The Law Society has written to the UN special rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers to call for an end to the ‘atmosphere of impunity’ in Mexico that it claims allows military and state authorities to harass, criminalise and threaten lawyers acting for the victims of human rights abuses.
The Society’s 39-page report describes a crisis in the country’s three worst affected states of Chiapas, Guerrero and Oaxaca, where it says lawyers have experienced death threats, kidnappings, intimidation, telephone tapping, fabricated criminal charges, unlawful detention, physical aggression, attempted murder and defamation.
The report notes that ‘there appears to be complete impunity for these acts’.
The report urges Mexico to comply with the American Convention on Human Rights (ACHR), to which it is a signatory, and to ‘ensure that crimes and violations against human rights defenders, journalists and lawyers are investigated and prosecuted’ in a civilian court of law.
It refers to four recent judgments from the Inter-American Court (IAC), the body charged with enforcing and interpreting the ACHR, in which it ruled that cases involving human rights abuses allegedly committed by military personnel must not be investigated or prosecuted by the military itself under the Military Code of Justice.
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The report adds that Mexico should also ‘pay special attention’ to complying with the ‘protective measures’ imposed by the IAC to safeguard hundreds of people of indigenous backgrounds.
Law Society president Linda Lee said: ‘The Law Society is very concerned about the dangers and threats faced by lawyers and other human rights defenders in Mexico.
‘Our report highlights the need for greater protection of the work of Mexican lawyers, and I hope it encourages lawyers in this country to get involved in our Lawyers At Risk programme.’
Law Society human rights committee chairman Tony Fisher said: ‘Failure to comply with the court’s rulings creates an atmosphere of impunity, where the rules don’t matter.
‘The Mexican constitution, and the international treaties that Mexico has signed up to, provide an adequate framework for the protection of human rights defenders, but these rules are meaningless unless there is the political will to [ensure] that the rules are respected.’
Here are more details of the Society’s Lawyers At Risk programme.
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