Ecobreves – MEXICO: NGOs Demand Respect for the Right to a Healthy Environment

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MEXICO CITY, Feb 13 2012 (IPS) - The public but autonomous National Commission of Human Rights (CNDH) of Mexico should take action to defend the right to a healthy environment, say two non-governmental organizations. A complaint filed by the Fray Julián Garcés Center for Human Rights and Local Development and the Mexican Environmental Law Center refers specifically to the pollution of the Atoyac River, which runs through the southern states of Puebla and Tlaxcala, and the construction of the Independencia Aqueduct in the northern state of Sonora.

The two organizations have called on the CNDH to intervene in these cases because of the threats posed to nearby communities.

"Because of the CNDH’s failure to take action in these cases, we have been obliged to file a complaint with the internal monitoring body against the attorneys responsible for them," Alejandra Méndez, deputy director of the Fray Julián Garcés Center, told Tierramérica.