Human rights groups slam Mexico in dispute over UN torture accusation
Human rights groups slam Mexico in dispute over UN torture accusation
By Tim Johnson
McClatchy Foreign StaffMarch 31, 2015
MEXICO CITY — A controversy over the use of torture in Mexico and whether the government has retreated on human rights and rule of law issues intensified Tuesday, with human rights groups denouncing the government of President Enrique Peña Nieto for his administration’s criticism of a United Nations official.
In a letter distributed Tuesday, more than two dozen human rights groups voiced “profound disgust” over his government’s pledge to stop working with the U.N. envoy for torture, who earlier this month declared that the use of torture had become “generalized” in Mexico.
The groups cited what they called an “alarming increase in the number of registered complaints over torture and mistreatment.”
Those signing the letter include groups such as the Institute for Security and Democracy, Freedom House Mexico and Citizens in Support of Human Rights, all of which receive international funding or have strong connections abroad.
The U.N. special envoy on torture, Juan Mendez, issued a scathing report in Geneva March 9 that said all levels of the Mexican security apparatus routinely use torture during interrogation.
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