Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 1998, published 87th ILC session (1999)

Indigenous and Tribal Peoples Convention, 1989 (No. 169) - Mexico (Ratification: 1990)

1. The Committee takes note of the detailed information provided by the Government in its report.

2. Articles 24 and 25. Social security and health. The Committee notes the other comments sent by the Frente Auténtico del Trabajo (FAT) in its report entitled "Informe sobre los Derechos Indígenas en México", which contains statistical data on alleged violations of individual and collective human rights in a number of indigenous communities. The report also indicates that the states with the largest indigenous populations are Oaxaca (52.72 per cent), Yucatán (52.48 per cent), Quintana Roo (36.71 per cent), Chiapas (35.19 per cent), Hidalgo (26.39 per cent, Campeche (25.40 per cent), Peubla (19.87 per cent), Veracruz (18.82 per cent), Guerrero (17.17 per cent), San Luis Potosí (13.78 per cent) and Sonora (11.97 per cent). Of the 2,403 municipalities in the Republic, 803 have indigenous populations accounting for more than 30 per cent of the total population, most of these are in rural areas. In communities with a high density of indigenous people (70 per cent or more), 68 per cent of households have no running water and 90 per cent have no drainage. In Chiapas, malnutrition affects 66.74 per cent of the population, in Oaxaca 66.67 per cent, in Guerrero 64.65 per cent, in Quintana Roo 64.12 per cent, in Campeche 63.12 per cent and in Yucatán 62.48 per cent. More than 12 per cent of overall mortality is accounted for by the indigenous regions, and the three states with the highest number of deaths from infectious and intestinal diseases, pneumonia and influenza are Guerrero, Chiapas and Oaxaca. The indigenous infant mortality rate in the states of Chiapas, Oaxaca, Puebla, Durango, Guerrero and San Luis Potosí is 54 per 1,000 births, compared to a national figure of 24 per 1,000 births. The FAT considers that these data give a clear picture of the degree of marginalization affecting the indigenous peoples of Mexico.

3. The Committee notes with interest the information provided by the Government concerning the resources that have been made available to combat poverty in the states of Chiapas, Guerrero, Oaxaca, Puebla and Veracruz. It also notes that the Health Sector Reform Programme 1995-2000 aims, among other things, to extend the coverage of its services, especially to marginalized rural areas. This programme is being implemented with help from the Programme for Indigenous Areas (PAZI), and the population for which these programmes are intended is marginalized, vulnerable or deprived of access to health care services. The PAZI is intended to help indigenous communities which are not covered by other health programmes, and its objectives are to extend coverage, improve services and raise the health indicators of the indigenous population. The Committee draws the Government's attention to the fact that, according to Article 25 of the Convention, indigenous communities should participate in the planning and provision of health services, or that these should be under the responsibility and control of the communities themselves. The Committee requests the Government to keep it informed of any progress made in the matter of health and social security for indigenous peoples.

4. Articles 26-31. Education and means of communication. The Committee notes the information provided by the FAT to the effect that, according to the 1990 census, the indigenous peoples are the most marginalized in terms of social indicators, given that 83 per cent of indigenous municipalities in the country show high levels of marginalization and an illiteracy rate of 43 per cent, which is three times higher than the rest of the population. The Committee also notes that, according to the FAT, official figures show that, in 1995, 48.4 per cent of the country's indigenous people over 15 years of age were illiterate, the corresponding figure for non-indigenous people being 8.5 per cent. The 1998 education budget has been cut and this has affected school building projects which had been planned for that year, as well as the production of textbooks, and resulted in a reduction in per capita funding in secondary schools. Bilingual education has fallen behind and many indigenous communities lack schools; as a result, the conditions needed to ensure that children complete primary education have deteriorated and the situation is aggravated by the premature entry of indigenous people to the labour market.

5. The Committee notes that, according to the Government's information, basic education has grown at an average annual rate of 3.7 per cent and that provision was made in 1997 to allocate large sums for the purpose of providing economic incentives to 320 supervisors and 1,400 teachers in order to encourage them to settle in rural and indigenous areas suffering extreme marginalization. The Committee also notes that basic education for the indigenous population was expanded in the school year 1997-98 to provide places for 1,056,861 students in 18,383 schools with 44,205 teachers, and that the National Indigenous Institute (INI) is carrying out a programme entitled "Promoting Development for Marginalized Areas and Groups" whose main objectives are to renovate, operate and equip school hostels for 59,137 school students from 52 ethnic groups in receipt of the 12,000 scholarships that are awarded every year. The Committee hopes that the Government will continue to supply information on progress made in this area and that it will take into consideration the wishes of the indigenous peoples themselves in developing and implementing the educational programmes intended specifically for these peoples.

6. Article 32. Contacts and cooperation across borders. In a previous direct request, the Committee noted with interest the information concerning the Mexican Commission for Assistance to Refugees (COMAR) which has a specialized organization for looking after the needs of Guatemalan refugees on Mexican territory. The Committee notes the detailed information on progress made in the repatriation to Guatemala of more than 70 per cent of the refugees who entered Mexico more than 15 years ago and on the situation of those refugees still living in Mexico.