JOSE ANTONIO MEADE: MEXICO IS OPEN TO INTERNATIONAL SCRUTINY ON HUMAN RIGHTS

• Mexico is participating in the 22nd session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, Switzerland.

• Human rights are at the heart of any public policy aimed at economic and social development.

Today in Geneva during his participation in the high-level segment of the 22nd session of the Human Rights Council (HRC), Foreign Secretary José Antonio Meade Kuribreña said today that President Enrique Peña Nieto's administration fully believes in maintaining a policy of openness to international scrutiny on human rights.

Meade explained that President Peña Nieto’s agenda has three main areas of focus. First, in order to strengthen public policy in human rights as well as the institutions involved, the Mexican government—with the assistance of civil society—will design a new National Human Rights Program In addition, the Mexican government is strengthening the Mechanism to Protect Human Rights Defenders and Journalists and has begun to restructure the National Migration Institute (INM) in order to be assured of having the best tools for ensuring immigrant’s rights.

Second, Mexico is going further with the process of legislative harmonization so that the nation’s legal framework is consistent with its international obligations on human rights.

The third area of focus is foreign policy on human rights. He said that Mexico will maintain a policy of openness and an ongoing and constructive dialogue with the universal and regional agencies involved in the issue.

Foreign Secretary Meade said that the three most important political parties in Mexico made a national commitment in agreeing on the Pact for Mexico that includes a commitment to strengthening legislation for addressing the needs of victims, the rights of migrants and indigenous peoples, the legitimate use of force, the fight against torture and the disappearance of individuals, so that human rights are at the heart of any public policy aimed at economic and social development.

Regarding strengthening Mexico's relationship with the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, Meade reported that this would result from a new cooperation agreement that sets guidelines for the future work of the representation office in Mexico.  

Regarding the HRC’s performance, the Foreign Secretary said that it should become one of the three pillars that support the United Nations. It should aspire to spearhead change and not simply to follow events. He noted that the HRC should react in a timely fashion to cases of human rights violations, expand its cooperation for all countries and not succumb to over-regulation.

Lastly, the Foreign Secretary pledged that, in the spirit of cooperation that characterizes the UN HRC, Mexico will take action on three levels: it will reaffirm human rights as a State policy; assist the board in effectively addressing its challenges, both political as well as institutional and regulatory; and expand its support for sharing experiences and lessons learned by the other Member States.

During this first trip to Europe, Jose Antonio Meade will hold bilateral meetings with his counterparts that are participating in the HRC High Level Segment and promote the candidacy of Herminio Blanco for the post of Director-General of the World Trade Organization (WTO).

On the first day of his trip, Foreign Secretary Meade met with the following heads of international organizations: Navi Pillay, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights; Guy Ryder, Director General of the International Labour Organization; and William Swing, Director General of the International Organization for Migration. Foreign Secretary Meade thanked all of them and applauded the excellent state of current cooperation, urging them to continue working to find areas in which more can be done to continue strengthening the relationship of their organizations with Mexico.

Foreign Secretary Meade also held bilateral meetings with his counterparts from Brazil, Vietnam, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and the Deputy Foreign Minister of Paraguay, as well as with the Spanish Secretary of State for International Cooperation and Latin America, to review the bilateral relationship and to further strengthen the political dialogue at the highest level, as well as ties of cooperation.

Foreign Secretary Meade is accompanied on this trip by Ambassador Juan Manuel Gómez Robledo, Undersecretary for Multilateral Affairs and Human Rights, and Ambassador Juan Jose Gomez Camacho, Mexico's Permanent Representative to the International Organizations in Geneva.