UNREDACTED: The National Security Archive Blog

Yesterday, Freedominfo.org published a report on access to information in Mexico titled, “Access to Information in Mexico: Migration and National Security.” The report evaluates freedom of information requests about abuses perpetrated by Mexican security forces against Central American migrants traveling through Mexico.  The report finds the results are mixed; while general information about migration is being made available to the public, sensitive information related to human rights violations is being withheld. The report found that in some instances,

“withheld information related to human rights abuses on the grounds that it is classified and would be detrimental to national or public security– which is expressly forbidden by Mexican freedom of information law.”

This report is part of a larger Archive project being conducted with Mexican organizations along the southern and northern borders of Mexico to protect the rights of migrants. The Archive is submitting FOIA requests in parallel with Mexican freedom of information requests sent by Mexican organizations, including Centro de Derechos Humanos Fray Matías de Córdova, among others, for information related to violations of migrants’ human rights by Mexican security forces. In many cases, as discussed in this report, the information is being withheld on the ground of national security, which is against Mexican law.

Read the full report on Freedominfo.org, available in English and Spanish.