U.S. Statement at the UPR of Mexico
Universal Periodic Review (UPR) – 17th Session
Intervention for Mexico
As delivered by Peter F. Mulrean,
Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations in Geneva
UN Human Rights Council
Geneva,
October 23, 2013
The United States welcomes the Mexican delegation and commends Mexico for demonstrating its commitment to the UPR process by accepting and implementing many of the recommendations made during its first review.
The passage of the Human Rights Defenders and Journalists Protection Act and the creation of the national protection mechanism for those under threat due to their human rights work are significant achievements. Moreover, we acknowledge Mexico’s efforts to promote and protect the rights of persons with disabilities.
We note Mexico’s efforts to combat human trafficking by passing the anti-trafficking law in 2012, which increases penalties for trafficking and mandates states to bring their legislation in line with the law. However, Mexico faces numerous challenges to fully implement this legislation on the federal and state level.
We welcome recent steps to modify the Code of Military Justice to provide more transparent adjudication of human rights cases involving members of the military. We encourage speedy adoption of implementing legislation.
We recommend that Mexico:
- Continue to improve implementation of the Human Rights Defenders and Journalists Protection Act and the national protection mechanism at the federal and state level;
- Continue to implement the 2012 national anti-trafficking law, through efforts to investigate and prosecute trafficking offenses on the federal and state level;
- Continue efforts to ensure transparent adjudication of members of the security forces for human rights abuses, and continue efforts to reform the civilian police.