The Attorney General's Office (PGR) has decided to pursue Emilio Álvarez Icaza, Executive Secretary of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (CIDH), based on a complaint for the alleged crime of fraud against the Mexican state in relation to the work of the IGIE [Interdisciplinary Group of Independent Experts, investigating the disappearance of the 43 Ayotzinapa normal school students], filed by a sinister character named José Antonio Ortega. Reading Ortega's texts in Milenio [newspaper], they reflect his ignorance of international human rights law and intergovernmental mechanisms in the field.
It is not surprising that he may have been encouraged to file a complaint that lacks all logic and legal basis, and which borders on being stupid. What is surprising is that the PGR would agree to be the executing arm of Ortega's nonsense. That makes us imagine that there is political motivation, not a legal one, behind the persecution of Álvarez.
To pursue Icaza is to pursue a principal and autonomous body of the Organization of American States (OAS). To investigate Icaza is to investigate the OAS. Who within the Mexican government has concluded that committing such foolishness will help save the honor of the Mexican state? Because someone must have given the Attorney General the go-ahead to open the preliminary investigation.
To pursue Icaza is to pursue a principal and autonomous body of the Organization of American States (OAS). To investigate Icaza is to investigate the OAS. Who within the Mexican government has concluded that committing such foolishness will help save the honor of the Mexican state? Because someone must have given the Attorney General the go-ahead to open the preliminary investigation.
Within hours of learning of the PGR's ridiculousness, the Undersecretary for Human Rights at the Secretariat of Government Relations (SEGOB), Roberto Campa, published in his Twitter account:
"Commission signed with the Mexican State represented by SEGOB, SRE and PGR was not given resources. That criminal complaint is not serious."Good for Campa, but it is not clear whether that is the position of the SEGOB or was simply a spontaneous act of sincerity.
If that is the SEGOB's position (it is uncommon to issue positions through a digital platform), this would mean there are two opposing positions within the federal government. On the one hand those who seek to discredit the Commission and the IGIE through absurd mechanisms such as the criminal complaint, and on the other, those who know that contending with international organizations raises more than an eyebrow in Washington and Geneva and puts Mexico in a contradictory role. On one hand, diplomacy guaranteeing international human rights laws yet , on the other, an internal policy of attacking the Commission. It is not the first time that two opposing positions have been presented, as it has become clear that the animosity of the Secretariat of Defense (SEDENA), Secretariat of the Navy (SEMAR) and the Legal Counsel of the Presidency have formed a bloc to clash against international human rights mechanisms.
On March 29, in response to the vicious attacks of the government and Mexican media against the work done by the Commission and the IGIE in the Ayotzinapa case, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights issued a strong press release [full text in English] defending fully the work of Emilio Alvarez and IGIE.
"The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) categorically rejects the smear campaign taking place in Mexico against the Interdisciplinary Group of Independent Experts and against the Executive Secretary of the IACHR, Emilio Álvarez Icaza Longoria. The IACHR also emphatically rejects the preliminary inquiry initiated against Emilio Álvarez Icaza Longoria for an alleged crime of fraud to the detriment of the State of Mexico, in connection with the work of the Group of Experts, following a complaint filed in the context of this smear campaign.
"The Commission would like to point out that as Executive Secretary of the IACHR, Emilio Álvarez Icaza Longoria signed the cooperation agreement with Mexico on behalf of the General Secretariat of the Organization of American States (OAS), through “delegation of signature” authority. Under OAS rules and regulations, the State of Mexico’s voluntary financial contribution for the agreement’s implementation was deposited directly into the accounts of the OAS General Secretariat, through its Secretariat for Administration and Finance. The IACHR did not manage those funds; therefore, neither did the Executive Secretary.
"The IACHR expresses its consternation and believes it is unacceptable to open a preliminary inquiry based on this complaint, which is reckless and unfounded, as it does not contain any fact that would constitute a crime."It is unlikely that the Commission has issued a statement with the sole intention of defending itself. The Mexican government is quickly isolated and its international reputation begins to crack. There are not a few diplomats in the country who have confirmed to me their alarm with the government's attitude, and their reports to their capital are not encouraging for Mexico.
Some days ago, the IGIE denounced interference by the PGR (although the PGR denies this) to carrying out its work diligently. The Secretary of Government Relations, Miguel Angel Osorio Chong, has announced that, despite the request of the parents of the disappeared normal school students for the IGIE to stay to finish its work, the group will leave the country at the end of April. That is another bad decision, another step toward consolidating the impunity of enforced disappearance in the Ayotzinapa case.
But do not expect less from an administration that has done nothing but obstruct justice and bring forward characters of dubious reputation, like José Antonio Ortega and Isabel Miranda de Wallace, to attack human rights defenders and members of the Commission, such as Emilio Álvarez Icaza.
Times have changed. Dissent is coming under veiled persecution. It is not a matter of interpretation. It is simply seeing reality as it is. Spanish original
*Dario Ramírez is the Mexico director of Article 19, an international organization which defends freedom of expression and information. He studied International Relations at the Iberoamericana University and has a Masters in International Law from the University of Amsterdam. He is the author of numerous articles on freedom of expression, access to information, media and human rights and he teaches journalism. He worked in the Office of the High Commissioner for Refugees United Nations (UNHCR) in Latin America and Africa. @Dariormrs