National Human Rights Commission (Mexico)
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The National Human Rights Commission ( es, Comisión Nacional de los Derechos Humanos; CNDH) is the
national human rights institution A national human rights institution (NHRI) is an independent state-based institution with the responsibility to broadly protect and promote human rights in a given country. The growth of such bodies has been encouraged by the Office of the United ...
(NHRI) accredited at the
United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...
with "A" status by the International Co-ordinating Committee of NHRIs (the ICC). It is also a voting member of the
International Ombudsman Institute The International Ombudsman Institute (IOI), established in 1978, is the only global organisation for the cooperation of more than 200 independent Ombudsman institutions operating on a local, regional and national level from more than 100 countri ...
(the IOI), and its president thus is considered as the national
ombudsman An ombudsman (, also ,), ombud, ombuds, ombudswoman, ombudsperson or public advocate is an official who is usually appointed by the government or by parliament (usually with a significant degree of independence) to investigate complaints and at ...
for Mexico. It is a member of the
Network of National Institutions in the Americas The Network of National Institutions in the Americas is one of four regional groups of national human rights institutions (NHRIs) within the global network, the International Co-ordinating Committee of NHRIs (the ICC). The Americas group, which la ...
, one of four regional groups within the ICC. The Commission is a public institution that enjoys judicial, organizational and functional autonomy from the federal government. Since November 16, 2019, the President of the CNDH has been María del Rosario Piedra Ibarra.


History

On February 13, 1989, the
Interior Ministry An interior ministry (sometimes called a ministry of internal affairs or ministry of home affairs) is a government department that is responsible for internal affairs. Lists of current ministries of internal affairs Named "ministry" * Ministry ...
''(Secretaría de Gobernación)'' created the "General Human Rights Department" as a wholly dependent office within the ministry's structure. On June 6, 1990, by presidential decree, the General Human Rights Department was renamed the "National Human Rights Commission" and gained full autonomy from its parent ministry. It was not until 1990, after some constitutional reforms, that the National Human Rights Commission became fully independent of the government.


Presidents of the CNDH

Presidents of the CNDH were originally designated by the President of the Republic. Since 1999 the President of the CNDH has been appointed by the
Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...
. The President of the National Human Rights Commission exercises the legal representation of the Agency and is responsible for formulating the general guidelines for administrative activities and issuing specific measures deemed appropriate for the best performance of the agency's functions. To be President of the National Human Rights Commission, one must be Mexican by birth, in full exercise of their political and civil rights, be over 35 years old, have a good reputation, and not have been convicted for a crime that deserves jail time. In the exercise of their They may not hold any other position, employment, or commission in the federal government, the states, municipalities, in private organizations, or in the performance of their profession, except for academic activities. The Presidents of the CNDH to date have been:


Border Controversy 2006

In January 2006 the CNDH, in collaboration with the US-based Humane Borders, planned to distribute 70,000 border maps to aid immigrants attempting to cross the US–Mexico border illegally. This action was cause for serious concern in the US government, especially in the department of Homeland Security. The CNDH eventually, in response to allegations that such maps would also lead anti-illegal immigration groups such as the
Minuteman Project The Minuteman Project is an organization which was founded in the United States in August 2004 by a group of private individuals who sought to extrajudicially monitor the United States–Mexico border's flow of illegal immigrants. Founded by J ...
to common border crossings, dropped the program. While Humane Borders and the CNDH were attempting to distribute the maps in an effort to prevent the hundreds of injuries and deaths that occur along the border every year, many groups within the United States objected to this as an attempt to encourage undocumented immigration. Human rights and humanitarian aid groups claimed that the maps were not meant to encourage new immigration but were instead meant to ensure the safety of those individuals that would normally cross the border without a map. The maps, which are still available digitally for download, plot out the placement of rescue beacons and water stations along popular migrant paths. They also map out the high number of recorded deaths to visually show how the waters stations help mitigate the loss of life. Along with the maps, the organization also created migrant warning posters titled ''"Don't Do It! It's Hard! There's Not Enough Water!"'', which are widely distributed along the Mexican side of the border. These posters, aimed at prospective migrants, highlight in stark terms the dangers of illegal crossings on foot through the desert, despite what smugglers might tell them. The posters give the estimated walking times from entry points and also mark the sites of water stations and recorded deaths.


Controversy 2019

On the third vote, taken November 7, 2019, María del Rosario Piedra Ibarra, daughter of
Rosario Ibarra María del Rosario Ibarra de la Garza (24 February 1927 – 16 April 2022), also known by her marital name Rosario Ibarra de Piedra, was an activist and prominent figure in the politics of Mexico. She was a presidential candidate and was the se ...
, a long-time human rights activist, was elected by the Senate of the Republic as President of the National Human Rights Commission. Out of 114 votes cast, Piedra Ibarra had 76 (66.67%), Arturo Peimbert had 24, José de Jesús Orozco Henríquez had 8, and there were six abstentions. Members of the National Action Party insisted that Rosario Piedra Ibarra should not be allowed to be sworn in as president of the Commission since they should count 116 votes, including two emitted on behalf of senators who were absent. A video of Senator Xóchitl Gálvez using violence on November 13 to prevent Ibarra's swearing in circulates on social media. Rosario Piedra Ibarra was sworn in as president of the National Human Rights Commission on November 13. Alberto Manuel Athie Gallo, another member of the National Human Rights Commission, resigned in protest. Four female councilors resigned on November 14. On February 28, 2020, it was revealed that Piedra Ibarra would receive MXN $159,227.83 monthly, some $5,000 more than what her predecessor, Luis Raúl González Pérez, received and $51,000 more than President
Andrés Manuel López Obrador Andrés Manuel López Obrador (; born 13 November 1953), also known by his initials AMLO, is a Mexican politician who has been serving as the 65th president of Mexico since 1 December 2018. He previously served as Head of Government of Mexico ...
, despite a law that prohibits any government employee from earning more than the president. Despite the official policy of austerity, other top officials will also be paid more than López Obrador.Piedra Ibarra's salary more than her predecessor's and that of López Obrador
Excelsior, 28 Feb 2020


CNDH Consultative Council

The CNDH has a ten-member council, who are appointed by the Senate. The Council is responsible for establishing the CNDH's general guidelines, approving the commission's internal rules and overseeing its budget. The two senior members are to be replaced every year unless ratified for a second term. The members of the Council (November 2019) are: *Luis Raúl González Pérez, President (until November 15, 2019) *Joaquín Narro Lobo, Technical Secretary *Mariclaire Acosta Urquidi (Resigned November 14, 2019). *María Ampudia González (Resigned November 14, 2019). *Alberto Manuel Athié Gallo. *Michael William Chamberlin Ruiz. *Dr. Angélica Cuéllar Vázquez (Resigned November 14, 2019). *Dr. Mónica González Contró. *Dr. David Kershenobich Stalnikowitz. *Carmen Moreno Toscano. *María Olga Noriega Sáenz (Resigned November 14, 2019). *Dr. José de Jesús Orozco Henríquez.


See also

*
Inter-American Commission on Human Rights The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (the IACHR or, in the three other official languages Spanish, French, and Portuguese CIDH, ''Comisión Interamericana de los Derechos Humanos'', ''Commission Interaméricaine des Droits de l'Homme'', ...
*
Inter-American Court of Human Rights The Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACHR or IACtHR) is an international court based in San José, Costa Rica. Together with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, it was formed by the American Convention on Human Rights, a huma ...
General: *
Human rights in Mexico Human Rights in Mexico refers to moral principles or normsJames Nickel, with assistance from Thomas Pogge, M.B.E. Smith, and Leif Wenar, December 13, 2013, Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyHuman Rightsp, Retrieved August 14, 2014 that describe c ...


References


External links

*{{in lang, es}
CNDH website
Human rights organizations based in Mexico National human rights institutions 1989 establishments in Mexico