Monday, August 14, 2006
POLITICAL RIGHTS ARE HUMAN RIGHTS
Dear Sirs,
Knowing of your relentless commitment and efforts to defend and guarantee the respect of human rights world-wide, we are respectfully requesting your involvement in regards to the present volatile situation in Mexico, considering that many lives of courageous people have been lost in pursuit of democracy.
Within the context of the serious social conflict generated by the lack of transparency and certainty in the recent presidential election in Mexico, we, the citizens, deem it urgent and unpostponable to file a complaint before the international human rights commissions, since the national human rights commissions have, incomprehensibly, remained silent in regards to the fraudulent activities that characterized the electoral process, arguing that "they are not competent in such electoral matters"(?). Therefore, in order to establish their competency, we mention some relevant statements by Emilio Alvarez Icaza, President of Mexico City's Human Rights Commission:
At the International Seminar of Basic Agreements for Consolidation of Democracy, Panel on Government Regime, Mr. Alvarez Icaza said:
"The incorporation of human rights within the legal frame in Mexico has been the result of several social movements and initiatives to achieve further participation in collective decision-making and the attainment of more ambits of expression to formulate legitimate demands".
It is necessary to integrate an agenda to protect human rights in the upcoming years…In safekeeping the political and civil rights… the ethical paradigm of a true democracy demands a permanent social involvement to safeguard the plurality in the execution of political power , as well as the systematic use of decision-making mechanisms and society's constant access to public information.
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In the interview with Emilio Alvarez Icaza on August 4, 2006 on the integrality of Human Rights in Mexico City , he stated:
"What I believe to be the center of the debate is the issue of certainty, and the Tribunal will have to generate the elements to achieve such certainty, I have no competency in electoral matters*, but I believe that the key of the debate is certainty and what I expect of the Tribunal is that they give us the certainty that we all require…that's why I consider that electoral certainty must be provided by the Tribunal, and I am one of those who believe that certainty is the foundation of legitimacy in any government. Therefore, the Tribunal must make it his priority to give us certainty.
*Being our political right a human right in essence and consecrated by the Constitution, it is difficult to understand that human rights commissions don't have competence in electoral matters… which clearly contradicts all other statements by Mr. Alvarez Icaza.
On the other hand, it is indisputable that electoral rights are not in the least, separated from Constitutional rights, in other words: electoral rights are, in essence, one of the most important human rights, and, consequently, their respect by governmental entities is mandatory and must be safeguarded by all human rights commissions.
In regards to the alleged "independent" status of IFE (Federal Electoral Institute), it is evident that either there is a clear attempt to misinform the public about the true nature of such Institute, or, at least, there is confusion, as Article 41, Para . III stipulates that the appointment of the IFE 's General Council and its President are appointed by 2/3rds of the members in attendance in the House of Representatives, which is rather tendentious and violates in addition, Art. 6 (the right to information), as IFE is not an independent entity from the state, as several commentators and political propaganda through the media (Televisa, TV Azteca, Radioformula, among others) have repeatedly stated.
Electoral rights are directly linked to the fundamental right stipulated in Article 39 of the Constitution: "Citizens shall have at any time, the inalienable right to change their form of government".
It is a matter of fact that electoral law (COFIPE) derives from the maximum law, the Constitution, whose purpose is to guarantee that all human rights (housing, job, fair wages, social security, education, etc) are indiscriminately and fully enjoyed by all citizens, which clearly has not happened. The link between such rights and the violation of our electoral right is evident by the attempt to ensure the continuity of neoliberalism inaugurated by Carlos Salinas de Gortari, by the perpetration of electoral fraud, in violation of electoral law by Felipe Calderón, Vicente fox, IFE's General Council, with the complicity of the CCE (Businessmen Coordination Council), the majority of the communication media, and most recently, the TEPJF (Electoral Tribunal) with their ruling for a partial (9%) recount of electoral ballots, which indicates that they will too, submit to the interests behind Mr. Calderon's inauguration as President, namely, to be the puppet of Mr. Salinas de Gortari in what has been dubbed "Mexico's Second Maximate" (namely, Mr. Salinas' never stopped governing the country).
Those who either purposely or inadvertently have attempted to separate electoral rights from human rights have generated confusion and the neglect by national human rights entities to fulfill their duty which is: to guarantee such rights.
On the other hand, the notion that citizens are ignorant about the law (the Constitution, electoral rights, etc) has been repeatedly inserted by the media and politicians in the mind of huge sectors of society, and unfortunately, even when not all citizens ignore the Constitution and other secondary laws, there are thousands of people who have never been exposed to them because the study of such important items has been absent of school programs, and therefore, great segments of society have been absent of the political debate of laws and policies which have been devised by unethical politicians whose interest in the well-being of the citizens is absolutely null.
Therefore, a fundamental reform of educational programs is unpostponable and urgent, and should include the study of the Constitution and other codes and laws, starting in the 5 th or 6th grade all through high school and college. This way, we will be setting the basis for a true democracy, where citizens take the reins of their own destiny and no longer leave important decisions in the hands of individuals with no ethics, who always devise laws for their own benefit and in detriment of millions of people.
All these issues should be included in an ample debate with all sectors of society, with the valuable intervention of Human Rights Watch, the Inter American Commission for Human Rights, and other international entities.
CITIZENS COALITION "FOR THE GOOD OF ALL"
Knowing of your relentless commitment and efforts to defend and guarantee the respect of human rights world-wide, we are respectfully requesting your involvement in regards to the present volatile situation in Mexico, considering that many lives of courageous people have been lost in pursuit of democracy.
Within the context of the serious social conflict generated by the lack of transparency and certainty in the recent presidential election in Mexico, we, the citizens, deem it urgent and unpostponable to file a complaint before the international human rights commissions, since the national human rights commissions have, incomprehensibly, remained silent in regards to the fraudulent activities that characterized the electoral process, arguing that "they are not competent in such electoral matters"(?). Therefore, in order to establish their competency, we mention some relevant statements by Emilio Alvarez Icaza, President of Mexico City's Human Rights Commission:
At the International Seminar of Basic Agreements for Consolidation of Democracy, Panel on Government Regime, Mr. Alvarez Icaza said:
"The incorporation of human rights within the legal frame in Mexico has been the result of several social movements and initiatives to achieve further participation in collective decision-making and the attainment of more ambits of expression to formulate legitimate demands".
It is necessary to integrate an agenda to protect human rights in the upcoming years…In safekeeping the political and civil rights… the ethical paradigm of a true democracy demands a permanent social involvement to safeguard the plurality in the execution of political power , as well as the systematic use of decision-making mechanisms and society's constant access to public information.
-----------
In the interview with Emilio Alvarez Icaza on August 4, 2006 on the integrality of Human Rights in Mexico City , he stated:
"What I believe to be the center of the debate is the issue of certainty, and the Tribunal will have to generate the elements to achieve such certainty, I have no competency in electoral matters*, but I believe that the key of the debate is certainty and what I expect of the Tribunal is that they give us the certainty that we all require…that's why I consider that electoral certainty must be provided by the Tribunal, and I am one of those who believe that certainty is the foundation of legitimacy in any government. Therefore, the Tribunal must make it his priority to give us certainty.
*Being our political right a human right in essence and consecrated by the Constitution, it is difficult to understand that human rights commissions don't have competence in electoral matters… which clearly contradicts all other statements by Mr. Alvarez Icaza.
On the other hand, it is indisputable that electoral rights are not in the least, separated from Constitutional rights, in other words: electoral rights are, in essence, one of the most important human rights, and, consequently, their respect by governmental entities is mandatory and must be safeguarded by all human rights commissions.
In regards to the alleged "independent" status of IFE (Federal Electoral Institute), it is evident that either there is a clear attempt to misinform the public about the true nature of such Institute, or, at least, there is confusion, as Article 41, Para . III stipulates that the appointment of the IFE 's General Council and its President are appointed by 2/3rds of the members in attendance in the House of Representatives, which is rather tendentious and violates in addition, Art. 6 (the right to information), as IFE is not an independent entity from the state, as several commentators and political propaganda through the media (Televisa, TV Azteca, Radioformula, among others) have repeatedly stated.
Electoral rights are directly linked to the fundamental right stipulated in Article 39 of the Constitution: "Citizens shall have at any time, the inalienable right to change their form of government".
It is a matter of fact that electoral law (COFIPE) derives from the maximum law, the Constitution, whose purpose is to guarantee that all human rights (housing, job, fair wages, social security, education, etc) are indiscriminately and fully enjoyed by all citizens, which clearly has not happened. The link between such rights and the violation of our electoral right is evident by the attempt to ensure the continuity of neoliberalism inaugurated by Carlos Salinas de Gortari, by the perpetration of electoral fraud, in violation of electoral law by Felipe Calderón, Vicente fox, IFE's General Council, with the complicity of the CCE (Businessmen Coordination Council), the majority of the communication media, and most recently, the TEPJF (Electoral Tribunal) with their ruling for a partial (9%) recount of electoral ballots, which indicates that they will too, submit to the interests behind Mr. Calderon's inauguration as President, namely, to be the puppet of Mr. Salinas de Gortari in what has been dubbed "Mexico's Second Maximate" (namely, Mr. Salinas' never stopped governing the country).
Those who either purposely or inadvertently have attempted to separate electoral rights from human rights have generated confusion and the neglect by national human rights entities to fulfill their duty which is: to guarantee such rights.
On the other hand, the notion that citizens are ignorant about the law (the Constitution, electoral rights, etc) has been repeatedly inserted by the media and politicians in the mind of huge sectors of society, and unfortunately, even when not all citizens ignore the Constitution and other secondary laws, there are thousands of people who have never been exposed to them because the study of such important items has been absent of school programs, and therefore, great segments of society have been absent of the political debate of laws and policies which have been devised by unethical politicians whose interest in the well-being of the citizens is absolutely null.
Therefore, a fundamental reform of educational programs is unpostponable and urgent, and should include the study of the Constitution and other codes and laws, starting in the 5 th or 6th grade all through high school and college. This way, we will be setting the basis for a true democracy, where citizens take the reins of their own destiny and no longer leave important decisions in the hands of individuals with no ethics, who always devise laws for their own benefit and in detriment of millions of people.
All these issues should be included in an ample debate with all sectors of society, with the valuable intervention of Human Rights Watch, the Inter American Commission for Human Rights, and other international entities.
CITIZENS COALITION "FOR THE GOOD OF ALL"
