| Montreal, 6/09/2002 – On 29 August 2002, the Secretariat of the Commission for Environmental Cooperation of North America (CEC) recommended to the CEC Council that a factual record be developed on allegations by indigenous peoples and communities of the Sierra Tarahumara that the government of Mexico has failed to effectively enforce its environmental law with regard to allegedly illegal exploitation and destruction of forest resources in the Mexican state of Chihuahua. According to the submission (SEM-00-006), filed on 9 June 2000, by failing to adequately process citizen complaints and to prosecute probable environmental crimes, Mexico is denying access to environmental justice to the indigenous peoples of that region.
In its response to the submission, received by the CEC 15 February 2002, Mexico asserts that it properly processed the citizen complaints and appeals for review (recursos de revisión) in regard to which the Secretariat requested a response. Mexico states that it also resolved 139 additional citizen complaints filed by Tarahumara communities between February 1998 and March 2000, and that it took other actions to improve the participation of these communities in the environmental protection of the region. Mexico also disputed the assertion that it is failing to effectively prosecute probable environmental crimes, and claims that there are pending proceedings on some of these matters.
The Secretariat informed the Council that in light of the response of Mexico, the submission warrants the development of a factual record with respect to some assertions in the submission. Mexico's response provides detailed information on how the citizen complaints were addressed, but it does not show that the relevant authorities properly applied the General Law on Ecological Balance and Environmental Protection (LGEEPA) in the majority of the specific cases discussed in the submission. Also, the matters raised in the submission concerning the prosecution of probable environmental crimes remain open despite Mexico's response, and warrant documentation in a factual record. The effective enforcement of the environmental law that establishes these procedures (Articles 169, 189, 190-193, 199 and 202 of LGEEPA, and Articles 416, 418 and 419 of the Federal Criminal Code—CPF) is fundamental to the promotion of citizen participation in environmental protection and natural resource conservation. In light of the importance of the effective participation by indigenous peoples and other communities of the Sierra Tarahumara in the environmental protection of that region, the Secretariat concluded the submission warrants preparation of a factual record.
The CEC Secretariat informed the Council of its determination on 29 August 2002, and now, five business days later, is able to provide public notification of the determination and to place the rationale for the determination in the public registry. The full text of the submission, Mexico's response and the Secretariat's factual record recommendation are available on the CEC web site, at http://www.cec.org/citizen.
Under Article 14 of the North American Agreement on Environmental Cooperation (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.
Please visit the Citizen Submission on Enforcement Matters page for more information.
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