| Montreal, 7/11/2001 – The Secretariat of the North American Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC) yesterday requested a response from the United Mexican States to a citizen submission alleging that Mexico is failing to effectively enforce laws relating to protection of forest resources in the Sierra Tarahumara in the Mexican state of Chihuahua and, by doing so, is denying access to environmental justice to indigenous peoples in the region.
The submission (SEM-00-006) was filed by Comisión de Solidaridad y Defensa de los Derechos Humanos A.C. (COSYDDHAC) on 9 June 2000. COSYDDHAC asserts that Mexico is failing to effectively enforce its environmental law relating to the processing of citizen complaints, the prosecution of environmental offenses, consultation with indigenous peoples on timber harvesting, and access to environmental information.
Regarding the assertions of ineffective enforcement of citizen complaints and appeals for review (recursos de revisión), as well as those concerning the investigation and prosecution of probable environmental offenses, the Secretariat concluded that the submission meets all of the criteria of Article 14(1) of the North American Agreement on Environmental Cooperation (NAAEC). The remaining assertions in the submission failed to meet those threshold criteria, according to the Secretariat.
In consideration of the criteria set forth in NAAEC Article 14(2), the Secretariat determined that further examining the assertions regarding enforcement of the citizen complaint procedure and enforcement of criminal laws designed to protect the forest resources of the Sierra Tarahumara would advance the goals of the NAAEC. Among other things, further review could enhance participation of indigenous peoples and other rural communities of the Sierra Tarahumara in protection of the region's forest resources.
In its determination, the Secretariat requests Mexico to respond to the assertions that met the criteria in NAAEC Article 14(1). Under NAAEC Article 14(3), Mexico may provide a response to the submission within 30 days or, in exceptional circumstances, within 60 days of delivery of this request.
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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