Dokument #1143668
IRB – Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada (Autor)
In a 1 October 1996 telephone interview, a
representantive of the Embassy of the United States of Mexico in
Ottawa provided the following information.
Protection for kidnapping victims is not
offered by the state. For the most part, kidnapping victims will
take on whatever protection measures they can personally afford. A
program or law to protect witnesses before or after testifying in
court does not exist in Mexico, although the Congress is presently
formulating legislation to address this issue. At present, an
individual who would might find herself in this kind of situation
may ask that a police guard be stationed at her house, or hire a
private security guard.
The source noted that public ministries
offer various services for rape victims and that government
agencies investigate sexual crimes. Private and public
psychological counselling services and rape crisis programmes
exist, as do public community health centers. The source was
unaware of the exact number of these types of programmes or
organizations. The souce also noted that while there are social
workers and organizations that deal with violence against women,
the majority of agencies that deal with these issues are research
bodies. In reality, there are not many social supports for victims
of rape.
Please consult the attached Mexico and
NAFTA Report article, which provides information on the
creation of Cosena (Consejo Nacional de Seguridad), a national
security council. The article states that this recently formed
government enforcement agency will attempt to respond to the
increasing frequency of kidnappings in Mexico (12 Oct. 1995,
4).
For information on the legality of abortion
in Mexico, please consult Response to Information Request
MEX24516.E of 12 July 1996. For additional information on violence
against women in Mexico, please consult MEX24984.E of 17 September
1996.
This Response was prepared after
researching publicly accessible information currently available to
the DIRB within time constraints. This Response is not, and does
not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular
claim to refugee status or asylum.
References
Embassy of the United States of Mexico,
Ottawa. 1 October 1996. Telephone interview with
representantive.
Mexico and NAFTA Report
[London]. 12 October 1995. "Security: New National Body to Fight
Crime."
Attachment
Mexico and NAFTA Report
[London]. 12 October 1995. "Security: New National Body to Fight
Crime," p. 4.