Viewing cable 10MEXICO75, INTER-AMERICAN COURT RULINGS PRESSURE MEXICO TO ADDRESS

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UNCLAS MEXICO 000075

SENSITIVE
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C O R R E C T E D COPY CAPTION

DEPT FOR WHA DAS JACOBSON AND MEX DIRECTOR LEE, D STAFF CUE.
NSC FOR O???REILLY AND RESTREPO

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PREL PHUM MX
SUBJECT: INTER-AMERICAN COURT RULINGS PRESSURE MEXICO TO ADDRESS
HUMAN RIGHTS ISSUES

REF: 10 MEXICO 47; 09 MEXICO 3641

INTER-AMERICAN COURT RULINGS PRESSURE MEXICO TO ADDRESS HUMAN
RIGHTS ISSUES

¶1. (SBU) Summary: Two recent decisions by the Inter-American
Court have forced international attention on perennial human rights
problems in Mexico and put pressure on the GOM and its official
human rights ombudsman to respond to criticism of its military
justice system and its handling of gender violence. The first case,
known as the Cotton Field case, deals with longstanding issues of
violence against women in Chihuahua state. Reftel reviews the
Radilla case which calls on Mexico to address inconsistencies
between Mexico's constitution and the military's code of justice.
End Summary

¶2. (SBU) In the Cotton Field case, the Court considered the
violent murders of three young women from Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua
whose bodies were discovered in a local cotton field. The Court
ruled Mexico had not done enough to investigate their deaths and
had fabricated evidence to falsely convict two men. In light of
the long pattern of violence against women in the northern border
area, the Court found Mexico had violated the human rights of the
female victims and their families. The Court ordered the GOM to
strengthen its investigation of such cases and make symbolic
gestures to the families and victims. With its condemnation of
widespread gender violence in Ciudad Juarez, the Inter-American
Court forces Mexico to recognize its failure to meet its human
rights obligations. The decision is hardly a panacea for all of
Mexico's human rights woes, but it should create space to address
more effectively such challenges in the future. End summary.

Background: The Case behind the Decision
--------------------------------------------- -------------

¶3. (SBU) Since 1993, NGOs and human rights groups have reported an
increase in disappearances and murders of young women in Ciudad
Juarez. In 2007, the Inter-American Court considered the situation
in Juarez for the first time. The case before the Court centered on
three young women who were kidnapped and murdered within a month of
each other. Laura Berenice Ramos Monarrez, a 17 year old high
school student, was last heard from on September 22, 2001 when she
called a friend to make plans for a party. Claudia Ivette Gonzalez
was 20 and an employee at a local "maquiladora." When she arrived
late to work on October 10, 2001, management refused to allow her
to enter the factory and she disappeared later that day. Esmeralda
Herrera Monreal was 15 and worked as a maid in the house of a local
family. After leaving work on October 29, 2001, she disappeared.
On November 6, 2001 the bodies of these three women, along with
five others, were found in a cotton field in Ciudad Juarez. All of
the women were between the ages of 15 and 20 and showed signs of
rape and abuse.

¶4. (SBU) In March 2002, the victims' families, in coalition with a
number of national and international NGOs, presented their case to
the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. In April 2007, the
Commission issued a number of recommendations to the GOM. The
Commission subsequently determined Mexico had not done enough to
address its concerns and submitted the case to the Court in
December 2007. During the trial, the families of the victims
presented evidence that established that the GOM had neglected to
conduct a thorough investigation into the victims' cases and had
convicted innocent men. They claimed their daughters' human rights
had been violated and that Mexico had allowed femnicide to occur
with impunity.

The Decision
-----------------

¶5. (SBU) The Court extensively discussed various aspects of
gender violence in northern Mexico and recognized 379 cases from
1993 to 2005 as instances of violence against women, most of which
have not been solved. In its decision the Court ruled that,
"...The State had an obligation to ensure the victims were found as

quickly as possible...the Court finds that the state's evidence did
not prove efforts were made to quickly launch a search, mobilize
institutions and mechanisms to obtain information...or carry out an
effective investigation and prosecute those responsible.... The
insufficient answers and indifferent attitudes of authorities in
the investigation of these crimes, seem to have allowed the
perpetual violence against women in Ciudad Juarez." The Court
found that the victims in the Cotton Field Case were victims of
gender violence based on the circumstances of their disappearances
and evidence of abuse and rape, as well their ages, occupations,
and social classes, which were consistent with local patterns of
violence. In its decision the Court concluded, "The Tribunal
considers the present case of violence against women a form of
discrimination and declares the State violated the right to non
discrimination contained in Article 1 of the American Convention."



¶6. (SBU) The Court ordered Mexico to fully investigate and
prosecute the murders of Herrera, Gonzalez, and Ramos, and within a
reasonable time frame, investigate and punish the public officials
responsible for the irregularities in the case. (Note: During his
nomination last year, Mexican Attorney General Arturo Chavez Chavez
was criticized for his failure to address violence against women
while he served as Attorney General of Chihuahua from 1996-1998.
This criticism did not widely resurface in the press reporting on
this decision. End note.) It also ruled the GOM must standardize
and improve its response to cases of disappearances and violence
against women and present a yearly update on these efforts.
Moreover, it ordered the GOM to publicly acknowledge the victims in
this case and other victims of gender violence by building a
monument commemorating the victims, hosting a public ceremony in
the victims' honor, publishing the decision in the "Diario Oficial"
and a national newspaper, and paying restitution to the families.
Finally, it ordered the creation of a database of victims to aid in
tracking cases and a website the public can use to report missing
persons.

Implementation: GOM Will Rely on Chihuahua
--------------------------------------------- ----------------

¶7. (SBU) Although the Court's decision obligates Mexico to
improve its response to crimes against women, there has been no
official public reaction from the GOM on the practical steps it
plans to take to implement the Court's decision. According to POL
sources, the GOM will look to the state of Chihuahua to assume the
lead on implementing the prescribed actions. Jose Guevara,
Director of the Unit for the Promotion and Protection of Human
Rights at the Secretariat of the Interior (SEGOB), the office
responsible for implementing Inter-American Court decisions, told
Poloffs that Chihuahua will have to implement some procedural
changes but indicated it should not be difficult to do so within
the Court's one year deadline.

Comment
--------------

¶8. (SBU) Both cases before the Inter-American Court were the
result of a dedicated effort by the families of victims, supported
by civil society groups, to seek justice. There was no significant
backing from the CNDH and the Mexican government resisted with
counter arguments. The decisions have put new pressure on the GOM,
the military and the CNDH to take or support remedial action. The
CNDH, while helpful in documenting abuse, has often shied away from
using the existing authority in its mandate to support victims and
their families. The Ambassador is scheduled to meet with the new
CNDH President, Raul Plasencia, to discuss ways to reinforce CNDH
efforts in line with the our comprehensive strategy on human rights
(ref B). In our working ongoing dialogue with the Mexican human
rights community, several NGO's have focused on the CNDH and its
new leadership as an area where much more can be done. End
comment.
FEELEY