Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination

Ninety-ninth session

Summary record of the 2746th meeting

Held at the Palais des Nations, Geneva, on Friday, 9 August 2019, at 10 a.m.

Chair:Mr. Amir

Contents

Consideration of reports, comments and information submitted by States parties under article 9 of the Convention (continued)

Combined eighteenth to twenty- first periodic reports of Mexico (continued)

The meeting was called to order at 10 a.m.

Consideration of reports, comments and information submitted by States parties under article 9 of the Convention (continued)

Combined eighteenth to twenty-first periodic reports of Mexico (continued) (CERD/C/MEX/18-21 and CERD/C/MEX/Q/18-21)

1. At the invitation of the Chair, the delegation of Mexico took places at the Committee table.

2.Ms. Haas Paciuc (Mexico) said that the 2019–2024 National Development Plan promoted non-discrimination and prioritized the well-being of historically marginalized populations. An interministerial working group was drafting guidelines to ensure that all sectoral projects were gender-inclusive and non-discriminatory.

3.The 2017 national discrimination survey had measured not only perceptions of discrimination but also the impact of structural discrimination. The results served as a baseline for assessing progress in combating discrimination. The survey had shown that skin tone remained the main ground for discrimination, as persons who self-identified as having a darker skin tone were shown to have less access to education and labour opportunities and to be overrepresented in the three lowest socioeconomic rungs. The survey had also identified areas of multiple and intersectional discrimination, such as the even higher level of discrimination faced by indigenous women. The results were made available to the public through the National Discrimination Information System.

4.A national equality and anti-discrimination policy had been developed based on the results of the survey and an assessment of existing policies. A team of experts appointed to catalogue the root causes of discrimination had identified education, employment, health, access to justice and social security as priority areas. A national equality and anti-discrimination programme was being developed to give the National Council for the Prevention of Discrimination the tools to ensure that public institutions adopted anti-discrimination policies.

5.The Government was already working with various ministries and agencies to implement such policies. In the area of labour, it had been made obligatory for both public and private workplaces to comply with existing labour regulations, which set out concrete sanctions for discrimination. In addition, as historically marginalized groups had access to a generally lower standard of health care, despite being the most in need, the Government was considering introducing a system of universal health care that would be accessible to those populations and tailored to their cultural needs. The Government was also carrying out an extensive constitutional reform of the education system with the aim of making it more inclusive of indigenous peoples, persons of African descent and persons with disabilities.

6.Some of the causes of structural discrimination were interrelated, which further compounded the level of discrimination experienced. The illiteracy rate was significantly higher among indigenous language speakers and Afro-descendent populations, while employees who spoke an indigenous language or who self-identified as indigenous were in addition far less likely to receive an end-of-year bonus. The poverty rate remained over twice as high among the indigenous population as among the general population.

7.Various affirmative action programmes were being carried out to combat structural discrimination, in particular the barriers to political representation; at the most recent elections, political parties had been obligated to field indigenous candidates in districts where more than 60 per cent of the population was indigenous, and seats had been reserved for indigenous representatives.

8.The working group established to follow up on the recommendations issued by the Committee in 2012 remained operational. It had held 14 meetings with representatives of all public federal authorities, academics and civil society. In 2015, it had published the Mexico Action Plan for the International Decade for People of African Descent and, in 2018, had adopted an action plan to implement the recommendations of international treaty bodies.

9.With regard to the participation of indigenous and Afro-descendent women, she noted that the Consultative Assembly of the National Council for the Prevention of Discrimination included two indigenous transgender members, one indigenous female domestic worker and one female Afro-Mexican activist.

10.All federal entities had an anti-discrimination law, which included a definition of discrimination. The federal Constitution contained an anti-discrimination clause, as did the constitutions of 28 states. Although most of those laws and constitutions included ethnic or national origin as a protected category, few covered migration status or lineage. The National Council for the Prevention of Discrimination was making efforts to ensure that local legislation covered all categories of discrimination and to establish local non-discrimination entities, but most federal authorities did not have the political will or the resources to make the changes required.

11.The criminal codes of 29 states covered one or more of the definitions included in article 1 of the Convention within the offence of discrimination or as an aggravating circumstance. Large disparities persisted, however, as only Mexico City had a local branch of the National Council for the Prevention of Discrimination.

12.The National Council for the Prevention of Discrimination had handled 288 cases between 2014 and 2018, of which 32 remained pending. Most complaints related to discrimination on the grounds of skin colour or ethnicity. The Council had recently been granted the power to issue legally binding decisions on such cases. Although it had won important cases before the Supreme Court, the increased workload had not been accompanied by an increase in resources.

13.Following the efforts of civil society actors and the holding of a public consultation, a constitutional reform had been introduced to grant recognition to peoples and communities of African descent. However, the Government was aware that, as negative attitudes towards Mexican politicians born abroad remained prevalent, a national dialogue needed to be held on the definition of Mexican identity in the 21st century.

14.The Government had adopted a strategy to combat the use of xenophobic language towards migrants in the media; in the previous six months, more than 100 journalists across the country had received training on that topic. The Government had also produced many materials and campaigns, including those targeted at young people, with the aim of promoting understanding about other marginalized groups and combating hate speech.

15.With regard to domestic workers’ rights, the Supreme Court had recently ruled that it was unconstitutional to exclude domestic workers from the social security system. A pilot programme had therefore been launched to provide domestic workers with social security coverage.

16.Ms. Navarro Sandoval (Mexico) said that, from 2000 onwards, censuses had measured the size of the indigenous population on the basis not only of language use, but also of ethnic identity through self-identification. Although the methodology had led to some inconsistencies in the data, efforts were being made to improve it.

17.Official statistics for use in guiding public policy on indigenous and Afro-descendent populations were gathered by the National Institute of Statistics, Geography and Information Technology, in particular through household censuses, which covered a wide range of topics, including expenditure, discrimination, health and gender violence. Those censuses used one or both of the criteria for indigenous identification. The results were published online. The report issued by Oxfam International had drawn on statistics gathered through the 2016 intergenerational social mobility survey, which had used both linguistic criteria and a detailed chart of skin tones for self-identification.

18.Using intercensal data, a sociodemographic profile of the Afro-descendent population had been developed, including their level of access to employment, education and health care. The results were available online. Key findings were that 10 per cent of the Afro-descendent population spoke an indigenous language, compared with 6.5 per cent of the general population, and that the average number of children was higher among women of African descent who had little or no formal education.

19.Public consultations had been held with communities of African descent regarding the wording of census questions designed to measure the size of that population. Following requests by those communities, the term “African American” would be included on the 2020 census. Efforts needed to be made to improve public perception of what it meant to be Afro-American and Afro-Mexican to ensure that misconceptions did not hinder data collection.

20.As the illiteracy rate among indigenous women was far higher than the national average, the Ministry of Education had dramatically increased the number of indigenous schools to which federal funding was assigned. It had also provided funding for local indigenous education boards and indigenous education centres and had introduced education grants for indigenous mothers.

21.Mr. Hernández García (Mexico) said that the Government had recently established the National Institute for Indigenous Peoples, which was responsible for ensuring that the rights of indigenous and Afro-descendent peoples were enforced. In the 2019 State budget, 88 billion pesos (Mex$) had been allocated to projects targeted at those groups, of which Mex$ 6 billion had been allocated to the Institute. The Institute was running four major programmes, which included activities designed to improve basic amenities, increase access to education by providing grants and free food and housing for students, improve the economies of indigenous and Afro-descendent communities through climate mitigation projects and greater access to credit and technical assistance, and improve access to rights by strengthening the institutions, forms of government and sense of identity of indigenous and Afro-descendent communities. All projects were carried out in collaboration with those communities. The law establishing the Institute also provided for the creation of a national council for indigenous peoples, as well as regional councils.

22.During the formulation of the 2019–2024 National Development Plan, consultations had been held with indigenous and Afro-descendent groups. The Institute had held 25 national-level forums on the topic, in which some 10,000 community representatives had participated, including representatives of municipal, community and traditional authorities. The Institute was also involved in drafting regional development plans to ensure that they met the needs of those groups.

23.The State was committed to upholding the principle of free, prior and informed consultations. Indigenous and Afro-descendent communities were currently being consulted regarding the possibility of introducing constitutional reforms to recognize their rights. Although Mexico did not have a law on consultations, a protocol on conducting consultations, including the budgetary allocations required, had recently been issued. A technical group of experts on the rights of indigenous and Afro-descendent groups had also been established to generate recommendations in that regard. The group had helped develop a set of guiding principles on the constitutional and legal reforms required to address issues raised by indigenous groups and to align the Constitution with international legislation. Reforms were under consideration to recognize the legal personality of indigenous and Afro-descendent peoples, as well as to acknowledge certain rights, including the rights to self-determination and autonomy, political representation, free, prior and informed consultation, education and health.

24.The Constitution recognized the right of indigenous communities to apply their own normative systems. Coordination mechanisms were required to ensure that autonomous legislation was respected and, at the same time, that it complied with constitutional principles.

25.Although article 27 of the Constitution recognized the right to land ownership, it was limited in its scope. The National Institute for Indigenous Peoples was working with government departments to enforce indigenous rights in that regard.

26.Ms. López Rabadán (Mexico) said that important progress had been made in combating racial discrimination. Recent constitutional reforms had granted women, in particular indigenous women, greater opportunities to participate in all levels of government and had recognized the place of Afro-Mexicans in Mexican society.

27.The Government was aware of its duty to combat attitudes of superiority or xenophobia, in particular those targeted against migrants and vulnerable groups. Although legislation criminalizing racial discrimination and hate speech had not yet been adopted, three initiatives were under consideration to harmonize existing legislation with the Convention.

28.The Federal Labour Act clearly prohibited discrimination on the grounds of ethnicity or nationality, including in trade unions. Although the International Labour Organization (ILO) Domestic Workers Convention, 2011 (No. 189) had not yet been ratified, the Act had been amended to guarantee certain rights for domestic workers.

29.Legislation on internal forced displacement was under consideration, which would set out the budget needed to address the phenomenon, the sanctions for committing the offence and the actions required to prevent it occurring and protect victims.

30.The federal and state authorities had an obligation to consult indigenous communities regarding the construction of mega-projects, in line with the ILO Indigenous and Tribal Peoples Convention, 1989 (No. 169). The Senate was currently considering constitutional reforms to facilitate the adoption of a national law on consultations.

31.Mr. Bárcena Zubieta (Mexico) said that, in 2019, the Supreme Court had issued a ruling calling for the criminalization of racial superiority and discrimination within one year. Since 2013, the Court had also been developing a protocol on access to justice for indigenous persons and communities. In addition, it had developed key aspects of the right to free, prior and informed consultation in numerous rulings, in accordance with ILO Convention No. 169.

32.The Court had ruled that article 2 of the Constitution recognized the right of indigenous communities to apply their own normative systems to conflict resolution. Where local legislatures had adopted laws on indigenous justice, the role of the Supreme Court was merely to set the limitations applicable to those laws with a view to protecting human rights, in particular those of women, persons with disabilities and children.

33.Although local courts did not generally publish their rulings, all decisions of the federal courts were made public, with the exception of criminal rulings. The Supreme Court recognized the need to improve access to such rulings and increase the transparency of its processes.

34.Mr. Sandoval Ballesteros (Mexico) said that, as at July 2019, 6,774 indigenous persons were in deprivation of liberty, of whom 235 were women. Indigenous persons accounted for around 3.2 per cent of the prison population.

35.The translation capacities of the Federal Public Defender Institute had been increased dramatically in recent months. It could now handle cases in 90 indigenous languages, thanks to the increase in the number of federal public defenders and bilingual public servants. In addition, the Institute employed lawyers who spoke indigenous languages and experts who could provide advice on indigenous cultures. There were also 55 state public defenders. According to the preliminary results of an ongoing study, at least 41 magistrates and 24 federal judges in the country self-defined as indigenous, and two magistrates and one federal judge self-defined as being of African descent.

36.Corruption in the federal justice system was uncommon. A zero-tolerance policy was in place to combat corruption, and all persons found guilty were suspended or removed from office.

37.The Federal Public Defender Institute worked with public defenders to provide free legal assistance to vulnerable groups, to which a budget of Mex$ 3 billion had been allocated. It had increased the number of federal legal advisers to 198, 19 of whom were specialized in the rights of migrants and persons under international protection. The Institute had recently signed an agreement with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to provide training to those advisers. Each adviser was supported by an administrative assistant who had legal training. The Institute also employed 892 federal criminal defenders, of whom 41 were bilingual. All federal public defenders and advisers were paid a decent salary. There were also some 4,500 lawyers who provided pro bono assistance at the local level. Of the federal cases involving indigenous persons, around 30 per cent were criminal cases and 70 per cent civil cases.

38.Although local and federal defence institutes and the National Institute of Indigenous Languages had the authority to issue certifications of indigenous language ability, lawyers could also gain external certifications. Currently, 35 of the 41 federal public defenders who spoke an indigenous language held external certification.

39.Preventive detention was limited to a maximum term of two years. A strategic human rights litigation unit had been established within the Federal Public Defender Institute with a view to reducing the use of preventive detention.

40.With regard to the publication of rulings, all federal cases were made public except where one of the parties objected. The head of the Supreme Court had issued guidelines stating that an abstract of all judicial rulings must be published, including in indigenous languages where relevant.

41.The Ministry of Justice ran a large number of training courses on racial discrimination, indigenous peoples and migrants for judicial personnel.

42.Ms. Maccise Duayhe (Mexico) said that affirmative action had been taken to increase the representation of indigenous communities. The Electoral Public Defender Service for Indigenous Peoples and Communities had been established, which had heard over 450 cases in various states in the previous three years. Court orders had been issued obliging a number of federal entities with indigenous populations to consider introducing legislation to oblige political parties to field indigenous candidates in districts with large indigenous populations. A proposal had also been made to reduce the number of signatures required by indigenous candidates to stand in elections. Furthermore, a ruling had been issued allowing transgender indigenous women to benefit from gender equality quotas in political positions.

43.The new administration had decided to reallocate the resources in the Proequidad (Pro-Equality) Fund to efforts to prevent child and adolescent pregnancy, as that was a pressing problem which affected indigenous women above all. It was expected that the funding would eventually reach civil society organizations so that they could carry out practical activities in that regard. The Government fully appreciated the work done by civil society organizations.

44.Resources had been allocated to set up 40 shelters for women and over 20 support centres. Funding for an additional 11 shelters had also recently been approved. The Government had increased its national budgetary allocation for combating violence against women and children. Women who had fallen into the criminal justice system often had weaker support networks than their male counterparts and poorer legal defence. Consequently, the Ombudsman was currently reviewing the legal cases of over 80 women, including indigenous women, who had been convicted and sentenced to prison. The National Institute for Women was also reviewing the shortcomings of both the indigenous judicial system and the state judicial system in order to ensure better protection of the rights of indigenous women. Pilot programmes were being developed to that end. Affirmative action for indigenous women was extremely important in ensuring their rightful participation in issues that affected them.

45.Mr. Jileta Verduzco (Mexico) said that the Maya Train development project was targeting the issue of social justice because states in the south of Mexico were less prosperous than those in the north. The railway project would promote development and economic opportunities for local indigenous communities while respecting the environment and protecting indigenous heritage. In that regard, the Government was cooperating with United Nations (UN) agencies, such as UN-Habitat and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Consultations had been held with local communities prior to the approval of the project.

46.Mr. Ballinas Valdés (Mexico) said that a protection mechanism was in place for human rights defenders with a budget of approximately Mex$ 200 million. The mechanism had evaluated over 600 cases of human rights defenders at risk, including those of indigenous origin. The Government worked with civil society organizations to protect such persons and also valued the analyses provided by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), which would be used to draft a bill to strengthen the protection mechanism for human rights defenders.

47.The National Human Rights Commission was working jointly with federal penitentiary facilities to combat human rights violations of detainees, particularly those belonging to the most vulnerable social groups. The National Human Rights Commission conducted impromptu inspections of penitentiary facilities to assess their operations, review staff procedures and receive complaints from detainees. All prisoners were entitled to family visits and a pilot programme was underway which allowed detainees to hold video calls with their loved ones.

48.The Ministry of Foreign Affairs had systematized all the recommendations made by UN mechanisms. From 1996 to 2012, UN mechanisms had submitted over 55 recommendations to Mexico, approximately 80 per cent of which had been implemented through some form of government action, such as legislation, capacity building or awareness raising.

49.Ms. Mendoza Carlos (Mexico) said that, in accordance with the Constitution, International Labour Organization (ILO) Convention No.169 and recent amparo proceedings, the rights of indigenous peoples to their land and territories were recognized in Mexico. Indigenous communities were fully involved in all stages of agricultural dispute settlements and all legal proceedings were translated into the necessary indigenous languages. Local courts provided pedagogical programmes for such persons to ensure their understanding of court proceedings. Since 2012, almost 600 pedagogical programmes had been delivered to over 45,000 persons. Over the same time period, over 9,000 complaints pertaining to indigenous rights had been heard by courts and over 900 had been resolved in favour of the indigenous complainants. Assemblies had also been organized to teach indigenous communities about a number of issues of concern to them, including inheritance law, capacity building and relevant conventions and laws.

50.Mr. Ruiz Gayol (Mexico) said that the National Institute of Indigenous Peoples supported the rights of such communities to preserve the use of traditional medicine and to conserve resources used in the preparation of the medicine, such as plants, minerals, animals, land and waters. Traditional therapies helped to treat a wide variety of medical conditions.

51.Since 2015, almost 7,000 midwives had assisted over 50,000 births in indigenous communities. Medical support staff working with indigenous peoples had to come from indigenous communities themselves and speak the required language. There were also a number of qualified interpreters working in the same field. The Ministry of Health had organized capacity-building workshops on the topic of indigenous health care for management staff and personnel working in the field directly with indigenous communities. Programmes had also been developed to tackle forced sterilization. Contraception taken without the free, prior and informed consent of the user was considered a cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment and was subject to criminal sanctions.

52.Ms. Martínez Liévano (Mexico) said that, pursuant to the Migration Act, foreigners were guaranteed the full enjoyment of their rights regardless of their origin, nationality, gender, ethnicity or migration status. According to the law, when foreigners did not comply with entry requirements, they had to appear before the authorities in order for the National Institute for Migration to determine their migration status. At that stage, they could regularize their status, begin administrative proceedings or request a return to their country of origin. Foreigners were ensured access to consular representation, information about national migration policy and, where appropriate, they were entitled to appoint legal counsel. They were also guaranteed the right to family reunification. Since October 2018, Mexico had noted a surge in migratory flows, which had consequently led to an increase of assisted returns and deportations. Assisted return did not result in foreigners being subject to criminal sanctions and in that case they were free to request a return to Mexico. The sharp rise in requests for asylum by refugees was placing an increased burden on the Mexican Commission for Aid to Refugees. However, the Commission was being supported through its partnership with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). Between 2012 and 2019, more than 5,000 migration offices had benefited from training to combat racial profiling. A draft guide on racial profiling was currently being disseminated.

53.The National Guard was a civil authority and supported the work carried out by the National Institute for Migration. Although they were occasionally called upon to assist in resolving migration situations, the main responsibility for resolving such cases was incumbent upon the National Institute for Migration. An agreement had been signed by Mexico and OHCHR on technical support in ensuring the operation, transparency and accountability of the National Guard.

54.According to national figures, there were approximately 12,000 persons of Korean origin in Mexico, half of whom resided in the state of Mexico.

55.Mr. Albuquerque e Silva commended the delegation on their constructive and transparent approach to the interactive dialogue. However, he said that he was concerned about two recent cases that had occurred in Mexico involving migrants. A Honduran man named Marco Tulio Perdomo Guzman had been shot dead by a police officer and the State Office of the Attorney General had deemed that excessive force had been used by the officer in question. The circumstances surrounding the death of the migrant suggested that the officer had been motivated by racial hatred and xenophobia. He asked what information Mexican authorities had found in relation to the case. The second case pertained to the death of a Haitian migrant in a migrant detention centre. Witnesses had claimed that staff had been involved in his death. It was consequently possible to conclude that the Haitian had been the victim of discrimination, as was often the case for persons of Haitian origin. He asked whether the State could launch an independent investigation into the matter and prosecute the perpetrators of his death. He also noted that the Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples had found that migrants transiting through Mexico were often the target of racial profiling, particularly those of indigenous origin.

56.He invited the delegation to comment on the reported vulnerability and poverty of indigenous agricultural day labourers, who worked long hours for little pay in unhygienic conditions. He would like to know how Mexico processed cases of human rights violations in the workplace given that the State was a party to ILO Conventions No. 29 and 105 on forced labour.

57.With regard to access to justice for indigenous people and foreigners who did not speak Spanish, even where translation services were provided, the legal jargon used by the judiciary was incomprehensible to a layman and was sometimes used as a tool to exert power over vulnerable populations. He requested information on the steps taken by the State party to go beyond the mere translation of legal procedures and to ensure that legal jargon was made understandable to indigenous persons involved in judicial proceedings.

58.Mr. Calí Tzay said that he would appreciate more information on what the State scholarships provided to indigenous people entailed and on what specific actions had been taken to make consultation with indigenous people a reality. The indigenous judicial system should be strengthened and should aim to do more than simply settle disputes within communities. He would like to know what percentage of magistrates across the entire judicial system were of indigenous origin, whether steps were being taken to reduce the disproportionate impact of preventive detention on indigenous women and whether constitutional recognition of the term Afro-Mexican would lead to concrete changes in public policy and greater public participation of that community. In the case of indigenous resistance to the construction of a solar panel park in Yucatán, he was concerned about reports that contracts had been signed before consultations with indigenous people had been held and that no independent experts had been hired, despite requests from the indigenous community. He sought clarification from the delegation in that regard.

59.Mr. Ballinas Valdés (Mexico) said that he was aware of the two recent cases involving the deaths of migrants. Mexico was currently dealing with a significant increase in migratory flows and had appealed to UN mechanisms for assistance in addressing the problem.

60.Mr. Sandoval Ballesteros (Mexico) said that 8 per cent of all federal magistrates and 2.6 per cent of all federal judges in Mexico self-identified as indigenous persons. However, those figures were preliminary as not all magistrates or judges had submitted the relevant information. The State would undertake efforts to ensure that the judicial system was more accessible and comprehensible to indigenous persons. All public defenders working with indigenous communities were of indigenous origin themselves and they were therefore best placed to bridge the gap between the State and indigenous judicial systems. Mexico also had specialized lawyers to assist in migration cases.

61.Mr. Hernández García (Mexico) said that, under the Indigenous Education Support Programme, scholarships could be extended for students working to submit a thesis. Moreover, an extra 5,000 Mexican pesos was granted to cover certification costs for their degrees. The National Institute of Indigenous Peoples was developing a system for consultation with indigenous communities and was seeking constitutional reform to ensure its inclusion of indigenous consultation. Although the Constitution recognized indigenous judicial systems for the purpose of settling internal disputes, it was true that the Constitution should ensure broader recognition of the functions of indigenous judicial systems and the Institute was working on how to implement constitutional reform to that end.

62.Ms. Flores Liera (Mexico) said that the Federal Labour Act prohibited all forms of discrimination in the workplace and that all persons, including migrants, had access to the judicial system. To avoid the exploitation of agricultural day labourers, border-area labour cards were issued to workers from neighbouring countries. Approximately 11,000 such cards had been issued over 2018. Labour inspectorates carried out impromptu inspections of agricultural companies in particular and mechanisms were in place to ensure compliance with ILO Conventions No. 29 and 105.

63.Ms. Verdugo Moreno said that it was important to make the distinction between indigenous peoples and Afro-Mexicans as they were not the same social group. She asked whether a specific standard was in place to guarantee the right to consent for indigenous communities directly affected by development projects. The land of indigenous people needed to be protected as a large proportion of global food was produced by indigenous peoples. She sought additional information on the mandate of the National Institute of Indigenous Peoples and would like to know whether its resolutions were binding and whether the participation of women was an issue taken into consideration. She would also appreciate a comment on how the State party ensured the transparency of its affirmative action programmes.

64.Mr. Murillo Martínez said that institutional structures needed to reflect the ethnic diversity of Mexican society, particularly with respect to persons of African descent. For example, the protection measures proposed by the Ombudsman should take ethnicity into account and the National Institute of Indigenous Peoples could be renamed to include people of African descent. He asked whether the impact of capacity-building courses across the judiciary had been evaluated and what effect austerity policies had had on indigenous peoples and people of African descent.

65.Mr. Avtonomov said that there were distinct communities of people of African descent and he would like to know how the State party was adopting a differentiated approach based on the needs of those communities. He also invited the delegation to comment on how Mexico was investigating the disproportionate levels of harassment suffered by women of African descent and indigenous women, whether the State party was cooperating with non-governmental organizations and whether there were Roma communities living in Mexico.

66.Mr. Diaby said that he would like clarification as regards allegations that persons who self-identified as being of African descent were not legally recognized as such and were confused with indigenous persons. Persons of Mexican origin born outside Mexico suffered different forms of discrimination and were at risk of statelessness. He asked whether the State party would take measures to stop the suffering of such persons by ratifying the Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness.

67.Ms. Mohamed said that she would appreciate more information on migrant workers. She asked whether labour inspectors visited the workplace of migrant workers; whether migrants were able to submit complaints about their working conditions and, if so, how many had done so; whether they had access to the same health insurance services as Mexican citizens, particularly for women who required maternity health coverage, and whether they were entitled to dual nationality if they had been living and working in Mexico for over a decade.

68.The Chair said that the delegation could provide written responses to the remaining questions that had not been answered due to time limitations. The written replies would be taken into consideration when drafting the concluding observations for Mexico.

69.Mr. Albuquerque e Silva thanked the delegation for its open and frank participation in the interactive dialogue.

70.Ms. Delgado Peralta (Mexico) commended the Committee for their constructive and honest feedback. Mexico was proud of the progress it had made in the sphere of human rights but was aware of the significant challenges that persisted. The Government was committed to combating discrimination and would work actively with UN bodies to ensure that no one in Mexican society was left behind.

The meeting rose at 1.05 p.m.