HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR HUMAN RIGHTS EXPRESSES MOUNTING CONCERN ABOUT SITUATION IN CHIAPAS, MEXICO

HR/98/38
12 June 1998


The following is a statement by Mrs. Mary Robinson, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, on the human rights situation in Chiapas, Mexico.

'I have been following with mounting concern the situation of human rights in the Chiapas region of Mexico. News reports and almost daily submissions from representatives of indigenous groups and non-governmental organizations indicate an alarming deterioration over the past several days.

These reports paint a grim picture of an atmosphere of fear among the indigenous people of Chiapas caught between government forces supported by officially funded militias on one side and armed resistance groups on the other. Such conflict does not serve the interests of anyone.

The deaths of nine people in what has been reported as an action by government forces in the town of San Juan de la Libertad this week is just the latest in a string of violent incidents in a region already affected by widespread displacement, dispossession and severe poverty.

These are serious violations of the rights of indigenous people. As High Commissioner and as the United Nations' Coordinator for the International Decade of the World's Indigenous People, I appeal to the Government of Mexico to look urgently at ways of restoring dialogue with communities in Chiapas. A reduction in the military presence in the region could be an important first step in restoring confidence that a peaceful solution might be found. This would also contribute to improving the current climate of fear.

The Office of the High Commissioner is prepared to assist the Government in meeting its obligations under the international covenants and other human rights treaties it has ratified including International Labour Office Convention 169 of 1989 on Indigenous and Tribal Peoples. We would also welcome opportunities to assist civil society organisations active in promoting respect for human rights as an essential condition for improving the lives of people in Chiapas.'