Publication of a Fact-finding Mission Report (Only available in Spanish)

http://www.fidh.org/IMG/pdf/mx461e.pdf

Paris- - The International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) is releasing today its report entitled « Oaxaca : Conflicto Social y Violaciones a los Derechos Humanos » resulting from a the fact-finding mission carried out by the FIDH in Oaxaca from 21 to 27 September 2006, with the support of the Mexican members organisations of FIDH, the Mexican League for the Defense of Human Rights (LIMEDDH) and the Mexican Commission for the Defense and Promotion of Human Rights (CMDPDH). The report was given to the Interamerican Comission of Human Rights (IACHR) during a hearing on the 24 October 2006. Since the FIDH mission took place, the situation has remained critical and indeed worsened.

On Friday 27 October, around 500 people, including policeman dressed as civilians, people belonging to the Partido Revolucionario Institucional and the paramilitary, all heavily armed, attacked barricades and fired at the civilian population for over an hour. This resulted in the death of an American cameraman and three Mexicans, as well as 26 injured. The same day, a university radio, Radio Universidad, was the object of bullet attacks and the Law Faculty of the Universidad Autónoma Benito Juárez de Oaxaca was damaged.

The following day, President Fox ordered an offensive on the city. On Sunday 29 October, 4000 Mexican riot policemen attempted to end the five-month occupation of the city center by entering the city from several directions with armored trucks, helicopters and water cannons. Tear gaz was fired at the crowds. 36 men, women, children and elderly people were arrested and violently beaten. Their whereabouts are still unknown. The LIMEDDH reported that 3 more people have died of their injuries so far, including a child.

As mentioned in the report, the FIDH is extremely worried about the deterioration of fundamental freedoms in the State of Oaxaca and the hardening of the position of the federal and regional authorities towards the civil society. Indeed, these authorities are either directly responsible of acts of reprisals against civilians or fail to protect them by failing to put an end to the impunity of authors of violations against them.

The FIDH is particularly alarmed that the Mexican President should choose to end a pacific protest through the disproportionate use of force which conducted to the extra-judicial killings, by the police and the paramilitary forces in flagrant violation of the right to life.

In its report, the FIDH urges the authorities to encourage dialogue as a means to resolve the conflict, guaranteeing at all times that the State will fulfill its obligations of respect and protection of human rights and guarantee, under all circumstances, the physical and psychological integrity of all civilians in Oaxaca, in particuliar those who have been arrested in the past few days.

The FIDH also requests the authorities to ensure independent and impartial investigations into all violation since the beginning of the protest in May 2006, in order to identify their authors, bring them to justice and sanction them according to the rule of law.

It calls upon the authorities to put an end, immediately and unconditionally, to the violations of economic, social and cultural rights in Oaxaca, enabling a conducive framework for the development of the majority of the population, who are at present excluded from the right to education and development; create the conditions necessary to the re-establishment of social ethics and consolidation of democracy, the rule of law, and internal peace in Mexico.

The FIDH supports the statement given on Monday 30 October by the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights and fundamental freedoms of indigenous people, Dr. Rodolfo Stavenhagen, who expressed his concern about the use of force to counter protests arising from deeply entrenched social issues and recommended the federal and state authorities to fully comply, at all times, with Mexico's international human rights commitments.

International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH)