| | |  Editorials | Issues | April 2009 
Rights Group: Mexico Fails to Punish Army Abuse
 Mark Walsh - Associated Press
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Monterrey, Mexico — Human Rights Watch said Wednesday that the Mexican army is failing to hold soldiers to account for possible human rights abuses including killings, torture and rape.
The New York-based organization said the suspected violations are undermining Mexico's attempts to curb drug-related violence.
Human Rights Watch said in a report that it investigated 17 cases of suspected abuse by the Mexican military involving more than 70 victims from 2007 and 2008.
Of the 17 cases investigated, none of the military investigations led to a conviction for human rights violations. The only civilian investigation into any of the cases led to the conviction of four soldiers.
"The need to improve public security in Mexico is clear," said Jose Miguel Vivanco, Americas director at Human Rights Watch. "But, to be effective, any strategy to address security must also deal with the rampant impunity for military abuses committed during public security operations."
The Interior Department said in a news release that it would study the report, and stressed that military court rulings can be appealed in civilian courts.
"No public servant, including those in the armed forces, has any immunity," the department said.
The statement said the army is needed in the drug war, but the government "recognizes the problems this creates among the public, and that is why measures have been taken to prevent (problems)."
The Defense Department and Attorney General's Office could not be immediately reached for comment, but have said in the past that they are trying to improve rights safeguards and purge abusive officers from their ranks.
Mexico has suffered a continuing wave of drug-related violence, with more than 10,650 people killed since 2006, when President Felipe Calderon sent 45,000 troops to directly confront the traffickers.
The policy has attracted strong criticism from the U.N. and human rights agencies who blame the use of the army for the escalating violence.
Human Rights Watch urged the Calderon administration to ensure that serious military abuses against civilians are prosecuted by civilian officials in civilian courts.
"Mexico has failed to take the issue of military abuses seriously," Vivanco said. "Until it does, its stated commitment to the rule of law means very little."
The report's findings were presented to the interior minister, the federal attorney general, and the military attorney general this week.
Also Wednesday, authorities in the central state of Michoacan said the body of a former police chief had been discovered near the town of Charo with signs of torture and bullet wounds. |
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