IV
106TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. CON. RES. 350
Expressing the sense of the Congress with regard to political repression
of foreign observers in Mexico.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
JUNE 8, 2000
Mr. DEFAZIO (for himself, Mr KUCINICH, Ms. MCKINNEY, Mr. SANDERS, Ms.
LEE, Mr. OLVER, Mr. NADLER, Mr. WAXMAN, Mr. LANTOS, Mrs.
MORELLA, Mr. DELAHUNT, Mr. PORTER, Mr. CAPUANO, Mr. STARK, Ms.
PELOSI, Mr. LIPINSKI, Ms. HOOLEY of Oregon, Mr. PAYNE, Mr. ENGEL,
Ms. KAPTUR, Ms. DEGETTE, Mr. UDALL of Colorado, Mr. MCGOVERN,
Mr. OBERSTAR, Mr. RUSH, Mr. MINGE, Mr. EVANS, and Mr. CONYERS)
submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was referred to the
Committee on International Relations
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
Expressing the sense of the Congress with regard to political
repression of foreign observers in Mexico.
Whereas Mexico has ratified 45 international agreements on
human rights, including—
(1) the United Nations’ six principal agreements on
Human Rights—
(A) the International Covenant on Civil and Po-
litical Rights;
(B) the International Covenant on Economic,
Social and Cultural Rights;
(C) the Convention Against Torture;
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(D) the Convention for the Elimination of Ra-
cial Discrimination;
(E) the Convention for the Elimination of All
Forms of Discrimination Against Women; and
(F) the Convention on the Rights of the Child;
and
(2) the two principals of the Organization of Amer-
ican States—
(A) the American Convention on Human
Rights; and
(B) the Additional Protocol to the American
Convention on Human Rights in the material of
Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights known as the
San Salvador Protocol;
Whereas United Nations Rapporteur Asma Jahangir stated
in a February 9, 2000, press interview regarding Mexico,
‘‘Although the problem of extrajudicial executions and
impunity may be more notorious in Guerrero and
Chiapas, it exists throughout the country’’;
Whereas state-sponsored political violence in southern Mexico
has been characterized by both constant repression and
sporadic outbursts of bloodshed, including the torture
and execution of—
(1) 8 indigenous people in Chabajeval and Union
Progreso, El Bosque, Chiapas, on June 10, 1998;
(2) 11 indigenous people in El Charco, Guerrero, on
June 7, 1998;
(3) 45 indigenous people—mostly women and chil-
dren—in Acteal on December 22, 1997; and
(4) 17 indigenous people in Aguas Blancas, Guer-
rero, on June 28, 1995;
Whereas despite Mexican Government claims to the contrary,
the systemic abuses that led to the massacres of Acteal,
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Aguas Blancas, El Charco, and El Bosque remain judi-
cially unresolved, since those in positions of command re-
sponsibility remain at large;
Whereas systemic gross human rights violations continue, in-
cluding most recently the murders of one person on Jan-
uary 13, 2000, and three other indigenous people on Feb-
ruary 2, 2000, from the community of Chabajeval in El
Bosque;
Whereas displaced war refugees in Chiapas total more than
20,000;
Whereas the harassment, kidnapping, torture, imprisonment,
and murder of Mexican human rights defenders con-
tinues;
Whereas it is internationally accepted that the presence of
human rights observers serves to deter violence and re-
duce its severity against civilian populations;
Whereas the Sub-commission on Prevention of Discrimination
and Protection of Minorities of the United Nations Com-
mission on Human Rights passed a resolution on August
20, 1998, expressing concern that ‘‘developments in the
human rights situation in Mexico are becoming more and
more disturbing, particularly as far as the indigenous
populations are concerned’’;
Whereas the United Nations Sub-commission requested that
Mexican authorities ‘‘ensure full respect for the inter-
national instruments to which Mexico is party’’, including
attaching the highest priority ‘‘to promoting the action of
human rights defenders and guaranteeing their safety’’;
Whereas the 1999 edition of the State Department Human
Rights Report on Mexico notes that ‘‘continued serious
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abuses include . . . assaults, harassment, and threats
against human rights monitors’’;
Whereas foreign observers in southern Mexico are present in
indigenous communities at the invitation of those commu-
nities and local nongovernmental human rights and civic
organizations;
Whereas since 1995, the Mexican Government has expelled
over 400 foreigners from the State of Chiapas alone,
mainly because of their involvement in human rights ob-
servation;
Whereas a Mexican Supreme Court decision of September
1999 found the National Institute of Immigration’s de-
portation of the director of the Mexico Solidarity Net-
work, Tom Hansen, to be illegal, in defiance of which the
National Institute of Immigration subsequently re-ex-
pelled Mr. Hansen in absentia;
Whereas the Inter-American Court ruled the expulsion of Fa-
ther Loren Riebe—deported June 22, 1995—who had
spent 30 years serving in the Diocese of San Cristo´bal
de las Casas, to be illegal in a decision that the Mexican
Government refuses to recognize, despite its earlier com-
mitment to abide by it;
Whereas other cases in judicial review include those of—
(1) Travis Loller, who was sexually assaulted by po-
lice in the course of her deportation on April 10, 1998;
(2) Peter Brown, director of the Schools for
Chiapas, who was deported on July 24, 1998; and
(3) Kerry Appel, director of the Human Bean Co.,
expelled in January 2000;
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Whereas 43 foreigners were cited, and most expelled, in Jan-
uary 2000 for visiting the indigenous community of
Oventic;
Whereas in 1998 the National Institute of Immigration of
Mexico implemented severe restrictions that prevent ef-
fective human rights observation in southern Mexico; and
Whereas in January 2000, the National Institute of Immigra-
tion implemented additional restrictions on access to
visas, including for human rights observation and other
unspecified activities, restrictions which fall outside of
internationally established norms: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate
concurring), That the Congress—
(1) strongly encourages the Mexican Govern-
ment to facilitate the presence of foreign human
rights observers in Mexico without restrictions that
prevent these observers from effectively carrying out
human rights observation;
(2) urges the Department of State and the
United States Embassy in Mexico to clarify with
Mexican authorities current law concerning human
rights observers, entrance requirements, and restric-
tions on those observers’ activities and movements;
(3) urges the Mexican Government to respect
internationally established norms for freedom of
transit and freedom of association for foreigners vis-
iting Mexico; and
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(4) urges the Mexican Government, in light of
the concerns expressed in this concurrent resolution,
to review all of the expulsions of human rights work-
ers since 1994, for the purposes of clarity, consist-
ency, and resolution of outstanding cases.
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