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27 September 1999
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HR/CRC/99/47
27 September 1999
COMMITTEE ON RIGHTS OF CHILD CONCLUDES CONSIDERATION
OF REPORT OF MEXICO
Mexican Government officials told the Committee on the Rights of the Child this afternoon that they had no knowledge of the deaths of any children as a result of Mexican military operations in the conflict zone of Chiapas.
That remark came as the Committee concluded consideration of a second periodic report of Mexico on how that country was implementing the Convention on the Rights of the Child. The delegation said that while it was true that during events in Acteal in the state of Chiapas on December 22, 1997, eighteen children had died and eleven more had been injured, the incident was not ascribed to members of the Mexican army but to a violent clash among members of the community over political and ideological differences.
Formal conclusions and recommendations on the Mexican report will be issued in writing towards the end on 8 October of the Committee's three-week autumn session.
Discussion over the course of the afternoon centred on the general topics of family environment and alternative care; basic health and welfare; education, leisure and cultural activities; and special protection measures.
As one of 191 States parties to the Convention on the Rights of the Child, Mexico is obligated to submit periodic reports on efforts to improve the situation of the country’s children. Government delegations generally appear before the panel to discuss these reports and to answer questions.
The delegation of Mexico consisted of Eleazar Ruiz y Avila, Director-General of Human Rights of the Secretariat for External Relations of Mexico, who served as Head of delegation; Alicia Elena Perez Duarte y Norona, Advisor at the Permanent Mission of Mexico to the United Nations Office at Geneva; Elba Cardenas Miranda, Deputy Director-General of Family Development for the National Social Assistance System; and Norma Patricia Sanchez Regalado, Deputy Director-General of Basic Education for the Secretariat of Public Education.
When the Committee reconvenes at 10 a.m. Tuesday, 28 September, it will take up an initial report of Mali.
Discussion
In response to a number of questions raised this morning and afternoon, the Mexican delegation said, among other things, that while conducting censuses, the Government applied a non-discriminatory method which considered all the population as one people. Citing who spoke which indigenous language or was registered as belonging to a particular indigenous or ethnic group might be considered discriminatory.
Mexico had hosted 43,000 refugees from Guatemala before democracy was reborn in that country following a peace agreement which prompted many of refugees to return home, the delegation said. Among the refugees, the situation of 22,000 Guatemalans had been regularized. During the period in which the Guatemalan refugees had remained in Mexico, 13,000 children had been born. The Government had encouraged the acquisition of Mexican nationality for those persons through naturalization.
Concerning the State of Chiapas, members of the Mexican delegation said they had no knowledge of the deaths of any children as a result of Mexican military operations in the conflict zone. While it was true that during events in Acteal on December 22, 1997, eighteen children died and eleven more were injured, the incident was not ascribed to members of the Mexican army but to a violent clash among members of the community over political and ideological differences.
The delegation also said that Mexican armed forces did not carry out any anti-insurgency operations in any part of the national territory. Any military presence in the state of Chiapas was, among other reasons, in response to the prevailing situation in that state, where a violent uprising had existed since the beginning of 1994. As there were no clashes nor confrontations between the insurgents and the armed forces owing to the cease-fire declared by the federal Government, children were not exposed to the impact resulting from any armed conflict, the delegation said.
A question was asked if privacy of students was respected in schools, to which the delegation said that particularly in the border states, a campaign of "school bag operations" had been carried out to fight drug trafficking and arms smuggling into schools. School bags were searched to prevent hidden drugs, knives or firearms sometimes carried by children on behalf of adults who traded drugs across the borders. The officials did not consider the measure as violating the privacy of children.
Over the past four years, considerable progress had been made in achieving education goals; resources and decision-making had been transferred to the states under a system promoted and put into effect by the federal government; and 9 out of 10 children who enrolled in elementary school had already had at least one year of preschool education, the delegation said. It was estimated that 90 per cent of young Mexicans reached the age of 15 having completed elementary school, said the delegation.
Drug abuse had spread to almost all social groups and it was regarded as a major public health problem; a national programme of action with respect to child drug addiction was intended to combat and reduce the fundamental causes which led to substance use and abuse by providing institutional and prevention services, said the delegation.
Infant mortality in Mexico had decreased considerably, including in states with highly rural populations such as Chiapas and Oaxaca, the delegation said. Between 1990 and 1997, child mortality had fallen by an average of 35 per cent, preventing some 175,735 deaths among children under the age of 5.
No statistics were available about the rate of suicide among the youth since 1993; however, the national council on population operated a "Youth to Youth" programme in which young persons with suicidal tendencies spoke with other youths, the delegation said. In addition, since there was no legal basis for school punishment, teachers were provided training courses on the issue and changes were being introduced in the schools. Nevertheless, one Committee member wondered why the State party did not explicitly prohibit the practice of corporal punishment in schools and elsewhere.
27 September 1999
COMMITTEE ON RIGHTS OF CHILD CONCLUDES CONSIDERATION
OF REPORT OF MEXICO
Mexican Government officials told the Committee on the Rights of the Child this afternoon that they had no knowledge of the deaths of any children as a result of Mexican military operations in the conflict zone of Chiapas.
That remark came as the Committee concluded consideration of a second periodic report of Mexico on how that country was implementing the Convention on the Rights of the Child. The delegation said that while it was true that during events in Acteal in the state of Chiapas on December 22, 1997, eighteen children had died and eleven more had been injured, the incident was not ascribed to members of the Mexican army but to a violent clash among members of the community over political and ideological differences.
Formal conclusions and recommendations on the Mexican report will be issued in writing towards the end on 8 October of the Committee's three-week autumn session.
Discussion over the course of the afternoon centred on the general topics of family environment and alternative care; basic health and welfare; education, leisure and cultural activities; and special protection measures.
As one of 191 States parties to the Convention on the Rights of the Child, Mexico is obligated to submit periodic reports on efforts to improve the situation of the country’s children. Government delegations generally appear before the panel to discuss these reports and to answer questions.
The delegation of Mexico consisted of Eleazar Ruiz y Avila, Director-General of Human Rights of the Secretariat for External Relations of Mexico, who served as Head of delegation; Alicia Elena Perez Duarte y Norona, Advisor at the Permanent Mission of Mexico to the United Nations Office at Geneva; Elba Cardenas Miranda, Deputy Director-General of Family Development for the National Social Assistance System; and Norma Patricia Sanchez Regalado, Deputy Director-General of Basic Education for the Secretariat of Public Education.
When the Committee reconvenes at 10 a.m. Tuesday, 28 September, it will take up an initial report of Mali.
Discussion
In response to a number of questions raised this morning and afternoon, the Mexican delegation said, among other things, that while conducting censuses, the Government applied a non-discriminatory method which considered all the population as one people. Citing who spoke which indigenous language or was registered as belonging to a particular indigenous or ethnic group might be considered discriminatory.
Mexico had hosted 43,000 refugees from Guatemala before democracy was reborn in that country following a peace agreement which prompted many of refugees to return home, the delegation said. Among the refugees, the situation of 22,000 Guatemalans had been regularized. During the period in which the Guatemalan refugees had remained in Mexico, 13,000 children had been born. The Government had encouraged the acquisition of Mexican nationality for those persons through naturalization.
Concerning the State of Chiapas, members of the Mexican delegation said they had no knowledge of the deaths of any children as a result of Mexican military operations in the conflict zone. While it was true that during events in Acteal on December 22, 1997, eighteen children died and eleven more were injured, the incident was not ascribed to members of the Mexican army but to a violent clash among members of the community over political and ideological differences.
The delegation also said that Mexican armed forces did not carry out any anti-insurgency operations in any part of the national territory. Any military presence in the state of Chiapas was, among other reasons, in response to the prevailing situation in that state, where a violent uprising had existed since the beginning of 1994. As there were no clashes nor confrontations between the insurgents and the armed forces owing to the cease-fire declared by the federal Government, children were not exposed to the impact resulting from any armed conflict, the delegation said.
A question was asked if privacy of students was respected in schools, to which the delegation said that particularly in the border states, a campaign of "school bag operations" had been carried out to fight drug trafficking and arms smuggling into schools. School bags were searched to prevent hidden drugs, knives or firearms sometimes carried by children on behalf of adults who traded drugs across the borders. The officials did not consider the measure as violating the privacy of children.
Over the past four years, considerable progress had been made in achieving education goals; resources and decision-making had been transferred to the states under a system promoted and put into effect by the federal government; and 9 out of 10 children who enrolled in elementary school had already had at least one year of preschool education, the delegation said. It was estimated that 90 per cent of young Mexicans reached the age of 15 having completed elementary school, said the delegation.
Drug abuse had spread to almost all social groups and it was regarded as a major public health problem; a national programme of action with respect to child drug addiction was intended to combat and reduce the fundamental causes which led to substance use and abuse by providing institutional and prevention services, said the delegation.
Infant mortality in Mexico had decreased considerably, including in states with highly rural populations such as Chiapas and Oaxaca, the delegation said. Between 1990 and 1997, child mortality had fallen by an average of 35 per cent, preventing some 175,735 deaths among children under the age of 5.
No statistics were available about the rate of suicide among the youth since 1993; however, the national council on population operated a "Youth to Youth" programme in which young persons with suicidal tendencies spoke with other youths, the delegation said. In addition, since there was no legal basis for school punishment, teachers were provided training courses on the issue and changes were being introduced in the schools. Nevertheless, one Committee member wondered why the State party did not explicitly prohibit the practice of corporal punishment in schools and elsewhere.