Nestor Jimenez
Newspaper La Jornada
Wednesday, October 26, 2022, p. 3
The Mexican State took the complaint against US armories to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR).
Presenting the case yesterday before the international organization, in a hearing –at the request of the Mexican representation–, Alejandro Celorio, legal consultant of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (SRE), endorsed several points that the government has exposed about the responsibility of the arms manufacturers, for negligence
which has allowed its sale to criminal groups with a presence in Mexico.
The SRE official lamented the absence of the United States representation and stressed that the companies also can be account calls
for actions that affect human rights, in a position that was supported by Bolivia and Paraguay, as well as various civil organizations based in Brazil, the Netherlands and the United States.
He explained that criminal groups in Mexico have shown their weapons even in videos, and by tracking the serial number of the seized pieces, the route leads to the neighboring country to the north. He argued that the serious problem in this context is the illicit trafficking of weapons, which arrive after being purchased on US soil.
It is clear that these points of sale are feeding criminal organizations in my country, and therein lies their negligence, a term we use because that is how we have handled it in the civil lawsuit, but obviously it is irresponsible, total carelessness, illegality, complicity.
said the federal official.
He added that the responsibility of companies consists in they know that their product is going to fall into the hands of criminals, who are going to violate human rights, and they do nothing to prevent it
.
With the information available, the firms they could monitor their points of sale and, if they were responsible, say to their sellers: we are going to stop distributing weapons or take actions so that they stop being so reckless
Celorio said.
He suggested that the IACHR reflect on how the US arms industry could self-regulate, and asserted that companies should carry out a risk assessment, which would have to lead to not setting up stores a few meters from the border.
