UN CEDAW Committee reviews Atenco case
- CEDAW expert and rapporteur for Mexico questions Mexican authorities about the fact that, six years after acts of torture were committed against the women, not a single person has been punished
- The State of Mexico announced that investigations for the crimes committed in Atenco concluded in February of 2012 and that requests for arrest warrants have been made, without providing additional information
During the 52nd session of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women(CEDAW), the Committee addressed, among other topics, the impunity that exists in the cases of sexual torture committed against women in Atenco during a police operation in May of 2006.
During the session, Soledad Murillo de la Vega, CEDAW expert and rapporteur for Mexico, questioned Mexican authorities about the fact that, six years after acts of torture were committed against the women,not a single person has been punished, even though there is sufficient evidence of sexual torture against the women of Atenco by agents of the State of Mexico.
In response, the Undersecretary for Legal Affairs of the State of Mexico, Joel Alfonso Sierra Palacios, responded – on behalf of the governmental delegation – that authorities initially “arrested 21 police officers for abuse of authority and lewd acts, but we recognize that they obtained their liberty.”
The representative of the State then announced that investigations for the crimes committed in Atenco had concluded in February of this year and that requests for arrest warrants had been filed with a court, without specifying against whom the warrants were requested or if their whereabouts were known.
In response to these declarations, the Miguel Agustin Pro Juarez Human Rights Center (Center Prodh) and the World Organization against Torture (OMCT) emphasize that as ofnow, neither the women of Atenco nor their legal representatives have received any information concerning the supposed requests for arrest warrants for the acts of torture.
Having had six years to prosecute and punish those responsible for sexual torture in Atenco, it is highly irregular that just now – the day of the State’s evaluation by the CEDAW – the State has made the arrest warrants public; especially since, as alleged by the State, investigations concluded as far back as February.
In any case, the authorities are accountable, first and foremost, to the victims of the crimes of sexual torture, and they should have informed the women about the termination of investigations and their conclusions, as well as the supposed arrest warrants, instead of looking for recognition from international authorities for nonexistent law enforcement. This only demonstrates the disdain of the Mexican State towards women who, now, are victims of impunity, as well as the doublespeak and political theater that characterizes the State’s performance in international fora.
Center Prodh and the OMCT call on the Mexican State to inform the complainants and their legal representatives of all the information and updates concerning the Atenco case, with the purpose of providing the victims access to justice, instead of forcing them to learn of such information before international bodies.
We are confident that, in the face of these inconsistencies, the CEDAW Committee will confirm the State’s noncompliance with the recommendations itissued on the case of the women of Atenco in 2006, and that it will reiterate that the Mexican State is obligated to effectively punish all those responsible.
Miguel Agustin Pro Juárez Human Rights Center
World Organization Against Torture