(May 31, 2019) On April 9, 2019, the Mexican government announced that it had reached an agreement with the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) whereby Mexico’s National Guard will receive human rights training from the OHCHR. (The Foreign Ministry and OHCHR Sign Cooperation Agreement on National Guard, GOVERNMENT OF MEXICO, SECRETARÍA DE RELACIONES EXTERIORES: BLOG (Apr. 9, 2019).)
According to Mexico’s Secretary of Foreign Affairs, the agreement (negotiated by a team of officials from his ministry) aims at allowing the OHCHR to instruct the National Guard on the highest human rights standards through adequate training and advice on operation protocols—more specifically, providing advice on “designing programs to train and certify human rights instructors” and “developing operational protocols on issues such as the use of force and prevention of human rights violations,” particularly those aimed at protecting women and such vulnerable groups as children, adolescents, and indigenous people. (Id.)
In addition, the agreement lays the foundations for collaborating on actions that will strengthen the capacities of the public security sector and the mechanisms for citizen participation. (Id.)
In March 2019, the Mexican government published a constitutional amendment that provided for the creation of Mexico’s National Guard. (See Gustavo Guerra, Mexico: Constitutional Amendment on National Guard Enacted, GLOBAL LEGAL MONITOR (May 8, 2019).) The amendment provided for the National Guard to be formed with officials from the Federal Police, Military Police, and Naval Police, per executive orders to be issued by the president of Mexico, and for the National Guard to take over the investigative and law enforcement powers of Mexico’s Federal Police. (Id).