Mexico: UN Human Rights Chief Concerned About Expansion Of Mandatory Pretrial Detention

GENEVA (22 November 2024) – UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk today expressed concern about a proposed constitutional reform in Mexico that expands the scope of crimes subject to mandatory pretrial detention.

The reform, part of a series of constitutional amendments either already adopted or under review, wasapproved on 13 November by the Chamber of Deputies and is now being reviewed by the Senate. It adds offences such as extortion, smuggling, and certain drug-related crimes to the list of charges where pretrial detention is automatic.

“Automatic pretrial detention runs counter to core human rights principles,” Türk said. “Pretrial detention should not be a general practice but be based on an individual determination by a judicial authority that the circumstances of each case justify such detention.”

International bodies, such as the Human Rights Committee and the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, have repeatedly recommended the elimination of mandatory pretrial detention from legislation and practice in Mexico. In 2023, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights ruled that the practice is contrary to the American Convention on Human Rights and mandated Mexico to adapt its legal system.

“Mexico faces various challenges in terms of security and access to justice, but widening the use of mandatory pretrial detention is not the answer,” the High Commissioner said. “Instead, it is important to focus on strengthening the capacity of prosecutors to gather evidence and demonstrate the necessity and proportionality of pretrial detention before a judicial authority on a case-by-case basis, with alternatives to deprivation of liberty,” he added.

While recent constitutional reforms that aim at strengthening women’s rights, gender equality and the rights of Indigenous People and Afro-Mexicans are welcome, a number of other amendments raise serious human rights concerns, the High Commissioner said.

Wide-ranging judicial reform adopted in September includes the popular election of judges, the early termination of existing judicial mandates and the creation of a newly established Judicial Disciplinary Tribunal with broad powers. “In combination, these provisions risk seriously undermining the independence of the judiciary, and its ability effectively to uphold the rule of law,” Türk said. The reform’s introduction of “faceless” judges to rule anonymously on organised crime cases raises further concerns in relation to open and transparent public administration of justice, and wider rights to due fair trial.

“I call on Mexican decision-makers to halt the proposed amendment expanding the scope of automatic pretrial detention, and to ensure the country’s legislation is fully in line with its international human rights obligations,” he said.

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