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Mexico: Rights Commission Distorts HRW Report
17 Apr 2008 23:53:48 GMT
Source: Human Rights Watch
(Mexico City, April 17, 2008) – Mexico's National Human Rights Commission undermines its own credibility by distorting the findings of a Human Rights Watch report, Human Rights Watch said today. The commission's claim that it found "48 errors" in the report does not withstand scrutiny and it is a blatant tactic to sidestep the critical issues of its effectiveness. On March 12, 2008, the National Human Rights Commission (CNDH) responded to Human Rights Watch's report, "Mexico's National Human Rights Commission: A Critical Assessment." Top CNDH officials had already publicly denounced the HRW report when it was released in February, claiming that it contained "45 lies" or "more than 45 errors." The commission's written response, which was approved by its advisory council, purports to substantiate these claims by detailing "48 errors" in the report.

"The commission's response is a sad attempt to deflect attention from its ineffectiveness," said José Miguel Vivanco, Americas director at Human Rights Watch. "Instead of taking the opportunity to learn from constructive criticism and use it to help victims of rights abuses, the commission resorts to distortions and specious arguments to dismiss it."

The CNDH response attempts to substantiate its claim of having found "48 errors" by: Human Rights Watch has found only four instances in which the CNDH identifies phrases or passages in the report that are to some extent imprecise. However, none of these minor inaccuracies affect the overall conclusion or any of the factual findings of the report.

"The commission can distort its critics' views, but those criticisms aren't going away," said Vivanco. "Eventually the commission will have to take them more seriously if it's at all interested in having a more meaningful impact on human rights in Mexico."


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A Mexican soldier stands guard in the border city of Ciudad Juarez, Mexico April 10, 2008. Hundreds of camouflage-clad Mexican troops patrolled in Ciudad Juarez to quell a surge in drug ...



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