all international standards. The government should also take steps to guarantee the safety of the surviving students, the victims’ family members as well as their legal representatives, and fully support the effective implementation of the follow-up Mechanism to the GIEI.