On August 31, the government suspended the two agents for inappropriate conduct. Several indigenous communities denounced the governments plan to build the Mayan Train, an estimated $7.5 billion dual cargo-passenger railroad to cross the Yucatan Peninsula through indigenous lands. In August 2020 attackers fired multiple shots at the building housing the printing facilities of El Diario de Iguala. Children constituted 19 percent of irregular migrant flows identified by authorities; 30 percent of them were unaccompanied. On January 14, community leaders went to the municipal headquarters of Ayutla de los Libres, Guerrero, to urge revocation of Protestant families local property rights for refusing to participate in the construction and servicing of the local Catholic church. Of the 500 legislators in the Chamber of Deputies, 250 were women, 1 percent more than after the 2018 elections. Contribute to chinapedia/wikipedia.en development by creating an account on GitHub. Across the criminal justice system, many actors lacked the necessary training and capacity to carry out their duties fairly and consistently in line with the principle of equal justice. NGOs reported authorities had not implemented programs for community integration. Institutionalized persons with disabilities often lacked adequate medical care and rehabilitation services, privacy, and clothing; they often ate, slept, and bathed in unhygienic conditions. In June President Lopez Obrador announced that forensic scientists at the University of Innsbruck conclusively identified the remains of Jhosivani Guerrero, marking the third body identified of the 43 disappeared students. The National Commission to Prevent and Eradicate Violence against Women is responsible for leading government programs to combat domestic violence. Freedom of Expression for Members of the Press and Media, Including Online Media: Independent media were active and expressed a wide variety of views without restriction but often self-censored due to fear of reprisal. Corruption and Lack of Transparency in Government, Section 5. Sanchez was a reporter for Facebook-based Panorama Pacifico and was in the protection mechanism after suffering an attempt on his life in July 2020. Conflicts arose from the interpretation of indigenous communities self-governing normative systems. Uses and customs laws apply traditional practices to resolve disputes, choose local officials, and collect taxes, with limited federal or state government involvement. If you are traveling for university-related purposes to an area on the University Travel Warning List, you need to follow the instructions below to gain university approval. by . Birth Registration: Children derive citizenship both by birth within the countrys territory and from their parents. Figueroa collaborated with criminal organizations to kidnap the prosecutor general of Ixtapan de la Sal, state of Mexico, and others in 2019, resulting in the death of one of the prosecutor generals bodyguards. There were repeated reports of excessive use of force by police officials when detaining people or policing protests and by members of the National Migration Institute (INM) and the National Guard against migrants. There were some complaints of illegal searches or illegal destruction of private property. Obstacles to accessing international protection related most closely to capacity limitations and lack of coordination between the relevant agencies, as opposed to government policy. The law provides for the freedoms of peaceful assembly and association, and the government generally respected these rights, with some exceptions. According to a 2017 INEGI survey, the most recent information available, 12 percent of women were illegally asked to take a pregnancy test as a prerequisite to being hired. OSAC has developed into an enormously successful joint venture, with U.S. companies and organizations receiving the tools they need to cope with security issues in a . Organized criminal groups dominated migrant smuggling operations and often kidnapped, threatened, and extorted migrants to pay a fee for facilitating northbound travel. Between January and April the Office of the Special Prosecutor for Electoral Crimes in the Attorney Generals Office initiated 14 investigations related to gender-based political violence against women. An additional February reform mandated pretrial detention for femicides, sexual violence against minors, forced disappearances, and corruption. The filtering tool offers the user the ability to fully customize the app and . Use this as a starting point to plan your trip to Mexico and you can be sure you'll have a safe and enjoyable time. Your well-being is our first priority. Southern states reported the lowest access to skilled health care during pregnancy due to geographic, financial, and cultural barriers. According to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, the median salary for full-time female employees was 19 percent less than that of full-time male employees. Defendants may not be compelled to testify or confess guilt. Mexico is a multiparty federal republic with an elected president and bicameral legislature. Also see the Department of Labors Findings on the Worst Forms of Child Labor at https://www.dol.gov/agencies/ilab/resources/reports/child-labor/findings/ as well as the Department of Labors List of Goods Produced by Child Labor or Forced Labor at https://www.dol.gov/agencies/ilab/reports/child-labor/list-of-goods. Six female candidates became governors, the largest number in the history of the country. The guidelines allow internet service providers to deny access to certain applications, content, and services based on commercial criteria, in breach of their obligations to protect neutrality. Federal law prohibits arbitrary arrest and detention and provides for the right of any person to challenge the lawfulness of his or her arrest or detention in court; however, the government sometimes failed to observe these requirements. State commissions do not have uniform reporting requirements, making it difficult to compare state data and therefore compile nationwide statistics. Forced labor persisted in the domestic service and in child-care, manufacturing, mining, food-processing, construction, tourism, begging, street-vending, leather-goods-production, and agriculture sectors, especially in the production of chili peppers and tomatoes. The Catholic Multimedia Center reported that criminal groups harassed priests and other religious leaders in some parts of the country and subjected them to extortion, death threats, and intimidation. On July 14, 10 indigenous men from the Yaqui tribe living in Sonora disappeared while transporting cattle in Bacum. The National Program for the Integral Protection of Children and Adolescents, mandated by law, is responsible for coordinating the protection of childrens rights at all levels of government. Authorities sometimes failed to respect court orders, and arrest warrants were sometimes ignored. Physical Conditions: According to the Federal Prison System, as of June there were 220,393 inmates in 288 state and federal facilities with a designed capacity for 217,064. In February the Attorney Generals Office arrested former Puebla governor Mario Marin and charged him with torturing journalist Lydia Cacho, who exposed Marin and several business leaders involvement in a child sex trafficking ring in 2005. Sometimes family members arranged marriages for girls younger than 18. The Federal Center and the new federal labor courts are designed to handle all matters related to collective bargaining agreements, but until the Federal Center establishes its offices in all the states, labor disputes in states without a Federal Center presence are to be handled by the CABs. Organized criminal groups were implicated in numerous killings, acting with impunity and at times in collusion with corrupt federal, state, local, and security officials. You can add more than one country or area. The National Population Council reported that in 2020 there were 373,661 pregnancies in women younger than age 19 (30 percent above 2019), of which 8,876 were in girls ages 14 or younger. The law states that the principle of gender parity should be observed in the designation of cabinet members, selection of candidates for public office by every political party, and designation of members of the judiciary. The constitution prohibits discrimination based on ethnicity, and a federal law prohibits all forms of discrimination. In June another priest died in a cartel crossfire on the Durango-Zacatecas border. Recent Elections: International observers considered the midterm elections (legislative, gubernatorial, and local) to be generally free and fair, with only minor reports of irregularities. The law describes femicide as a gender-based murder under any of the following seven circumstances: signs of sexual violence, previous violence, emotional connection to the perpetrator, previous threats, harassment history, victim held incommunicado prior to deprivation of life, or victims body exposure in a public place. The constitution allows any person to arrest another if the crime is committed in his or her presence. The CNDHs 2020 National Diagnostic of Penitentiary Supervision reported that state prisons were understaffed and suffered from poor sanitary conditions as well as a lack of separation between those sentenced and those awaiting trial. The CNDH in its report on COVID-19 measures in holding facilities found most detention facilities could not comply with social distancing measures or several other health recommendations due to lack of space, personnel, or equipment. OSAC.GOV: Registered users can receive 100+ monthly security notices, including daily news highlights, upcoming events, analytical reports, embassy/consulate alerts, and city-specific crime and safety reports. The Interior Secretariat registered 224 verbal and physical attacks against journalists in 2020 and a total of 1,052 between 2015 and 2020, 41 percent of which the secretariat attributed to public servants. According to The Yucatan Times, OSAC officials said U.S. citizens heading south of the border should be aware of the rampant crime in Mexico, including the risk of robbery, sexual assault and illegal drug use, even in popular tourist destinations. In October 2020 authorities announced they would release Brenda Quevedo Cruz, who had been in prison without trial since 2007. As of December 2020 the Prosecutor Generals Office reported a total of 2,041 federal investigations underway into disappearances involving approximately 3,400 persons. 21 Feb. osac mexico 2020 crime and safety report. The reforms also establish an expedited and more transparent judicial process for unions to obtain collective bargaining rights. Authorities held some detainees under house arrest. Criminal cases related to such violations were rarely carried out. Access to Asylum: Federal law provides for granting asylum, refugee status, or complementary protection to those fleeing persecution or facing possible threats to their life, security, or liberty in their country of origin; this right was generally respected. President Lopez Obrador condemned the threats, and the Interior Secretariat confirmed that authorities would grant Uresti protection measures. The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, and NGOs expressed concerns regarding arbitrary detention and the potential for it to lead to other human rights abuses. Here then is a recap of key crime and anti-crime events and developments in Mexico in 2020, and of the bleak prospects for 2021. Observers from grassroots labor rights groups, international NGOs, and multinational apparel brands reported that employers in export-oriented supply chains increasingly used hiring methods that lessened job security. The constitution and law prohibit discrimination with respect to employment or occupation. Participation of Women and Members of Minority Groups: No laws limit the participation of women or members of minority groups in the political process, and they did participate. In March attackers shot and killed Father Gumersindo Cortes in Guanajuato. Forced internal displacement disproportionally affected indigenous communities. The government investigated and prosecuted some of these crimes, but the vast majority remained uninvestigated and unprosecuted. This announcement was also reshared on the local news outlet, MyParisTexas. In the first six months of the year, Article 19 registered 362 attacks against journalists and accused public officials of committing 134 of them. A variety of domestic and international human rights groups generally operated without government restriction, investigating and publishing their findings on human rights cases. Although the constitution and law provide for an independent judiciary, court decisions were susceptible to improper influence by both private and public entities, particularly at the state and local level, as well as by transnational criminal organizations. Conditions in prisons and detention centers were often harsh and life threatening. The government increased efforts to target human smuggling organizations. Authorities declared 10 political parties eligible to participate in the midterm elections. Abuses occurred in institutions and care facilities housing persons with mental disabilities, including those for children. The current U.S. Department of State Travel Advisory at the date of this report's publication assesses Peru at Level 2, showing travelers should exercise increased caution. Although authorities generally maintained effective control over the security forces, there were instances in which security force elements acted independently of civilian control. The State Department's Mexico Crime and Safety Report for Merida (OSAC) details that there is very little to no narco-related crime threat in Merida. 03 / Select Countries You can add more than one country or area. The law prohibits minors from working in a broad list of hazardous and unhealthy occupations. As of September authorities made no arrests regarding the 2020 killing of prominent indigenous and environmental rights defender Homero Gomez. Not all public defenders were qualified, however, and often the state public defender system was understaffed. Hundreds of thousands of workers continued to work in foreign-owned factories, mainly in northern border states, producing electronics, medical equipment, and auto parts. Child, Early, and Forced Marriage: The legal minimum marriage age is 18. In July the Mexico City congress passed a law to provide, promote, and protect LGBTQI+ human rights. Most internal affairs units, however, were insufficiently staffed and funded. Office of the Special Envoy for Critical and Emerging Technology, Office of the U.S. Last Update: Reissued with updates to health information. Nevertheless, only 2 percent of schoolteachers in the country were trained to teach children with disabilities, according to the civil society organization Yo Tambien. As of September workers had reviewed and voted on 1,790 collective bargaining agreements, less than 1 percent of the total number of agreements. The reforms provide workers with the right to freely elect union representatives and approve or reject collective bargaining agreements through a secret ballot process before they are registered. There is no single independent oversight mechanism to review police actions, but many federal and state security and justice sector institutions have internal affairs units providing internal supervision and promoting best practices for transparency and accountability. The year started under the shadow of the brutal murders of the . Under the labor reform, to negotiate a collective bargaining agreement, the union must first obtain a certificate of representativeness from the Federal Center demonstrating it has support from at least 30 percent of workers to be covered by the agreement. 10/22/21- (written by rramos)- Justice in Mexico has released the third edition of Organized Crime and Violence in Mexico, coordinated by Laura Y. Caldern, Kimberly Heinle, Rita E. Kuckertz, Octavio Rodrguez Ferreira, and David A. Shirk.Previously titled Drug Violence in Mexico, the release marks the third consecutive year in which the report has been issued under its current name, in . The STPS has the authority to order labor inspections at any time in the event of labor law violations, imminent risk to employees, or workplace accidents. The deadline for unions to amend and register their statutes, originally set to expire in May 2020, was suspended due to COVID-19, reestablished in late 2020, and continued as of November. After the STPS canceled the vote, in May the rapid response mechanism under the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement commenced, and the government agreed to review a denial of freedom of association and collective bargaining rights at the plant, confirming the denial of rights. By law workers may remove themselves from situations that endanger health or safety without jeopardy to their employment. In 2019 the federal government introduced pensions for persons with disabilities in a state of poverty. Indigenous persons in isolated regions reported incidents of forced labor in which cartel members forced them to perform illicit activities or face death. Mexico is a multiparty federal republic with an elected president and bicameral legislature. The Federal Center took over registration functions nationwide on November 3 and was preparing to launch a national union registry to contain all files related to union registration and statutes, collective bargaining agreements, and union financial statements. San Luis Potos, SLP.- San Luis Potos is the second most dangerous city in the country, according to the National Victimization Survey on Public Safety (Envipe) 2021, carried out by INEGI. Posted on 26 Feb in delores winans grandchildren. According to the NGO Freedom House, Researchers continued to document cases of journalists, human rights lawyers, activists, and political figures targeted with Pegasus spy software. The National Migration Institute, under the authority of the Interior Secretariat, is responsible for enforcing migration law. This Standards Bulletin from the Organization of Scientific Area Committees (OSAC) for Forensic Science provides a monthly update on: Standards moving through the OSAC Registry approval processes for published and OSAC Proposed Standards. In 2019 legislators passed a constitutional reform recognizing Afro-Mexicans as an ethnic group. In November 2020 a judge suspended five officials from the Mexico City Prosecutor Generals Office for failing to search for Fatima within 72 hours after she went missing. As of October the Special Unit for the Investigation and Litigation of the Ayotzinapa case had arrested more than 80 suspects, including army captain Jose Martinez Crespo, an Iguala municipal police officer, and the Iguala municipal police chief. In July 2020 the Supreme Court agreed to analyze the case but as of August 23 had not issued a ruling. As a result the number of pretrial detainees increased 25 percent since 2018, and pretrial detainees comprised 40 percent of all prisoners, according to government figures. In response to a 2020 civil society organization lawsuit, a Mexico City court ruled authorities must implement COVID-19 detection and preventive health protocols for detainees and their families in prisons in Mexico City and psychiatric wards nationwide.