Mexican Human Rights Commission under fire

A report by the Washington-based group Human Rights Watch is highly critical of Mexico's National Human Rights Commission. The commission is a kind of ombudsman meant to give Mexicans a place to seek redress when their rights are violated by the state. As such, it is a linchpin of the country's transition.

But Human Rights Watch says the commission has dropped the ball: It issues many scathing reports (in the case of the notorious Ciudad Juarez killings of hundreds of women, for example) but rarely follows up with the kind of action that will force authorities to act. The commission often looks the other way when its recommendations are ignored, the report says.

"The commission could have a much greater impact on human rights in Mexico," José Miguel Vivanco, Americas director of HRW, said in a press release. "While it does a decent job documenting abuses and identifying problems, it doesn't take the crucial steps to bring about change."

-- Hector Tobar in Mexico City