Madam - I have read the piece by Angela Long that your prestigious newspaper printed today (May 9th) with regard to human rights problems in Mexico.
I would like to clarify the following points: firstly, the Mexican government respects and has an important and open relation with human rights defenders and organisations. The administration of President Fox has adopted a comprehensive strategy that includes a close working partnership with local governments, NGOs and international organisations, going to great lengths to specifically address the violations of rights of women and vulnerable groups.
Secondly, and concerning the murders of women in Ciudad Juárez, while the Mexican government recognises the magnitude of the tragedy and the limitations of the investigations in the past, I cannot agree with the statement that at the present time "there is a lack of action by the authorities", or that an investigation has been stopped because "a friend of the president" was involved. On the contrary, the current government has launched a comprehensive, long-term strategy that has actually improved the co-ordination with the local governments, stepped up investigations (resulting in an advance in the resolution of cases), strengthened public safety (with measures specifically focused on young women) and dealt more effectively with the victims' families (establishing a trust fund to assist relatives of female homicide victims in Ciudad Juarez), among many others.
Nevertheless, it is very important to take into account that there are deep, complex issues that have a direct impact on public safety in that area, such as the rapid expansion of the city, steep population growth, drug-related violence and the radical transformations of labour and family structures. The Mexican government acknowledges this complexity and is trying to address the different aspects of the problem in order to bring about a sound and fair solution as soon as possible.
Ms Long quoted me saying that "these situations [ the murders of women] are difficult, partly because of the demarcation line between state and federal power". This is not only taken out of context, but is quite the opposite message I tried to deliver: the true fact is that the national government nowadays is directly involved in the Ciudad Juárez case, with full respect to the authority of the relevant local governments, and is actively working to enforce the law and promote a human rights culture not only in that city, but in every corner of the country and in full co-ordination with regional and local governments.
Thirdly, let me underline that beyond speculations, the Mexican government has chosen the path of transparency and is open to external scrutiny: it has adopted the recommendations of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights to draft the current National Human Rights Programme; overall, we have received seven visits from human rights experts and UN mechanisms specifically interested in Ciudad Juárez, as well as many others by NGOs such as Amnesty International, whose labour we commend and which is welcome to review the state of human rights in our country.
To sum up, Ms Long is right in calling the murders of women in Ciudad Juárez a tragedy, but I would like to underline that Mexican authorities are not oblivious or negligent towards it. - Yours, etc,
CECILIA JABER,
Ambassador of Mexico,
Ailesbury Road,
Dublin 4.