| Montreal, 20/06/2001 – The Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC) has received a response from Mexico to a citizen submission alleging failure on the part of Mexico in the enforcement of its environmental law in relation to the establishment and operation of the Cytrar hazardous waste landfill near the city of Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico (SEM-01-001).
In its response, received on 4 June 2001, Mexico states that "the Government of the United States of Mexico is not legally able to respond to the matter in question, since it is subject to arbitration proceedings for resolving an international dispute with the Técnicas Medioambientales Tecmed, S.A. company [an investment partner of Cytrar S.A. de C.V.] over alleged noncompliance with the Agreement for the Reciprocal Promotion and Protection of Investments (Acuerdo para la Promoción y Protección Recíproca de Inversiones--APRI) reached with the Spanish Crown" (ICSID No. ARB(AF)/00/2, registered as No. 27 on the list of cases pending resolution).
The Party (Mexico) therefore requests that the Secretariat not proceed with the process for submission SEM-01-001, in accordance with Article 14(3)(a)of the North American Agreement on Environmental Cooperation (NAAEC).
On 13 June 2001, the Secretariat determined that it was not provided sufficient information by Mexico to determine whether the matter raised in the Cytrar II submission and the matter that is subject to the international dispute resolution proceeding to which Mexico is party are the same. The Secretariat was therefore unable to determine that it should proceed no further with the Cytrar II submission. Under NAAEC Article 14(3), Mexico has until 31 July 2001 to provide a response to the submission and/or sufficient information to enable the Secretariat to determine whether the matter raised in the submission is also the subject of the pending proceeding referred by the Party.
Under Article 14 of NAAEC, the Secretariat may consider a submission from any person or nongovernmental organization asserting that a Party to NAAEC is failing to effectively enforce its environmental law. Where the Secretariat determines that the NAAEC Article 14(1) criteria are met, it may then proceed with a process that can lead to the development of a factual record on the matter. In accordance with Article 15(2) of NAAEC, the Secretariat shall prepare a factual record if the Council, by a two-thirds vote, instructs it to do so.
The CEC was established under NAAEC to address environmental issues in North America from a continental perspective, with a particular focus on those arising in the context of liberalized trade. The CEC Council, the organization's governing body, is composed of the environment ministers (or equivalent) of Canada, Mexico and the United States.
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