UN torture prevention experts on Friday urged a significant strengthening of preventive measures in Mexico, recognizing progress, but expressing particular concern over unregulated drug rehabilitation centers.

The assessment was delivered by the UN Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture (SPT) following a week-long visit to the country, its first in a decade. The experts acknowledged Mexico’s political commitment, highlighted by the adoption of key laws like the 2017 General Law on the Prevention of Torture and the establishment of a well-resourced National Preventive Mechanism (NPM).

The two realities observed by the delegation, a robust legal framework on paper and inconsistent implementation on the ground, define the current challenge. While Mexico has created specialized prosecutors and strengthened its NPM, the SPT found that involuntary institutionalization persists despite being outlawed, and investigations into torture remain slow and ineffective, perpetuating impunity.

Carmen Comas-Mata, head of the SPT delegation, outlined the core concern stating, “[h]owever, much work remains with regard to the implementation of torture prevention measures…We are particularly concerned by the situation observed in drug rehabilitation centers, especially those that operate privately and outside any adequate regulatory framework.”

Consequently, experts urged the Mexican state to bridge the gap between its legal obligations under the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture (OPCAT), which it ratified, and the reality in detention settings. The SPT emphasized that addressing the prolonged crisis in private, unregulated rehabilitation centers requires “urgent and decisive action.”

The SPT’s visit and forthcoming confidential report, while a vital tool for monitoring and guidance, are still advisory in nature. They diagnose systemic failures and coercive practices but cannot themselves enforce regulatory oversight or reform prosecutorial bodies, which constitute the Mexican state’s sovereign responsibility. Mexico’s human rights landscape has been in a state of crisis for a long time. The country has been in a turmoil with respect to upholding principles of rule of law, separation of powers, judicial independence, and equality before law.