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February 20, 2020Torture in Mexico: widespread and systematic practice among authorities
HIGHLIGHTS
Torture in Mexico: widespread and systematic practice among authorities
February 18th, 2019
Over the past five years, the Mexican Commission for the Defense and Promotion of Human Rights (CMDPDH) has dedicated our efforts to document and analyze, based on official sources of information from both federal and state authorities, the systematic and widespread nature of the Torture in Mexico.
Torture is a serious violation of human rights that is intended to cause pain and suffering in a person with the intention of obtaining information, a confession, for a criminal investigation, or, it is used as an intimidating means, personal punishment or for any other purpose.
Since the beginning of the “war on drugs”, we have documented that the practice of torture committed by security forces such as federal, state and municipal police, including the armed forces belonging to the Secretariat of National Defense (SEDENA) and the Secretariat de Marina (SEMAR), became increasingly recurrent, to the extent of being considered a widespread and sometimes systematic practice.
Of the 10,534 complaints of torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment filed between 2006 and 2018 before the National Human Rights Commission (CNDH), 54.3% are attributable to the armed forces, while a total of 301 cases were documented in recommendations of the CNDH for serious human rights violations, mostly accepted by the responsible authorities, in 190 incidents of torture were accredited, in 102 cases the authority indicated as responsible was the SEDENA and in 48 the SEMAR. According to data from the Special Prosecutor in Investigation of Torture Crime of the Attorney General's Office (FGR), 70% of the files in process correspond to accusations against elements of SEDENA.
Cases of torture in Mexico are hidden in impunity. Between 2006 and 2018, 27,342 criminal investigations for torture have been initiated nationwide; however, according to the Federal Judiciary Council (CJF), only 50 convictions and 16 acquittals for torture have been issued; that is, at the federal level only 0.61% of the investigated cases have obtained a sentence.
Similarly, victims of torture in Mexico face a precarious situation and total helplessness in terms of comprehensive care and reparation. Regarding the 36,401 complaints of torture and ill-treatment reported at the national level before the CNDH and State Commissions for Human Rights, the Executive Commission for Victim Assistance (CEAV) has only registered 523 victims of torture to the National Registry of Victims (RENAVI ). The victims who are registered with RENAVI, only 38% have received some kind of reparation for the damage they suffered.
Against this backdrop, the CMDPDH decided to launch a website where interested persons can access in an accessible way the most relevant official data on the phenomenon of torture in the country, and through the consultation of graphics, videos and didactic material will generate a better understanding of the way in which it happens and how it is that a victim of this serious human rights violation can file a complaint with the corresponding Prosecutor or a complaint in the National Commission or in the State Commissions of Human Rights.
Given the inactivity of the Mexican State to face a phenomenon of the magnitude of torture in the country, characterized mainly by the lack of implementation of the General Law to Prevent, Investigate and Punish Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Cruel Treatment or Punishment Degrading, and in the absence of state records and special prosecutors investigating the crime of torture. The CMDPDH calls on the Federal Government and the state governments for the prompt and adequate implementation of the Law, as well as comprehensive reparation and care for victims.
We also invite the academic community, students, media, civil society and any person interested in following up on the fight against torture and ill-treatment in Mexico to visit our site and monitor the progress in the fight against impunity. crimes as it will be updated periodically.
Staff
Translator: Martín Caballero
Over the past five years, the Mexican Commission for the Defense and Promotion of Human Rights (CMDPDH) has dedicated our efforts to document and analyze, based on official sources of information from both federal and state authorities, the systematic and widespread nature of the Torture in Mexico.
Torture is a serious violation of human rights that is intended to cause pain and suffering in a person with the intention of obtaining information, a confession, for a criminal investigation, or, it is used as an intimidating means, personal punishment or for any other purpose.
Since the beginning of the “war on drugs”, we have documented that the practice of torture committed by security forces such as federal, state and municipal police, including the armed forces belonging to the Secretariat of National Defense (SEDENA) and the Secretariat de Marina (SEMAR), became increasingly recurrent, to the extent of being considered a widespread and sometimes systematic practice.
Of the 10,534 complaints of torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment filed between 2006 and 2018 before the National Human Rights Commission (CNDH), 54.3% are attributable to the armed forces, while a total of 301 cases were documented in recommendations of the CNDH for serious human rights violations, mostly accepted by the responsible authorities, in 190 incidents of torture were accredited, in 102 cases the authority indicated as responsible was the SEDENA and in 48 the SEMAR. According to data from the Special Prosecutor in Investigation of Torture Crime of the Attorney General's Office (FGR), 70% of the files in process correspond to accusations against elements of SEDENA.
Cases of torture in Mexico are hidden in impunity. Between 2006 and 2018, 27,342 criminal investigations for torture have been initiated nationwide; however, according to the Federal Judiciary Council (CJF), only 50 convictions and 16 acquittals for torture have been issued; that is, at the federal level only 0.61% of the investigated cases have obtained a sentence.
Similarly, victims of torture in Mexico face a precarious situation and total helplessness in terms of comprehensive care and reparation. Regarding the 36,401 complaints of torture and ill-treatment reported at the national level before the CNDH and State Commissions for Human Rights, the Executive Commission for Victim Assistance (CEAV) has only registered 523 victims of torture to the National Registry of Victims (RENAVI ). The victims who are registered with RENAVI, only 38% have received some kind of reparation for the damage they suffered.
Against this backdrop, the CMDPDH decided to launch a website where interested persons can access in an accessible way the most relevant official data on the phenomenon of torture in the country, and through the consultation of graphics, videos and didactic material will generate a better understanding of the way in which it happens and how it is that a victim of this serious human rights violation can file a complaint with the corresponding Prosecutor or a complaint in the National Commission or in the State Commissions of Human Rights.
Given the inactivity of the Mexican State to face a phenomenon of the magnitude of torture in the country, characterized mainly by the lack of implementation of the General Law to Prevent, Investigate and Punish Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Cruel Treatment or Punishment Degrading, and in the absence of state records and special prosecutors investigating the crime of torture. The CMDPDH calls on the Federal Government and the state governments for the prompt and adequate implementation of the Law, as well as comprehensive reparation and care for victims.
We also invite the academic community, students, media, civil society and any person interested in following up on the fight against torture and ill-treatment in Mexico to visit our site and monitor the progress in the fight against impunity. crimes as it will be updated periodically.
Staff
Translator: Martín Caballero
