[JURIST] Human Rights Watch (HRW) [advocacy website] on Monday implored [letter] US President Barack Obama [official profile] to press Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto [official profile] on human rights concerns during his upcoming meeting with the leader. The letter detailed egregious human rights accusations such as the disappearance of 43 students and the killing of 22 people by soldiers in the town of Tlatlaya [JURIST reports] and stated that these incidents are indicative of “a broader pattern of abuse and impunity, and are in large part the consequence of the government’s failure to address it.” While the letter mentioned that Pena Nieto attempted to address the human rights issues two years ago when he took office, HRW claims his initiatives have been largely unsuccessful and it holds this as evidence that his administration does not take the issues seriously. The letter also stated that the US response has been largely disappointing, failing to enforce requirements in the Merida Initiative [official website], a joint initiative between the US and Mexico to combat “organized crime and associated violence while furthering respect for human rights and the rule of law.” It cited the most recent report of the US State Department [fact sheet], which released over $2 billion to Mexico certifying that requirements of the initiative had been met. The letter concludes, asking Obama to press Pena Nieto on his plans on handling these abuses, suggesting that Obama tell Pena Nieto that if he does not make significant progress in the prosecution of human rights crimes, the US will no longer be able to certify that the requirements of the Merida Initiative have been met.

Human rights issues have been a major concern in Mexico for a while [JURIST news archive]. Last year Pena Nieto announced [video, in Spanish] a nationwide anti-crime campaign following the September 26 disappearance of 43 students [JURIST report] 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 Amnesty International (AI) [advocacy website] urged Mexican lawmakers to reform the nation’s military justice system to combat human rights abuses committed by army and navy personnel. Also AI 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 HRW reported [JURIST report] that Mexican security forces have enforced or participated in widespread “disappearances” in which individuals are taken against their will.