Amnesty International's Public Statement about Atenco

Amnesty International
Public Statement
17 February 2009
AMR 41/008/2009

Mexican Supreme Court’s resolution on Atenco– the route to justice?

Amnesty International welcomes the Supreme Court’s acknowledged that serious human rights
violations were committed in San Salvador Atenco in May 2006 and its call for extended
investigations to establish criminal responsibility of those directly implicated. It is now imperative
that the government of President Felipe Calderón takes responsibility for guaranteeing justice and
compensation for the victims in the Atenco case.
The Supreme Court resolution comes two years after opening a non-jurisdictional investigation into
the police operation to quell a demonstration in San Salvador Atenco on 3 and 4 May 2006. The
operation resulted in the detention of more than 200 people and hundreds of allegations of
abuses, including sexual violence used as a form of torture against more than 26 women who
were arrested. Those responsible for the abuses have not been brought to justice and the victims
have not received any compensation.
In addition, Amnesty International believes that the Supreme Court resolution, in dismissing the
alleged responsibility of senior state and federal officials, fails to meet Mexico’s obligations under
international human rights law. According to international conventional law, Mexico is required to
investigate state officials suspected of ordering, instigating or inciting the use of torture or carrying
it out directly, as well as those who are in a position to prevent it and fail to do so.
The resolution appears to ignore the valuable work of the investigative commission and the report
presented to the plenary of justices by Justice Gudiño which concluded that even when there is
no evidence that senior officials ordered police to commit human rights violations, they may be
implicated by their failure to stop violations once they were aware of them taking place and by
their complete failure to ensure effective and credible investigations into the abuses. These two
principles are consistent with determining command responsibility under international human
rights law and must be upheld by those conducting the criminal investigations.
Amnesty International also regrets that the ruling does not acknowledge the quality and quantity of
evidence gathered by the investigating commission to establish human rights violations as
recognised in international treaties, such as torture. Rather, the court only refers to violations of
individual guarantees, and does not explicitly recognise the international treaties which are
binding on the Mexican State.
Furthermore, the organisation is concerned by the inclusion in the resolution of a proposal to draw
up general criteria on use of force by the State solely on the basis of constitutional principles of
legality, efficiency, professionalism and honesty. If situations such as Atenco are to be avoided in
the future, it is essential that these procedures are developed and implemented on the basis of
the international standards referred to in Justice Gudiño’s report, including proportionality,
necessity and accountability.
Despite the limitations of the Court’s resolutions, Amnesty International believes that President
Calderón’s government must show leadership in ensuring that criminal investigations are carried
out impartially and effectively into all those responsible for the human rights violations. Only a
commitment at the highest level will be enough to ensure justice, truth and reparations for all the
victims, from the women who suffered torture, including sexual violence, to those who have been
sentenced in unfair trials.
Background Information
On 3 and 4 May 2006 more than 2,500 federal, state and municipal police officers took part in an
operation to quell protests led by the peasant organisation, the Peoples’ Front for the Defence of
the Land (FPDT), in Texcoco and San Salvador Atenco, in the State of Mexico. The police
operation resulted in 207 detentions, the deaths of two people, dozens of protesters and police
being injured and several police officers being held hostage. In its report Violence against women
and justice denied in Mexico State (AMR 41/02/2006) Amnesty International documented the
sexual violence suffered by the women who were detained. In February 2007, in accepting Justice
Gudiño’s request to open an enquiry, the Supreme Court was exercising its constitutional authority
to order an investigation into “events which constitute a violation of any individual guarantee