Mexico: Children's Rights

(asked on 24th April 2019) - View Source

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether he plans to make representations to his Mexican counterpart on (a) monitoring at state level in Mexico the right of all children to receive an education and (b) intervening to protect this right including where children are barred from attending school due to the religious beliefs of their parents.


Answered by
Alan Duncan Portrait
Alan Duncan
This question was answered on 29th April 2019

Officials in the British Embassy in Mexico City have regular contact with the Government of Mexico and civil society groups, including Christian Solidarity Worldwide, to help inform our understanding of the human rights situation on the ground, including in matters of freedom of religion or belief. Mexico has close to universal access to basic education. Our assessment and that of the Government of Mexico is that there are some cases of attempted forced conversion, illegal fines, cutting of basic services and forcible displacement of people due to their religious beliefs, but they are isolated and not widespread or endemic. We will continue to work with civil society to identify when rare exceptions do occur. We will also continue to engage regularly with the Mexican authorities at Ministerial, official and state levels to discuss human rights, and other freedoms, and to support a broad human rights agenda in the country.

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