Background on the UN Committee and its Concerns
The United Nations (UN) Committee on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families has expressed deep concern over the ongoing human rights violations faced by migrants in Mexico. These issues include arbitrary detentions, violence, discrimination, and lack of due process guarantees.
Key Findings from the UN Report
- Arbitrary Detentions: Between January and August 2024, over 700,000 adults were detained in migration stations without legal guarantees or genuine access to regularization procedures.
- Lack of Safeguards: There is a persistent absence of measures to ensure non-detention, especially for vulnerable individuals such as asylum seekers, people with disabilities, pregnant women, victims of human trafficking, and others. The use of terms like ‘apprehension’ or ‘presentation’ to describe migrant detention measures contributes to opacity and hinders the exercise of due process rights.
- Legislative and Policy Advancements: The Mexican state has made some progress, such as ratifying international conventions, reforming the Migration Law, and adopting tools like the External Support Mechanism for Search and Investigation. However, structural problems persist, with a tendency to prioritize national security over human rights protection.
Military Involvement and Discrimination
The UN Committee highlighted the militarization of migration management and private sector involvement in migrant control tasks. Additionally, arbitrary checks continue to occur in public spaces by various authorities without proper statutory migration control powers, such as local police and military forces.
- Widespread Migratory Checks: There is a generalized use of migratory review and verification operations in non-international transit locations like bus stations, train stations, highways, shopping centers, and public spaces. This occurs despite the Supreme Court’s ruling in Amparo Review 275/2019, which declared articles 97 and 98 of the Migration Law unconstitutional.
- Lack of Accountability: There is a lack of investigation and accountability in extreme violence cases against migrants, including massacres and recent discoveries of clandestine graves in Jalisco and Tamaulipas.
Recommendations for Eliminating Discrimination
The UN urges Mexico to take the following actions:
- End Racial Profiling: Eliminate racial profiling and ensure access to essential services regardless of migrant status.
- Interseccional Approaches: Implement intersectional approaches in all public policies.
- Access to Justice: Guarantee access to justice and effective reparation for victims of human rights violations.
- Investigate Crimes: Investigate crimes against migrants, eradicate impunity, and develop effective mechanisms for locating missing persons.
- Prevent Future Incidents: Ensure that incidents like the Ciudad Juárez migrant station fire do not recur.
