| Montreal, 26/07/2004 – On 14 July the Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC) of North America received a submission from Academia Sonorense de Derechos Humanos, AC and Domingo Gutiérrez Mendívil (the Submitters), asserting that Mexico is failing to effectively enforce various provisions of Mexican environmental law regarding the prevention, monitoring, oversight and control of air pollution in Hermosillo, Sonora.
Among other arguments, the Submitters point to the alleged failure to enforce and ensure compliance with the Mexican Official Standards (Normas Oficiales Mexicanas—NOMs) on air pollution; the alleged lack of actions to prevent air pollution in properties and areas under state and municipal jurisdiction; the alleged failure to establish and update a National Air Quality Information System; and the alleged lack of defined state and municipal urban development plans indicating the zones where polluting industries may operate.
The authorities deemed responsible under the submission are the Secretariat of the Environment and Natural Resources (Secretaría del Medio Ambiente y Recursos Naturales—Semarnat), the Office of the Federal Attorney for Environmental Protection (Procuraduría Federal de Protección al Ambiente—Profepa), the executive branch of the Sonora state government, the state Secretariat of Urban Infrastructure and Ecology (Secretaría de Infraestructura Urbana y Ecología), the state Secretariat of Health (Secretaría de Salud), the Hermosillo municipal government, the State and National Human Rights Commissions (Comisiones Estatal y Nacional de Derechos Humanos), the Second District Court (Juzgado Segundo de Distrito) in Sonora and the Third Collegiate Circuit Court (Tercer Tribunal Colegiado de Circuito).
The Secretariat of the CEC is analyzing the submission (SEM-04-002/Environmental Pollution in Hermosillo) to determine whether it meets the requirements of Article 14 of the North American Agreement on Environmental Cooperation (ACAAN).
The Submitters also requested that the matter of the submission be considered for a CEC Secretariat report under Article 13 of the NAAEC.
The citizen submissions mechanism of the CEC enables the public to play a whistle-blower role on matters of environmental law enforcement. Under Article 14 of the NAAEC, any person or nongovernmental organization may submit a claim alleging that a NAFTA partner has failed to effectively enforce its environmental law. Following a review of the submission, the CEC may investigate the matter and pursue a factual record of its findings.
Please visit the Citizen Submission on Enforcement Matters page for more information.
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