[JURIST] Complaints about violations committed by Mexico’s military forces have been on the rise, a report [press release] issued by the Trans-Border Institute at the University of San Diego (TBI) [official website] said on Monday. The report alleges that Mexican military forces have been committing human rights violations with impunity. TBI noted that the complaints increased dramatically since current Mexican President Felipe Calderon [BBC profile] took office. The group called for Mexican authorities to investigate and prosecute abuses by military forces. The report also called on president-elect Enrique Pena Nieto [campaign website, in Spanish] to ensure human rights reforms are instituted during his presidency.

Mexico has faced criticism recently for human rights violations. Earlier this month, Amnesty International submitted a briefing [JURIST report] to the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women detailing the failure of the Mexican government to protect women from torture, killings, sexual violence and other ill-treatment. In May the Director-General of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) urged [JURIST report] Mexican authorities to do everything in their power to solve the murders of three Mexican journalists found in Veracruz. In March the UN Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances expressed concern [JURIST report] over the state of enforced disappearances in Mexico. The Working Group, a panel of five independent human rights experts, found a “chronic pattern of impunity demonstrated by the absence of effective investigations in cases of enforced disappearances” in Mexico.