20 November 2009
Business Persons in Juarez Petition the UN for Peacekeeping Troops
By Brenda Lopez Romero
Impunity Watch Reporter, North America
JUAREZ, Mexico – The United Nations (UN) received a petition from business persons from the border town of Juarez. The business leaders sought help in form of a peacekeeping mission from the UN to protect them from the drug related violence in thier city. However, an agent of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime in Mexico stated that such relief is unavailable, and it is unlikely that a petition could even be heard from direct citizens of a State. The business persons also submitted a request for assistance from the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights.
(PHOTO: Courtesy of AFP)
The business persons are from the Juarez Association of Maquiladoras whose business is primarily foreign owned factories and business associations generally.
Daniel Murguia, President of the Ciudad Juarez group of the National Chamber of Commerce, Services and Tourism indicted that “this is a proposal … for international forces to come here to help out the domestic [security] forces. There are a lot of extortions and robberies of businesses. Many businesses are closing,” and added that “what we are asking for with the blue helmets [UN peacekeepers] is that we know they are the army of peace, so we could use not only the strategies they have developed in other countries … but they also have technology.”
Mexican President Felipe Calderon sent about 50,000 military forces in December 2006, in a controversial crackdown and the Mexican military continues training and joining the local police enforcement. Nonetheless the violence has not ceased.
The violence statistics are staggering with more than 2,000 killings reported this year and records about 10 murders a day for a population of 1.5 million.
For more information, please see:
AFP – Mexico leaders call for UN help in Ciudad Juarez – 10 November 2009
CNN – Juarez business leaders petition U.N. for help with drug traffickers – 12 November 2009
New York Daily News – Mexican city of Ciudad Juarez calls for U.N. to help quell violence – 12 November 2009
