Military justice and impunity in Mexico's drug war

Summary: Mexican President Felipe Calderón's military deployment to combat the country's war on drugs has been strongly criticized by international human rights groups. During Calderón's administration, over 47,337 people have been killed and thousands of human rights complaints have been filed against the military. The Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACtHR) has issued several binding rulings that obligate Mexico to strip the military of its jurisdiction to investigate and try soldiers accused of violating civilians' human rights. On July 12, 2011, Mexico's Supreme Court ruled that Congress must reform the Code of Military Justice so that human rights abuse cases always fall under civilian jurisdiction. The Arce Initiative, brought forward by Senator René Arce from Mexico's opposition party, is the only proposed reform that complies with the IACtHR rulings and international human rights law. The Merida Initiative, a US aid package designed to assist in the fight against the war on drugs, places too much emphasis on the military and law enforcement, and needs to be revised. Civilian rule of law in Mexico can be strengthened by donor governments who are willing to help implement measures to increase transparency, combat corruption and rampant human rights abuses, and ease the transition to an accusatorial oral justice system.