HomeNewsBriefHuman Rights Judge Backs Use of Military to Fight Crime
BRIEF

Human Rights Judge Backs Use of Military to Fight Crime

8 OCT 2013 BY CHARLES PARKINSON EN

The President of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights has endorsed the legality of the domestic deployment of the military to fight crime, raising the question of whether this will affect claims made against human rights abuses committed during such deployments.

Speaking following the inauguration of the 48th Extraordinary Session of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (CIDH), Peruvian judge Diego Garcia-Sayan said that in certain security situations it is valid to use the military to maintain order. According to Garcia-Sayan, Latin American governments often face organized crime groups that can match or even exceed their powers and capacity for territorial control, reported Informador

According to the judge, the threat to the people and institutional stability posed by organized crime is "one of the greatest challenges" posed to governments throughout the region, reported El Universal. He also stated that in such extraordinary circumstance the acceptability of deploying the military to combat domestic crime is established in international law.

InSight Crime Analysis

The judge's comments come at a time when the militarization of law enforcement is high on the agenda in Latin America. While Garcia-Sayan was answering questions on Mexico, he made it clear that his words were intended for the entire region.

The military was a central element in former Mexican President Felipe Calderon's war on drug cartels. While that "war" has been scaled down in the public discourse by current president Enrique Peña Nieto, soldiers remain engaged in citizen security and the government continues with its plans to inaugurate a militarized gendarmerie force.

Elsewhere in the region the military has been deployed in several other countries including Honduras, and the Dominican Republic, while other countries, most notably Brazil, use military police forces.

One of the strongest arguments against the use of soldiers is their failure to uphold human rights standards when employing military rather than policing tactics to combat crime. Mexican military personnel have been consistently criticized for such abuses, while in Honduras the blurring of civil and military lines has also been the subject of a legal challenge

Although Garcia-Sayan's words about organized crime in Latin America ring true, his endorsement of the use of the army for citizen security may affect claims made against military human rights abuses before the CIDH, which is often the only serious option available to citizens as military personnel tend to be tried in closed military courts.

share icon icon icon

Was this content helpful?

We want to sustain Latin America’s largest organized crime database, but in order to do so, we need resources.

DONATE

What are your thoughts? Click here to send InSight Crime your comments.

We encourage readers to copy and distribute our work for non-commercial purposes, with attribution to InSight Crime in the byline and links to the original at both the top and bottom of the article. Check the Creative Commons website for more details of how to share our work, and please send us an email if you use an article.

Was this content helpful?

We want to sustain Latin America’s largest organized crime database, but in order to do so, we need resources.

DONATE

About InSight Crime

THE ORGANIZATION

Venezuela Coverage Continues to be Highlighted

3 MAR 2023

This week, InSight Crime co-director Jeremy McDermott was the featured guest on the Americas Quarterly podcast, where he provided an expert overview of the changing dynamics…

THE ORGANIZATION

Venezuela's Organized Crime Top 10 Attracts Attention

24 FEB 2023

Last week, InSight Crime published its ranking of Venezuela’s ten organized crime groups to accompany the launch of the Venezuela Organized Crime Observatory. Read…

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime on El País Podcast

10 FEB 2023

This week, InSight Crime co-founder, Jeremy McDermott, was among experts featured in an El País podcast on the progress of Colombia’s nascent peace process.

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime Interviewed by Associated Press

3 FEB 2023

This week, InSight Crime’s Co-director Jeremy McDermott was interviewed by the Associated Press on developments in Haiti as the country continues its prolonged collapse. McDermott’s words were republished around the world,…

THE ORGANIZATION

Escaping Barrio 18

27 JAN 2023

Last week, InSight Crime published an investigation charting the story of Desafío, a 28-year-old Barrio 18 gang member who is desperate to escape gang life. But there’s one problem: he’s…