[JURIST] UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein [official profile] on Wednesday urged [press release] the Mexican government to cease using their military as law enforcement and replace the current force with well trained police officers. The High Commissioner addressed the law enforcement issues on his visit to Mexico to meet with government officials. It is reported that the current military police force has been involved in illegal killings and other actions that violate citizens’ human rights. Zeid stated that it is a “daunting task for any government to sort them out, but the government that succeeds—the one that radically reforms the police, makes justice work, slashes the crime rate and jails the criminals, puts the army back in the barracks, protects the marginalized, works hardest to reduce violence against women—is the one the nation needs and wants.” Zeid also addressed the need to continue the investigation into the 2014 disappearance [JURIST report] of 43 students from Guerrero.

Human rights issues remain a major concern in Mexico. Last year Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto announced [video, in Spanish] a nationwide anti-crime campaign following the September 26 disappearance [JURIST report] of the students who were en route to Iguala to protest lack of funds for their school. Earlier last year Jose Luis Abarca, the former mayor of the Mexican city of Iguala, was charged [press release, in Spanish] with six counts of aggravated homicide and one count of attempted homicide by prosecutors in the state of Guerrero. In 2013 AI urged Mexican lawmakers to reform the nation’s military justice system to combat human rights abuses committed by army and navy personnel. AI also called on the Mexican government to investigate the disappearances [JURIST report] of thousands of people and acknowledge the government’s involvement in the disappearances. AI’s report stated 26,121 people were reported disappeared or missing between December 2006 and December 2012, but 40 percent of the cases were not investigated. The UN Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions Christof Heyns urged [JURIST report] Mexico’s government to better protect against human rights abuses, particularly with respect to the military’s use of force against civilians. Earlier that year Human Rights Watch reported [JURIST report] that Mexican security forces have enforced or participated in widespread “disappearances” in which individuals are taken against their will.