Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Thursday, 13 Nov 2003

Vol. 574 No. 3

Written Answers. - Human Rights Issues.

Pádraic McCormack

Ceist:

42 Mr. McCormack asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs if he will raise with his Mexican counterpart, the findings of an Amnesty International report into the abduction and murder of women in Ciudad Juárez and Chihuahua; and if he will make a statement on the report. [26796/03]

Minister for Foreign Affairs (Mr. Cowen)

Amnesty International and other human rights organisations have long expressed serious concern about widespread human rights abuses in Mexico, including disappearances, killings, torture by police, arbitrary detentions, death threats and ill-treatment by prison and military authorities.

The Amnesty International report, Intolerable Killings: 10 years of Abductions and Murders of Women in Ciudad Juárez and Chihuahua, published on 11 August 2003, focuses on the horrific violence against women in Chihuahua state. According to the report, in the last ten years, approximately 370 women have been murdered in Ciudad Juárez and Chihuahua, of which at least 137 were sexually assaulted prior to their death. Some NGOs believe the figures may even be higher. The report expressed concern about the Mexican authorities' failure to address the murder of the young women, stating that the authorities, both within the state of Chihuahua and at the federal level, have been unwilling to recognise the extent of the pattern of violence against women and to implement effective policies for dealing with it.

A February 2003 report by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights also addressed the right of women in Ciudad Juárez to be free from violence and discrimination. This followed a visit at the invitation of the Mexican Government by Inter-American Commission on Human Rights special rapporteur on the rights of women, Ms Marta Altolaguirre, to Ciudad Juárez and to Mexico City. A series of meetings have since been held between the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights and the Mexican Government to follow up on the report.

The question of the respective competencies between the federal and the local level has complicated matters. The federal government has recently taken a more active role following evidence of federal offences.

In July 2003, the interior ministry announced a 40 point programme to improve public security, criminal investigations, social advancement and women's rights in Ciudad Juárez. The programme recognises the federal government's duty to clear up the cases in question and accepts its responsibility for promoting dialogue with relatives, victims and civil society as well as promoting institutional collaboration and initiatives with NGOs. On 11 August 2003, the government announced the creation of a joint investigating and prosecuting agency, made up of the Mexican Office of the Attorney-General and the Chihuahua state prosecutor's office. Amnesty International has welcomed this initiative, while urging that the agency should also cover investigations in Chihuahua and not only in Ciudad Juárez.

The secretary general of Amnesty International, Ms Irene Khan, met with President Fox of Mexico in August 2003 during a visit to Mexico to present the Amnesty report. President Fox reiterated his commitment to ensuring that the federal government played its full role in putting a stop to the murders and abductions. On 17 October 2003 he announced the appointment of Ms Guadalupe Morfin Otero as national commissioner to prevent and punish violence against women in Ciudad Juárez. The commissioner's role is to co-ordinate the federal government's 40-point programme for Ciudad Juárez. Ms Morfin has a distinguished record as a defender and promoter of human rights.

The Mexican Government has adopted an open and productive relationship on human rights matters with representatives of civil society and NGOs. This open and constructive attitude also applies to Mexico's dialogue on human rights with the European Union and the United Nations. An office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights was established in Mexico City in July 2002 to support the Government and civil society in their efforts to implement effective programmes to protect human rights. The Mexican Government also seeks to enhance its human rights performance through its observer status at the Council of Europe, which has human rights at the core of itsraison d'être.

Ireland and our EU partners hold regular dialogue with Mexico on matters of mutual interest, including human rights. On 11 November 2003, the question of human rights including the particular situation of the violence against women in Ciudad Juárez, was raised at a meeting in Brussels of the EU-Mexico joint committee, where Ireland was represented. The Mexican representative acknowledged that the rule of law had malfunctioned over a period of time in that frontier region, and outlined the determined measures being adopted by the Mexican federal and state authorities to strengthen the institutions of law and order with a view to arresting what he described as this "cancerous phenomenon".

We will remain in touch with the Mexican government about the situation in Ciudad Juárez.