Document #1082645
IRB – Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada (Author)
In Mexico, the National Human Rights Commission (Comision Nacional de Derechos Humanos, CNDH) and State Human Rights Commissions (Comisiones Estatales de Derechos Humanos, CEDH) are government-funded organizations that provide recourse to those citizens who wish to file a human rights violation complaint against a public servant such as a police officer (REDRESS May 2003, 12; JSCA 2003; CNDH n.d.a).
Specifically, the CNDH receives complaints related to acts or omissions by federal public servants that have allegedly resulted in a violation of an individual's rights (ibid. 19 Mar. 2001). The CEDH receive complaints related to acts or omissions by state or municipal public servants, within their respective states, that have allegedly resulted in a violation of an individual's rights (ibid.). The CNDH and CEDHs, after investigating a complaint, issue recommendations to the authorities or levels of government under whose jurisdiction the public servants in question work (ibid.).
However, there are areas of government that the human rights commissions cannot investigate, as they fall into other entities' jurisdictions; these include issues related to labour matters, acts or omissions by electoral authorities, and agrarian issues (ibid.).
According to the Justice Studies Center of the Americas (JSCA), the CNDH "has exclusive jurisdiction" over complaints concerning human rights violations committed by federal authorities or public servants, excluding members of the Federal Judicial Branch (2003). However, as mentioned further on in this Response, the CNDH acts as a final avenue of appeal for unconventional (inconformidades) state-level complaints (CNDH n.d.a.; see also REDRESS May 2003, 12).
While the human rights commissions are mandated to investigate whether a public servant violated a citizen's human rights and "issue non-binding recommendations to the public prosecution or any other public institution whose public servants were allegedly involved in the violation," the commissions "do not have the authority to criminally prosecute individuals" (REDRESS May 2003, 12; see also JSCA 2003). Moreover, with regard to state-level human rights commissions, Amnesty International noted that the "quality and independence" of each CEDH "varies widely between the 31 Mexican states" (19 Aug. 2004). Country Reports 2003 also mentioned that while the CEDHs are reportedly autonomous organizations, state governors have the power to appoint CEDH presidents (25 Feb. 2004, Sec. 4).
For more information about the effectiveness of the CNDH and CEDHs in Mexico, please see the Research Directorate's May 2004 Issue Paper entitled Mexico: Police and MEX42663.E of 1 October 2004 about possible recourse for victims of bribery demands/corruption by government officials.
The following is a list of all human rights commissions across the country divided by region, including CNDH bureaus, CEDH offices and the Federal District Human Rights Commission (Comision de Derechos Humanons Distrito Federal, CDHDF). The population of each state, taken from the 14 February 2000 census, is also listed (Europa World Year Book 2004 2004, 2878). Please note that the names applied to state-level human rights commissions vary in some states; for instance, the Guanajuato CEDH is called the Guanajuato State Human Rights Attorney (Procuraduria de los Derechos Humanos del Estado de Guanajuato, PDHEG) (CNDH n.d.u).
Northern region
Baja California (pop. 2,487,367)
The human rights commission in this state
is called the Baja California Attorney for Human Rights and Citizen
Protection (Procuraduria de los Derechos Humanos y Proteccion
Ciudadana del Estado de Baja California) (CNDH n.d.b). In addition
to its head office in Tijuana, this commission has four district
offices in Tecate, Valle de San Quintin, Ensenada, and Mexicali
(ibid.).
Baja California Sur (pop. 424,041)
The head office of the CEDH Baja California
Sur is based in La Paz and four district bureaus can also be found
in Los Cabos, Loreto, Mulege, and Comondu (ibid. n.d.c).
Sonora (pop. 2,216,969)
The CEDH Sonora is located in the city of
Hermosillo and does not have bureaus in other districts of that
state (ibid. n.d.d.).
Chihuahua (pop. 3,052,907)
The head office of the CEDH Chihuahua is
located in the city of Chihuahua (ibid. n.d.e). Three district
bureaus are situated in Ciudad Juarez, Cuauhtemoc, and Hidalgo del
Parral (ibid.).
Coahuila (pop. 2,298,070)
The CEDH Coahuila head office is based in
Saltillo (ibid. n.d.f.). Three district bureaus are located in
Torreon, Piedras Negras, and Monclova (ibid.).
Sinaloa (pop. 2,536,844)
The head office of the CEDH Sinaloa is
situated in Culiacan, and the commission also has two district
offices in Ahome and Mazatlan (ibid. n.d.g).
Durango (pop. 1,448,661)
The CEDH Durango head office is based in
the city of Durango and the organization also has three district
bureaus in Gomez Palacio, Lerdo, and Pueblo Nuevo (ibid.
n.d.h).
Nuevo Leon (pop. 3,834,141)
The CEDH Nuevo Leon is located in Monterrey
and does not have bureaus in other districts of that state (ibid.
n.d.i).
Zacatecas (pop. 1,353,610)
With its head office based in the city of
Zacatecas, the CEDH Zacatecas also has six district bureaus in
Concepcion del Oro, Fresnillo, Jalpa, Loreto, Rio Grande, and
Tlaltenango de Zanchez Roman (ibid. n.d.j).
Tamaulipas (pop. 2,753,222)
The state of Tamaulipas features both CNDH
and CEDH offices (ibid. n.d.k). The CNDH Tamaulipas is located in
Reynosa and is involved in affairs related to the northern border
region of the country (ibid. n.d.l).
The head CEDH office is located in Ciudad Victoria and has seven district offices in Tampico, Reynosa, Matamoros, Nuevo Laredo, San Fernando, Ciudad Mante and Tula (ibid. n.d.m).
Nayarit (pop. 920,185)
The Nayarit State Commission for the
Defence for Human Rights (Comision de Defensa de los Derechos
Humanos del Estado de Nayarit) is located in Tepic and does not
have bureaus in other districts of that state (ibid. n.d.n).
Aguascalientes (pop. 944,285)
The CEDH Aguascalientes is located in the
city of Aguascalientes and does not have bureaus in other districts
of that state (ibid. n.d.o).
San Luis Potosi (pop. 2,299,360)
The CEDH San Luis Potosi's head office is
based in the city of San Luis Potosi and the organization also has
two bureaus in Ciudad Valles and Matehuala (ibid. n.d.p).
Central region
Federal District (pop. 8,605,239)
The Federal District features the central
CNDH headquarters and the CDHDF (CNDH n.d.q). In addition to
addressing federal-level complaints against public servants and
serving as a final avenue of appeal for unconventional cases
(inconformidades) emanating from state-level human rights
commissions, the CNDH is mandated, among other functions, to
promote and expand human rights legislation, education, and
preventive programs across the country (ibid. n.d.a). The head CNDH
office is located in the Magdalena Contreras district
(delegacion), with other bureaus located in the districts
of Alvaro Obregon and Benito Juarez (ibid. n.d.r).
The CDHDF is located in the Cuauhtemoc district and addresses local issues pertaining to the Federal District (ibid. n.d.s).
Jalisco (pop. 6,322,002)
With a head office based in the city of
Guadalajara, the CEDH Jalisco also has five district bureaus in
Autlan de Navarro, Colotlan, Lagos de Moreno, Puerto Vallarta and
Zapotlan el Grande (ibid. n.d.t).
Guanajuato (pop. 4,663,032)
While the head office of the Guanajuato
State Human Rights Attorney (Procuraduria de los Derechos Humanos
del Estado de Guanajuato) is based in Leon, three district bureaus
can also be found in San Miguel de Allende, Irapuato and Celaya
(ibid. n.d.u).
Queretaro (pop. 1,404,306)
The CEDH Queretaro has its head office in
the city of Queretaro and also has a district bureau in Jalpan de
Serra (ibid. n.d.v).
Hidalgo (pop. 2,235,591)
The head office of CEDH Hidalgo is located
in the city of Pachuca (ibid. n.d.w). Three other district bureaus
are situated in Tenango de Doria, Huejutla de Reyes and Zimapan
(ibid.).
Colima (pop. 542,627)
The CEDH Colima is located in the city of
Colima and does not have district bureaus in other areas of that
state (ibid. n.d.x).
Michoacan (pop. 3,985,667)
The CEDH Michoacan is located in Morelia
and does not have district bureaus in other areas of that state
(ibid. n.d.y).
Mexico state (pop. 13,096,686)
With a head office based in the city of
Toluca, the CEDH Mexico state also has five district bureaus in
Naucalpan de Juarez, Nezahualcoyotl, Ecatepec, Tejupilco and San
Felipe de Progreso (ibid. n.d.z).
Tlaxcala (pop. 962,646)
In addition to its head office in the city
of Tlaxcala, the CEDH Tlaxcala has three district offices in
Apizaco, Calpulalpan and Huamantla (ibid. n.d.a.a).
Morelos (pop. 1,555,296)
The head office of the CEDH Morelos is
located in the city of Cuernavaca (ibid. n.d.b.b). Three district
bureaus are also situated in Cuautla, Mazatepec and Jojutla
(ibid.).
Puebla (pop. 5,076,686)
The CEDH Puebla is located in the city of
Puebla and has one district bureau in Cuetzalan del Progreso (ibid.
n.d.c.c).
Guerrero (pop. 3,079,649)
With a head office based in the city of
Chilpancingo de los Bravo, the CEDH Guerrero also has six district
bureaus in Acapulco de Juarez, Iguala de la Independencia,
Ometepec, Pungarabato, Tecpan de Galeana and Tlapa de Comonfort
(ibid. n.d.d.d).
Veracruz (pop. 6,908,975)
In addition to its head office in the city
of Xalapa, the CEDH Veracruz has nine district offices in Acayucan,
Chicontepec, Papantla, Zongolica, Coatzacoalacos, Cordoba, Panuco,
Tuxpan and Veracruz (ibid. n.d.e.e).
Southern region
Tabasco (pop. 1,891,829)
The CEDH Tabasco has its head office in the
city of Villahermosa and also has a bureau in Emiliano Zapata
(ibid. n.d.f.f).
Campeche (pop. 690,689)
The CEDH Campeche is located in the city of
Campeche and does not have district bureaus in other areas of that
state (ibid. n.d.g.g).
Yucatan (pop. 1,658,210)
The CEDH Yucatan is located in Merida and
does not have district bureaus in other areas of that state (ibid.
n.d.h.h).
Quintana Roo (pop. 874,963)
With a head office based in the Chetumal,
the CEDH Quintana Roo also has five bureaus in Cozumel, Felipe
Carrillo Puerto, Jose Maria Morelos, Lazaro Cardenas and Cancun
(ibid. n.d.i.i).
Oaxaca (pop. 3,438,765)
In addition to its head office in Oaxaca de
Juarez, the CEDH Oaxaca has seven district offices in Huajuapan de
Leon, Juchitan de Zaragoza, San Agustin Loxicha, San Juan Bautista
Cuicatlan, San Juan Bautista Tuxtepec, San Pedro Mixtepec Joquila
and Santo Domingo Tehuantepec (ibid. n.d.j.j).
Chiapas (pop. 3,920,892)
Chiapas has both CNDH and CEDH offices
(ibid. n.d.k.k). The CNDH office in San Cristobal de las Casas
offers services to citizens living in the highland and jungle areas
of the state while the CNDH bureau in Tapachula provides assistance
to migrants (ibid. n.d.l.l).
The CEDH Chiapas maintains its head office in Tuxtla Gutierrez and also has eight regional bureaus in Comitan de Dominguez, Motozintla de Mendoza, Palenque, Pichucalco, Tonala, Ocosingo, San Cristobal de las Casas and Tapachula (ibid. n.d.m.m).
This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim for refugee protection.
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