UN experts warn of the negative effects of the Mayan Train in Mexico

MADRID, 7 Dic. (EUROPA PRESS) -

United Nations experts have expressed their concern this Wednesday about the Mayan Train macro-project, 1,500 kilometers of railways in the Mexican Yucatan peninsula, due to the collateral effects it may have for the environment, for indigenous peoples and for the use of natural resources.

The President of Mexico, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, is one of the main defenders of this project, but experts consider that the Government must adopt "additional measures" that ultimately guarantee respect for Human Rights and the environment.

They warn of the threats and attacks of which those who challenge this initiative are victims, as well as the limited access to independent and impartial justice, in a particularly problematic context because it is a project elevated to a national security category.

This change in status allows the derogation of certain safeguards, but for the experts it cannot make Mexico evade its "obligation" to "respect, protect and fulfill the Human Rights of the people affected by this megaproject and to protect the environment in accordance with the international standards".

This decision, they have warned, "not only has the potential to allow Human Rights abuses to continue unaddressed, but also undermines the purpose of the project to bring inclusive and sustainable social and economic development to the five Mexican states involved." ".

The president of the UN Working Group on Business and Human Rights, Fernanda Hopenhaym, has also expressed her "great concern" over "the growing participation of the Army in the construction and management of the project", which has been involved in controversy since its inception.

Among the requests raised by these rapporteurs is the need for the affected communities to participate in a meaningful way, as well as that any evaluation of the possible effects of the Mayan Train be prepared and published in a clear manner.

"The free, prior and informed consent of indigenous peoples must be respected and the actual and potential cumulative impacts of projects must be transparently assessed, in accordance with international human rights and environmental standards," the signatories stressed.

The message of the rapporteurs also extends to the participation of companies, which they urge to take into account all the derivatives of a project that entails costs of some 20,000 million dollars.

They consider that "relevant companies and investors domiciled in Spain, the United States and China cannot turn a blind eye to the serious human rights problems related to the Mayan Train project."