COMMITTTEE ON ECONOMIC, SOCIAL AND CULTURAL RIGHTS EXAMINES REPORT OF MEXICO
The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights concluded today the consideration of the combined fifth and sixth periodic report of Mexico on its implementation of the provisions of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.
Introducing the report, Miguel Ruiz Cabañas, Undersecretary for Multilateral Affairs and Human Rights, Secretariat of Foreign Affairs, said that since 2006, Mexico was undertaking structural reforms to strengthen the protection of human rights. The 2011 Constitutional reform enabled positive changes in the labour, education, energy and social sectors. Legal framework with regards to human trafficking, enforced disappearances and torture had been improved, along with efforts to combat poverty and strengthen the equality between man and women. Mr. Ruiz Cabañas recognized the work of human rights defenders and rejected any form of violence against them and the undermining their freedom or work. Mexico’s economy had continuously grown at the rate of 2.5 per year for the past five years; to date 3.5 million new jobs had been created with projections of the creation of 4 million new jobs by the end of the year - this would represent the largest increase in Mexican history. Mexico, with its 120 million inhabitants living in 32 states, was a proud country and the fifteenth economy in the world. This complexity was both a wealth and a challenge in the implementation of human rights policies, noted Mr. Ruiz Cabañas.
In the dialogue that followed, Committee Experts recognized Mexico as a torch carrier in the continual promotion and protection of human rights and praised the recent constitutional and legislative reforms. Dire situation of journalists and human rights defenders, and threats to their lives and security, particularly those working on environmental issues, corruption and impunity, was of great concern to the Committee. Levels of unemployment were very high, particularly among women, the youth, persons with disabilities and indigenous peoples, Expert remarked, noting that 58 per cent of the labour force was in the informal economy and therefore excluded from social security. It was inacceptable, the Experts said, that Mexico as a high-income country, had such high rates of poverty: 11.4 million or ten per cent of the population lived in extreme poverty and 1.5 million children under the age of five were chronically undernourished. In the same vein, while the 2013 National Crusade against Hunger initiative had provided support to 78 per cent of the seven million of the food poor people, this meant that there remained over 1.5 million persons who were actually suffering hunger. The delegation was asked about regional and gender discrepancies in school enrolment figures, legal standing of the protocol on indigenous peoples, corruption, discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity, and the prosecution of the perpetrators of gender-based violence.
Mr. Ruiz Cabañas in his closing remarks reiterated Mexico’s great resolve to consider all recommendations made by United Nations bodies.
Mikel Mancisidor, Committee Expert and the Rapporteur for Mexico, commended the bravehood and decency displayed by the delegation during the dialogue, especially with regards to the problematic issues.
Maria Virginia Bras Gomes, Committee Chairperson, in her concluding remarks, praised Mexico for the steps taken to achieve the 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals.
The delegation of Mexico consisted of representatives of the Secretariat of Foreign Affairs, Secretariat of Health, Secretariat of Economy, Secretariat of Energy, Secretariat of Environment and Natural Resources, , Secretariat of Labour and Social Welfare, Secretariat of Public Education, Department of Justice, Supreme Court, Gender Equality Commission of the Senate, National Institute for Social Security, National Institute for Women, Executive Commission for Attention to Victims, National Housing Commission, National Commission Seguro Popular, National Council for Science and Technology, as well as representatives of the Permanent Mission of Mexico to the United Nations Office at Geneva.
The Committee will issue its concluding observations and recommendations on the report of Mexico towards the end of its session, which concludes on 29 March 2018.
All the documents relating to the Committee’s work, including reports submitted by States parties, can be found on the session’s webpage. The webcast of the Committee’s public meetings is available at UN Web TV.
The Committee will next meet in public at 3 p.m. today, 13 March to review the initial report of Niger (E/C.12/NER/1).
Report
The Committee has before it the combined fifth and sixth periodic report of Mexico (E/C.12/MEX/5-6).
Presentation of the Report
MIGUEL RUIZ CABAÑAS, Undersecretary for Multilateral Affairs and Human Rights, Secretariat of Foreign Affairs, said that Mexico had undergone structural reforms since 2006 to strengthen the protection of human rights, including the 2011 Constitutional reform, which had enabled positive changes in the labour, education, energy and social fields. Mexico had improved legal framework with regards to human trafficking, enforced disappearance and torture, along with combating poverty and strengthening the equality between man and women. Mr. Ruiz Cabañas recognized the work of human rights defenders and rejected any form of violence against them and the undermining their freedom or work. Mexico’s economy had continuously grown at the rate of 2.5 per year for the past five years; to date 3.5 million new jobs had been created with projections of the creation of 4 million new jobs by the end of the year, which would represent the largest increase in Mexican history. Mexico, with its 120 million inhabitants living in 32 states, was a proud country and the fifteenth economy in the world. This complexity was both a wealth and a challenge in the implementation of human rights policies, noted Mr. Ruiz Cabañas.
Despite the progress, numerous challenges remained including in the economic inequalities between different regions and between different groups of the population, particularly indigenous ones. The labour reform aimed to increase competitiveness while respecting the labour rights, strengthen the mechanism to protect women workers and vulnerable groups, and increase representativeness and transparency of trade unions. A structural reform of the labour justice system was ongoing, while the social protection system that guaranteed access to public health services and better benefits to the most vulnerable sectors of the society, covered 53.5 million Mexicans. Year 2013 marked the beginning of the national crusade against hunger; as a result, lack of access to food in most marginalized areas dropped by 57.5 percent. The 2013 educational reform aimed to benefit both students and teachers by improving the teaching process. Around 50,000 pupils participated in the new educational model which enabled the participation of the authorities and families in sharing the responsibility for the process and the product of education. In the light of the diverse and multicultural nature of the society, cultural rights were a priority, stressed Mr. Ruiz Cabañas, noting that new cultural laws recognized the plural and diverse nature of the Mexican society. The protocol for indigenous rights should also be emphasized in protecting and nurturing the cultural diversity of Mexico.
Questions by the Country Rapporteur
MIKEL MANCISIDOR, Committee Expert and the Rapporteur for Mexico, recognized Mexico as a torch carrier in the continual promotion and protection of human rights and expressed a solidarity for the consequences of the earthquake that had hit the country in 2017.
The Country Rapporteur raised concern about the dire situation of human rights defenders, especially the journalists and those working on environmental issues, and the treats to their lives and security. He asked about the measures taken to prevent the attacks, protect journalists and human rights defenders from violence, and ensure that there were no impunity for such crimes.
Mr. Mancisidor went on to praise the Constitutional reforms and asked how Mexico ensured that international treaties were directly invoked. Had there been any court rulings invoking the International Covenant and had they been successfully implemented? Mexico should strongly consider the ratification of the Optional Protocol to the Covenant, stressed the Rapporteur.
Mr. Mancisidor also raised the question of legal nature and legal standing of the protocol on the indigenous peoples, corruption, discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity, and the prosecution of the perpetrators of gender-based violence.
Responses by the Delegation
Responding to the questions and issues raised by the Country Rapporteur related to the situation of human rights defenders and journalists, a delegate reiterated that Mexico recognized the critical importance of their work and had created a mechanism for their protection, which was firmly operational. The authorities deeply deplored the recent attacks and the President himself had asked state governors to help in the prevention and detection of those attacks.
The Constitutional reform it was one of the deepest-rooted changes enabling the federal courts to directly invoke the international treaties, and this, among others, should foster the broadest possible protections for persons.
The protocol on indigenous peoples guided the consultations with indigenous communities towards their free, prior and informed consent. It was not an instrument of law but was being used as a guide, while the right to prior consent was a part of the Constitution, and it was also embodied in a number of laws, including the law on the electricity industry and the geothermal law. One of the advantages of the Protocol being a guide was that the rules for the consultation were agreed directly with the indigenous communities.
The move of Mexico towards a progressive tax system was a part of the structural reforms and was closely focused on vulnerable groups, through the shifting of the focus on higher earners when it came to paying income taxes. Previously, ten percent of the highest income earners had benefited from the tack policy, whereas the latest changes remedied this situation: today, 50 percent of the tax collection came from the richest ones while only one percent came from the poorest ten percent of the population.
The Government was applying the 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals in its public expenditure policy, and for the first time it had used those to establish basic criteria in several budgetary allocations, and it was expected that in the future, those would be a guiding criteria in defining budgets. Mexico had obliged the next government to use the Sustainable Development Goals as a guide, the only country in the world, and in doing so, it had opened the door for the public sector administrations to fight for a proper budget to fully implement and enjoy economic, social and cultural rights. At the same time, the application of the 2030 Agenda had opened the possibility of a stronger dialogue with the Parliament and the civil society.
Corruption was an evil that effected Mexico, stressed a delegate and said that a broad-ranging complex institutional framework was being put together to prevent, detect and punish it. A citizens’ participation committee had been established, with the participation of the federal prosecutors, and anticorruption systems were being organized at the local levels as well.
As for sexual orientation and gender identity-based discrimination, the delegation said that a proactive campaign against homophobia and transphobia had been in place since 2005, and efforts were ongoing to raise awareness of the issues. In 2016, the President had chaired a meeting with the civil society organizations and representatives of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex community, which addressed their right to non-discrimination. In three states, gender self-identification was legally recognized, while the position of same sex marriages and partnerships had been improved as well.
The legislation in the area of gender-based violence was very robust and Mexico was a pioneer in Latin America when in protecting the women against violence.
Drugs from the South and weapons from the North were a rather explosive combination, which meant that Mexico was dealing with a complex problem of violence. A policy to dismantle the large cartels was largely successful which had led to the growth of small-scale cartels at the local levels that were much more violent than the cartels they replaced. This was why international cooperation in drug and arms trafficking was essential for Mexico, as the problem was such that the country alone could not address it effectively. Drug consumption patterns in Mexico were comparable with neighbouring countries, and Mexico was also working on decriminalizing the use of cannabis for both recreational and medicinal purposes.
For the past five years or so, the net rate of migration was negative and more Mexicans returned to the country than left. The flow of Mexicans leaving the country was petering out and the movement was marked by the return. This trend was due to the improvement in the economic situation of the country. The challenge now was to tackle the significant migration flows from the South, and to guarantee human rights to any person who set foot on the Mexican soil.
There was a 2003 federal law to prevent and eliminate discrimination, which had also set up the National Council against Discrimination. The law enshrined a broad-ranging definition of discrimination and it opened the door to the inclusion of new prohibited grounds which were not in the law at the moment. All local authorities now implemented this federal law, and 26 authorities included the anti-discrimination clause in their local laws. It was true that the implementation of the federal law was a challenge and Mexico was aware of the need to improve coordination between various levels.
In response to questions raised on the situation of rights of indigenous peoples and the consultations with indigenous communities, a delegate recalled the Supreme Court ruling that required consultations for infrastructural projects. The Ministry of Environment had put in place the consultative process with the Yaki people concerning the use of the Independencia aqueduct in Sonora; the cooperation was ongoing with the Ministry for Human rights to ensure protection of human rights defenders and journalists reporting on this case. Consultations were a complex dialogue, said the delegate, stressing that one of the challenges in implementing them was the rule which called for the consultations to take place through the representative bodies of indigenous communities, which often did not exist. Indigenous communities were often not homogenous bodies, but groups which experienced power struggles between them, leading to conflicts.
In the hydrocarbon sector consultations occurred during the call for tender process. For example, the only hydrocarbon mining project which had had consultation was in August 2016 related to the Soke indigenous community, and because the permission by the indigenous peoples had not been granted, those areas had been withdrawn from the tender.
The Government had in place a mechanism for the protection of human rights defenders and journalists from violence, which was not an investigative mechanism. It was also coordinating with local levels and with a number of federal and national agencies. An investigation protocol for violence against human rights defenders was being developed in cooperation with the United Nations Special Rapporteur.
There was a number of high-level officials, including governors, who had been tried and sentenced for corruption, as well as some cases of those being extradited on charges of corruption. Justice was being served and there would be no impunity.
Questions by the Committee Experts
In the next cluster of questions, Committee Experts asked about measures taken to address the very high levels of unemployment in Mexico, particularly among women and the youth, and how effective those measures were. What policies were in place to include in the labour market persons with disabilities and in particular indigenous persons with disabilities. The delegation was asked to explain who and how set the minimum wage, and what was being done to address the salary differences between different regions.
The Committee was concerned about the very high percentage of the labour force – 57 per cent – who were active in the informal sector and therefore deprived of their labour rights and social security. As a result, approximately 58 per cent of the population did not have access to social security which was contingent to formal employment. Were there any limitations to the activities of trade unions and what was being done to protect trade union activists from violence?
Responses by the Delegation
Responding to questions concerning unemployment, a delegation said that about 1.8 million of the 54 million economically active persons, were unemployed. There were also under-employed who sought more hours that they currently had. The delegate stressed that since 2012, Mexico had created 3.5 million new formal jobs and had increased the average minimum wage by 46 per cent. The recovery of the purchasing power was 11 per cent, the highest in the past 40 years.
Of the 3.5 million new formal jobs created since 2012, 42 per cent were for women - the inclusion of women in the labour marked had been faster than for men. Over the past five years, the Government had found jobs for over three million young people. Improvements had been made in the employment of persons with disabilities as well.
The programme for temporary agriculture workers between Mexico and Canada was in place, and the Government was currently assessing the violations of the rights of agricultural workers with the view to put in place specific protocols for the protection of their rights. A protocol on the elimination of child labour had been in place for some time and had seen significant drop in the number of children working in the agricultural sector.
The delegation confirmed that the minimum wage applied throughout the country and that there were no regional differences.
There had been a slight drop in the percentage of economically active persons working in informal economy over the past five years. During the 2013 to 2017 period, Mexico had signed protocols with all regions for the formalization of informal economy, and had in place a unique tax collection and social protection systems and mechanisms to encourage informal workers to contribute
With regards to employment opportunities for persons with disabilities, Mexico was providing incentives to entrepreneurs and it also developed a label to recognize companies with good equality and non-discrimination practices. Since 2005, some 40,000 persons belonging to vulnerable categories had been employed.
There were more than 3,300 registered trade unions in the country, and the regulations were in place promoting transparency in their governance including through the freedom to vote for candidates. Many trade unions were working closely with the Government to develop secondary laws and so ensure that the 2017 labour reform was brought to fruition.
Mexico provided popular insurance to those who did not have access to traditional sources of social security, and millions of Mexicans benefitted from the scheme, which provided coverage for more than 1,800 diseases including cancer, and universal coverage for children under the age of five. This basis popular insurance scheme had been enrolled around the country and was being provided thorough 1,200 health centres.
There was a non-contributory pensions scheme available to citizens, while the federal pension scheme put in place in 2017 granted social pensions to people over 70 living in rural areas. The aim was to extend the coverage throughout the country.
Questions by the Committee Experts
In the third round of questions, a Committee Expert recognized steps Mexico took to address the situation of street children and asked the delegation to provide information on the dimension of the problem, including the number of children still needing assistance and measures being taken to support them.
The Committee recognized the advances made under the Prospera programme to realize the rights under the Covenant, but noted that the levels of poverty in this high-income country were unacceptable: 11.4 million out of 121 million people, or ten per cent of the population, still lived in conditions of absolute poverty. In the same vein, while the 2013 National Crusade against Hunger initiative had provided support to 78 per cent of the seven million of the food poor people target population, this meant that there remained 22 per cent of the people who were actually suffering hunger.
The audit of this initiative had revealed that of the 90 programmes, only 61 were active, and there were serious problems of targeting – and coordinating the targeting - those who were effectively food poor. The problem of targeting was common to other federal programmes as well, such as health insurance for female heads of household, food security support or the popular health insurance programme. Were those programmes rights-based, did they clearly identify beneficiaries who had a right to certain forms of support, allowing to claim their rights or compensation before an independent body, and address the cases of mis-targeting as a result of corruption? What was the role of private companies in the implementation of the National Crusade, and what guarantees were in place against the introduction of processed or ultra-processed foods which caused obesity and displaced traditional diets?
Despite the steady economic growth over several decades, persistent and wide income disparities continued, as were best reflected in the nutrition-related statistics: 1.5 million children under the age of five were chronically malnourished and at the same time, over 70 per cent of adults suffered by obesity. It was an urgent imperative to speed up an action to eliminate child under-nourishment, stressed the Expert.
Experts took positive note of the coverage by water supply and sanitation infrastructure, which stand at 94 per cent and 93 per cent respectively, and then stressed the dramatic difference that existed in terms of delivery of services. This problem was especially acute in rural and poorer urban areas where the supply was sporadic, inadequate in both quantity and quality, while maintenance of water supply and waste treatment infrastructure seemed to be poor.
Responses by the Delegation
A delegate said that there were thousands of corruption cases and emphasized that the corrupt officials were being prosecuted and disallowed from taking new official positions.
The mechanism for the protection of human rights defenders and journalists was a federal one and it consisted of both the governmental and civil society representatives. The decisions were usually taken by consensus and anyone feeling threatened could address the mechanism. Financial resources enabling its independent functioning had been provided, leading to the clearly visible progress. Some of the attacks came from organized crime groups and Mexico was further looking into this aspect. The delegate reiterated the President’s strong commitment to resolving the cases of violence against human rights defenders and journalists.
A national programme to support and assist street children had been created, and the issue was also being addressed by the social protection services.
Income disparities were particularly high between states, said a delegate, noting that the difference in income could be tenfold in some instances. Extreme poverty was clearly the biggest issue, especially in the three poorest states. The Prospera programme was built on four pillars: food, health, education, and connections. It was present in all municipalities throughout the country; with the addition of 15 new initiatives, such as empowerment of women, the Prospera was no longer a handout programme but was a programme which aimed to empower. New families were constantly being added to the programme.
Obesity rates were prominent in all age groups, and the root cause was unhealthy diets particularly sugary drinks. The national strategy sought to address the issue, particularly in relation to type two diabetes; it was based on public health, timely medical care and pro-health policy. Healthy eating and physical activity were a crucial segment of the strategy, while the application of higher taxes on the goods that contributed to obesity has proven to be an effective way to address the problem as well.
The question of malnutrition was addressed by the Prospera programme as well, especially related to infants, babies and mothers. The focus was on the first 1,000 days of child’s life and on improving the development of children under the age of three. There were 30 early childhood development centres state-wide.
The root cause of the conflict in Chiapas was access to land, and it displaced people from nine settlements. To date, 65 percent of the population had returned to their places of origin, and were receiving support including food and housing. The victims were provided with additional support. Internally displaced persons were considered victims under the general law on victims of human rights violations, explained the delegation.
Access to safe drinking water and sanitation was a significant problem and a large scale infrastructure projects were needed to reach all the areas of the country. The federal authorities were strongly committed to continue to provide water and sanitation infrastructure for all the territories, however, the local authorities needed to be more involved in the realization of such programmes, especially the rural areas. “Mexico with water” was an awareness campaign that aimed to involve the society at large. The water rates were under the responsibility of the local governments, but federal institutions were broadly involved in helping them tackle the issue. The delegation stressed that 91 percent of the country was covered by the sanitation infrastructure.
Maternal mortality was one of the priorities in the health sector and it was being successfully addressed, as demonstrated by the constant drop in maternal mortality rates. As for the issue of abortion, the delegation noted that groups advocating for a fundamentalist and conservative approach to women’s rights were very active in the country, and said that the State had set up information services for boys and men to combat stereotypes about these rights, including on issue such as abortion. Some improvements had been made, but there was still a lot to do in making everyone aware of their rights concerning abortion.
A national action plan for businesses and human rights had been elaborated with the involvement of various organisations, such as business representatives and the indigenous communities, for example.
Follow-Up Questions and Answers
In a round of follow-up questions, Committee Experts took note with concern that housing for low income groups was being moved to outer areas of cities and asked about the safeguards in place against forced evictions. Another area of concern were strong regional disparities in maternal mortality rates throughout the country. What was being done to reduce morbidity among drug users.
The delegation was also asked about regional and gender discrepancies in school enrolment figures, the priorities regarding the coverage of social security rights, the situation of labour inspection, and the protection of economic, social and cultural rights of families of the 30,000 disappeared persons.
Responding, the delegation reiterated that Mexico was aware of the issues in relation to the location of housing; stressing that houses must be in proximity of jobs and services, the delegate said that measures were being taken to address the issue. The legal framework governing abortion was a great challenge because different states had different laws. The education on sexuality was of utmost importance throughout the country, and the Prospera programme was one of the crucial instruments in making that possible.
In regard to social protection, the priority was given to women and children and there was a national programme to protect all children under the age of five against all types of diseases. Naturally, all age and gender categories were being taken care of as well, but the previously mentioned categories were a priority.
A labour integration policy provided equal opportunity, with the strict implementation of zero tolerance against sexual harassment. There were more than 700 labour inspectors working throughout Mexico.
In relation to the care provided for the families of the disappeared, it was stated that new legislation which recognized direct and indirect victims had been enacted, and it enabled a faster response by the authorities. The families now could directly address the local authorities.
Questions by Committee Experts
Next, the Committee Experts raised concern about inequality in education in the country as well as its quality in the marginal regions. What was being done to remedy that, and to ensure universal access to preschool education? The delegation was also asked about the inclusion of persons with disabilities in mainstream education, and about education and training in indigenous languages, particularly the training of the teaching staff in indigenous languages. What was been done in the education sector to fight extremism?
An Expert pointed out Mexico's unique cultural richness and expressed concern that between 2016 and 2017, the budget for culture was reduced to two per cent, prejudicing the organization of festivities and events, arts and culture targeting diverse groups of an extremely creative population. What was being done to ensure universal access to the Internet?
Responses by the Delegation
Mexico said that the problem in the quality of education was a long-standing one, with changes being introduced to address the problem, particularly over the past five years. The Government was aware that it was truly lagging behind in investment in science, which was due to giving priority to other urgent issues.
The investment in fostering the culture of knowledge and scientific research had been considerably increased. Science development centres had been opened in each of the 32 states to promote scientific research. Additionally, Mexico was focused on strengthening the cooperation with prominent countries in Europe and the world in the area of scientific development. When it came to women’s participation in science, 42 percent of lecturers were women and 70 percent of those were in higher education.
The education system in Mexico was the fifth largest in the world. The 2013 educational reform had prioritized rural and indigenous schools, and had put focus on making the boys and girls aware of who they were and teaching them to work together.
In relation to the equality in education, there were various initiatives to ensure full accessibility and meet the standards related to the inclusion of persons with disabilities, migrants and indigenous populations. Native languages were being introduced in secondary and tertiary education, and ethnic and cultural diversity was promoted also by providing free text books in indigenous mother tongues. Some 75,000 indigenous students had obtained the right to scholarship.
Regarding teaching in indigenous languages, training of teachers had increased the proportion of bilingual teachers to the current rate of 75 per cent, representing a great leap forward from ten years ago. The trainings also covered topics of human rights and dealing with indigenous communities.
Mexico had taken steps to improve access to the Internet, including by introducing the changes to the legal framework to recognize the right to the Internet.
Turning to cultural rights, the delegation said that the focus was on the protection of ethnic diversity, including through the promotion of the use of natural resources and traditional medicine and practices. The national institute for the protection of indigenous languages was working on raising awareness and promoting the use through special radio programmes and printed materials.
The delegation confirmed that budgetary cuts did not undermine the cultural programmes run by the Government. A cultural development with social perspective was being actively promoted, and new cultural centres particularly in areas facing migration problems had been opened.
Concluding Remarks
MIGUEL RUIZ CABAÑAS, Undersecretary for Multilateral Affairs and Human Rights, Secretariat of Foreign Affairs of Mexico, in his closing remarks, thanked all the Committee Members for the opportunity to present the measures Mexico was taking to promote the values of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. During the dialogue, Mexico did not hide its failings or the realities that hurt Mexicans, rather it sought concrete and viable solutions. In that spirit, Mexico reiterated its great resolve to consider all recommendations made by United Nations bodies.
MIKEL MANCISIDOR, Committee Expert and the Rapporteur for Mexico, closed by commending the Mexican delegation on the quality of answers provided, especially the comprehensiveness and the tone, with the notion of bravehood and decency in regard with the problematic issues.
MARIA VIRGINIA BRAS GOMES, Committee Chairperson, also thanked everyone in her closing address with the expectancy to see the delegation in five years for another review, and expressed appreciation for the efforts of Mexico achieving the goals in the 2030 agenda.
For use of the information media; not an official record
CESCR/18/02E