CAT/C/MEX/CO/7
(o)
The constitutional reform and the publication, on 14 December 2018, of the
Organic Act on the Office of the Prosecutor General, with a view to overhauling the
country’s prosecution services;
(p)
The publication on 16 June 2016 of the National Act on the Comprehensive
Juvenile Criminal Justice System.
5.
The Committee appreciates the State party’s request on 6 March 2018 for
publication of the report of the Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture and Other Cruel,
Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment on its visit to Mexico in December 2016
(CAT/C/OP/MEX/2).
6.
The Committee also appreciates the fact that the State party maintains a standing
invitation to the special procedure mechanisms of the Human Rights Council, which has
allowed independent experts to conduct visits to the country during the reporting period.
C.
Principal subjects of concern and recommendations
Pending follow-up issues from the previous reporting cycle
7.
In paragraph 27 of its previous concluding observations (CAT/C/MEX/CO/5-6), the
Committee requested the State party to provide information on the follow-up given to a
number of recommendations whose implementation it considered to be a matter of priority.
These recommendations were set forth in paragraph 9 on fundamental legal safeguards; in
paragraph 10 (d) on keeping custody logbooks; and in paragraph 16 (a) on mechanisms for
monitoring and oversight of the State party’s security forces and agencies. While noting the
replies submitted by the State party on 10 February 2014 under the follow-up procedure
(CAT/C/MEX/CO/5-6/Add.1), the Committee considers that the recommendations
contained in paragraphs 9 and 10 (d) have not been implemented (see paragraphs 15 and 16
of the present document) and that the recommendation contained in paragraph 16 (a) of the
previous concluding observations has been only partially implemented (see paragraphs 23
and 24 (a) of the present document).
Incidence of the use of torture in the State party
8.
While noting the delegation’s statement that torture is not a State policy and is not a
widespread practice, the Committee is very concerned about the situation observed by
several international human rights mechanisms during their respective visits to Mexico
during the period under review, in particular the visits of the United Nations Special
Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment in
2014 (A/HRC/28/68/Add.3, para. 23, and A/HRC/34/54/Add.4, para. 21), the InterAmerican Commission on Human Rights and its Rapporteur on the Rights of Persons
Deprived of Liberty in 2015 (OEA/Ser. L/VII Doc 44/15 and press release No. 116/15,
respectively) and the United Nations Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture and Other
Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment in 2016 (CAT/OP/MEX/2, para.
20). Other concerns include the findings of the 2016 national survey of persons deprived of
their liberty and the alternative reports submitted by a number of non-governmental human
rights organizations and civil society associations, which document a very high incidence of
torture and ill-treatment, including sexual violence, particularly on the part of members of
the security forces and investigating officers during arrest and in the early stages of
detention (arts. 2 and 16).
9.
The State party should:
(a)
Unequivocally reaffirm its support for an absolute prohibition of torture
and ill-treatment and state publicly that any person committing acts of this kind or
being found to be otherwise complicit or acquiescent in them will be held personally
responsible for those acts before the law and will be subject to criminal prosecution
and appropriate penalties;
(b)
Ensure that the national survey of persons deprived of their liberty is
conducted on a regular basis and that the survey findings are published.
GE.19-12617
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