USAID/Mexico's Justice and Security Program: Quarterly Progress Report for Q III-2010

The Merida Initiative is a bilateral cooperative program between Mexico and the United States aimed at improving the justice system, professionalizing law enforcement, and reducing human trafficking and human rights abuses. The S&J Program is working to increase public oversight through policy reforms, specialized training, technical assistance, public outreach, exposure to successful strategies and programs, and collaboration with Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) and Civil Society Organizations (CSOs). The program supports the Government of Mexico (GOM) in two key areas: the Federal and State Level Implementation of Criminal Justice Reforms and Justice Sector and Civil Society Organizations Promotion of Human Rights. During the reporting period, the S&J Program assumed full control of all program sub-components from the incumbent and achieved significant success. A total of 91 training events took place between March 1 and June 30, with the criminal justice sub-component organizing the most events (37). The program emphasized its trainings of trainers (ToT) to ensure sustainability and lasting impact, with 43 participants in Trafficking in Persons, 22 participants in Alternative Justice, and 13 participants in Criminal Justice. The program's training activities were carried out in 21 states and the District Federal, with the largest numbers of participants trained in the District Federal (1368), Guanajuato (1238), Baja California (1109), Hidalgo (536), Zacatecas (352), Oaxaca (270), and Durango (246). The program works simultaneously in two or more sub-components in these states, allowing for the development of synergies and establishing the foundations for increased efficiency and more comprehensive results and impact. The gender disaggregation by sub-component reflects the composition of the agencies and beneficiaries of the trainings according to cultural paradigms and gender roles in Mexico. Police trainees are mostly men (58%), while trainees from Alternative Justice (62%), Trafficking in Persons (57%), and Human rights CSOs (51%) are women. The S&J Program is in the process of producing qualitative indicators of the new accusatory justice system, which did not exist previously. The program will include variables necessary to evaluate the impact and effectiveness of the implementation of the new system, such as reduction in preventive prison sentences, reduction in judicial errors, and seriousness of cases. These variables have been selected based on the new procedural model and with respect to human rights. The program's efforts aim to bring Mexico in line with global standards set forth in the U.N. and Inter-American Conventions in support of justice reforms and against corruption. The S&J Program's success during the reporting period demonstrates its commitment to improving the justice system and promoting human rights in Mexico.