Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2019, published 109th ILC session (2021)

Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29) - Mexico (Ratification: 1934)
Protocol of 2014 to the Forced Labour Convention, 1930 - Mexico (Ratification: 2023)

Articles 1(1), 2(1) and 25 of the Convention. Trafficking in persons. 1. Institutional framework to combat trafficking in persons. The Committee previously encouraged the Government to pursue its efforts to combat trafficking in persons, including through the implementation of the legal and institutional framework provided for in the 2012 General Act for the prevention, punishment and eradication of offences related to trafficking in persons and protection and assistance for the victims of such offences, and its corresponding second National Programme for 2014–2018. It noted that, according to the assessment carried out in the framework of the National Programme, emphasis was placed on the issue of strengthening coordination and collaboration between the various institutions of the judicial, legislative and executive authorities, and requested the Government to indicate the measures taken in this respect by the Secretariat of the Interior, as well as those taken to continue strengthening the capacities of the Inter-Ministerial Committee set up to prevent, penalize and eradicate trafficking in persons.

The Committee notes that the Government, in its report, refers to the 2015 and 2016 annual reports of the Inter-Ministerial Committee, as well as to the report on the activities of the National Programme. The Committee notes from these reports that an important number of awareness-raising and capacity-building activities have been undertaken at the federal and states levels, as well as dissemination of information materials to the general public. It notes in particular that, from 2013 to 2018, a total of 153,548 persons have been trained and sensitized to the issue of trafficking in persons by the National Institute for Migration which carried out 4,648 activities in commercial establishments, with the purpose of preventing trafficking in persons and, where appropriate, detecting foreigners in a situation of irregular migration. The Committee notes that, in its observations, communicated with the Government’s report, the Confederation of Employers of the Mexican Republic (COPARMEX), considers of great importance all the measures that the federal Government has taken, in coordination with the states, to attack in a frontal way trafficking in persons. Observing that the second National Programme for the Prevention, Punishment and Eradication of Offences related to Trafficking in Persons and Protection and Assistance for Victims ended in 2018, the Committee notes the adoption of the 2019 annual programme of work of the Inter-Ministerial Committee (PATCI), aiming in particular at the setting up of a group responsible for the elaboration of the Inspection Protocol to prevent and detect trafficking in persons in workplaces published in 2017 by the Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare. The Committee notes however that the National Human Rights Commission, in its 2019 report on the diagnosis on the situation of trafficking in persons in Mexico, considered that there is a lack of a comprehensive approach, planning and evaluation of the actions carried out in the framework of the Inter-Ministerial Committee. It further notes that in its 2018 concluding observations, the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) expressed concern about: (i) the lack of harmonized and coordinated mechanisms at the state and municipal levels to ensure the effective implementation of the 2012 Act; (ii) the lack of a comprehensive anti-trafficking strategy; as well as (iii) insufficient coordination with neighbouring countries in relation to the prevention of trafficking (CEDAW/C/MEX/CO/9, 25 July 2018, paragraph 29). The Committee notes that in the framework of the Universal Periodic Review, the UN Human Rights Council also recommended that the Government take further steps to improve the coordination on the implementation of a national policy to prevent, eradicate and punish human trafficking, and strengthen the anti-trafficking committees’ and specialized units’ human and financial resources to respond more effectively to cases of trafficking in persons (A/HRC/40/8, 27 December 2018, paragraph 132). The Committee requests the Government to pursue its efforts to combat trafficking in persons. It requests the Government to continue to provide information on the measures taken on the prevention, detection, assistance, protection and repatriation of trafficking victims, and the prosecution and punishment of perpetrators, including in the framework of any new National Programme on trafficking in persons, as well as on any assessment made on the impact of such measures. Taking due note of the measures taken, the Committee also requests the Government to continue to strengthen the capacities of the various institutions of the judicial, legislative and executive authorities at the federal and state levels, including the Inter-Ministerial Committee. It further requests the Government to strengthen coordination and collaboration between these institutions and cooperation with neighbouring countries to prevent trafficking in persons.

2. Involvement of public servants in trafficking in persons. The Committee refers to its previous comments concerning allegations of complicity and direct participation by law enforcement officers in trafficking in persons, where it noted that the National Programme specifies that the Government should make transparency one of the main elements of the new relationship between the Government and society to ensure greater accountability and combat corruption. It notes the Government’s indication that according to the activities of the Unit specialized in offences of violence against women and trafficking in persons (FEVIMTRA) within the Public Prosecutor’s Office, from July 2015 to May 2018, one investigation was carried out for the crime of trafficking in persons in the form of forced labour or services in which a public servant was identified as likely responsible. The Committee further notes, from the 2019 report of the National Human Rights Commission on the Diagnosis on the situation of trafficking in persons in Mexico, that from June 2012 to July 2017, out of the total number of investigations initiated, the participation of civil servants in cases of trafficking in persons was reported in eight preliminary inquiries and investigation files. The Committee further notes that several United Nations Treaty Bodies recently expressed concern about the reported complicity between state agents and international organized crime gangs and trafficking networks, and the resulting corruption and impunity (A/HRC/WG.6/31/MEX/2, 3 September 2018, paragraph 38; CEDAW/C/MEX/CO/9, 25 July 2018, paragraph 29; and CMW/C/MEX/CO/3, 27 September 2017, paragraph 21). The Committee trusts that the Government will take all the necessary measures to ensure that appropriate administrative and criminal investigations are conducted and, where appropriate, that public servants who are found guilty are punished with adequate sanctions. It requests the Government to continue to provide information on the number of cases where complicity and direct participation by law enforcement officers in trafficking in persons were identified, as well as on the sanctions imposed.

3. Protection of victims. The Committee previously noted that the 2012 Act establishes in a detailed manner the rights and comprehensive protection that is to be afforded to victims (sections 59–83) and that, at the federal level, under the auspices of the Inter-Ministerial Committee, a Protocol has also been drawn up on the use of procedures and resources to rescue, assist and protect victims of trafficking, establishing specific guidelines for all the authorities involved from the identification of victims to their social reintegration. The Committee notes the Government’s statement that to enable the reinsertion of trafficking victims, the FEVIMTRA within the Public Prosecutor’s Office offers psychological, social and legal assistance through the Emergency Care Unit, in order to put an end to the isolation caused by the situation of trafficking. It further notes that the FEVIMTRA collaborates with the Mexican Commission for Assistance to Refugees (COMAR) in order to enhance victims’ access to the status of refugee. The Government adds that the Specialized Shelter for Comprehensive Care and Protection of Victims of Extreme Gender Violence and Trafficking in Persons of the Prosecutor General’s Office, also offers temporary shelter to provide medical, psychological, social and legal assistance to victims of trafficking in persons. The Committee notes that the National Institute for Migration Migrant Protection Groups, known as Betas, who are located in strategic points in 22 municipalities of nine states and aim at the protection and defence of the human rights of migrants, regardless of their nationality or immigration status, provided assistance to 533,633 migrants from July 2015 to May 2018, and legal assistance to 413 of them orientating complaints towards the competent authority. It notes that over this period, the National Institute for Migration provided training on the prevention and detection of possible victims of trafficking in persons and illicit treatment of migrants to 683 civil servants, and elaborated and disseminated, in collaboration with the International Organization for Migration, in 2016, a protocol for the detection, identification and care of migrant victims and possible victims of trafficking in persons in Mexico. The Committee further notes that, according to the 2016 activity report of the Inter-Ministerial Committee, 889 possible victims of trafficking were identified (194 by federal authorities and 695 by local entities) and that rescue operations were carried out to free 433 possible victims. The Committee notes that, in its 2018 concluding observations, the CEDAW was concerned about the insufficient assistance, rehabilitation and reintegration measures for victims, including the inadequate number of shelters and the limited access to counselling, medical treatment, psychological support and redress, such as compensation for victims of trafficking, in particular migrant women (CEDAW/C/MEX/CO/9, 25 July 2018, paragraph 29). The Committee also notes that, in its 2017 concluding observations, the UN Committee on Migrant Workers (CMW) expressed further concern about the presence of trafficking victims in migrant holding centres and recommended that the Government adopts effective mechanisms for the identification and referral of trafficking victims who may be detained in such centres (CMW/C/MEX/CO/3, 27 September 2017, paragraph 37). While noting the measures taken by the Government, the Committee expresses the firm hope that the Government will pursue its efforts to ensure the effective safety and protection of victims of trafficking throughout the country, in particular those placed in migrant holding centres, so that they are able to assert their rights before the competent authorities. It requests the Government to provide information on the measures taken to this end and to continue to provide information on the number of victims of trafficking in persons identified, the number of victims who have asserted their rights before the competent authorities, and the remedies granted for such victims.

Article 25. Adequate and strictly enforced penalties. In its previous comments, the Committee noted that the 2012 Act confers special powers to the Public Prosecutor’s Office and the police to combat trafficking in persons. It also noted that, according to the annual reports of the Inter-Ministerial Committee, one of the biggest obstacles to overcome was the impunity that surrounds the crime of trafficking in persons, despite the considerable increase in judicial proceedings in recent years as a result of the training activities undertaken, particularly at the federal level. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that the FEVIMTRA within the Public Prosecutor’s Office provided training for civil servants to better investigate crimes of trafficking in persons in the new criminal justice system and that several meetings and activities were undertaken in collaboration with the United States Department of Justice in 2016 and 2017, including for the staff of the Public Prosecutor’s Office, to strengthen coordinated actions in the fight against trafficking in persons between Mexico and the United States. The Government adds that from 2015 to 2018, the FEVIMTRA coordinated four national meetings of Prosecutors and Specialized Units on Trafficking in Persons with a view to better strengthening the strategies and links of an effective collaboration between federal and state authorities, and achieve better effectiveness in the investigation and prosecution of the crimes of trafficking in persons. The Committee however notes from the 2018 report of the National Human Rights Commission on the intervention of the labour inspectorates in the prevention of trafficking in persons and the detection of possible victims in agricultural fields, that 36.4 per cent of labour inspectorates did not report or did not take action or prevent possible cases of trafficking, while it was estimated that 32.6 per cent of workers in agriculture did not receive any compensation. According to the report, 60 per cent of labour authorities at states level have less than ten inspectors and 51.5 per cent of labour authorities did not provide information or did not carry out training action for labour inspectors in the area of trafficking in persons. The Committee notes, from the statistical information forwarded by the Government that, from 2015 to 2017, 3,576 victims of trafficking in persons were registered by the Government of whom 23.9 per cent were victims for forced labour purposes, and notes that, over the same period, the number of judicial sentences remained stable with a total of 377 judicial sentences, of which 11 for forced labour, 38 for labour exploitation and 2 for slavery. The Committee notes that, in its 2018 concluding observations, the CEDAW was concerned about the low prosecution and conviction rates in cases of trafficking and that, in its 2019 concluding observations, the UN Committee against Torture (CAT) recommended that the Government ensure that cases of human trafficking are thoroughly investigated, that the alleged perpetrators are prosecuted and, if convicted, punished with appropriate sanctions (CEDAW/C/MEX/CO/9, 25 July 2018, paragraph 29 and CAT/C/MEX/CO/7, 24 July 2019, paragraphs 60 and 61). In the light of the complexity of the crime of trafficking in persons, the Committee urges the Government to continue to take the necessary measures to strengthen the capacities of the police, labour inspectorate and public prosecution authorities to improve identification of the victims of trafficking, both for sexual exploitation and labour exploitation, to conduct thorough investigations and to gather the evidence required to prosecute and, in accordance with Article 25 of the Convention, impose really adequate penalties that are strictly enforced. In this regard, the Committee requests the Government to provide information on the number of judicial proceedings under way as well as the penalties imposed on perpetrators.