Mexico condemned the atrocities committed in the Ukrainian town of Bucha before the UN

Six weeks after the Russian attacks began in Ukraine, leaving hundreds of fatalities, this Tuesday the Mexican representative to the United Nations (UN), Juan Ramón de la Fuente Ramírez, spoke out on the situation, condemning the images, for example, coming from Bucha, and supporting the the intention of that organization to investigate precisely whether war crimes occurred there.

“We have seen with horror the images he has shared with us, they are the Guernica mural recreated once again with civilian victims. For six weeks now, the world has been following with dismay the devastating consequences of Russia's invasion of Ukraine,” the Mexican representative said during the UN Security Council session. “We strongly condemn the atrocities that are reflected in them, there is absolutely nothing to justify them.”

After the attack on Bucha, a town in northern Ukraine, where there are already 400 bodies in the streets after being besieged for weeks by Russian troops, de la Fuente said that protecting civilians “is an inalienable responsibility of the international community.”

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitro Kuleba considered this attack “the worst massacre in Europe since World War II.” While the human rights organization Human Rights Watch (HRW) claimed to have indications that the Russian Army has committed possible war crimes in areas under its control, including summary executions of civilians.

De la Fuente agreed that serious human rights violations “make it necessary to maintain the possibility that war crimes have actually been committed,” and emphasized: “Mexico fully supports the Secretary-General's statement so that impartial investigations can be carried out as soon as possible to identify accountability and accountability”.

He added that the Mexican representation is closely following the work of the International Criminal Court and “we support the prosecutor who is in the process of investigating alleged international crimes committed in Ukraine, as well as the Independent Commission of Inquiry created for the same purposes by the UN Human Rights Council, their reports will be decisive”.

“Mexico recognizes and commends the work of all humanitarian actors involved in Ukraine, as well as the solidarity of neighbouring countries that have received millions of refugees and the mediation efforts of different countries and different actors. We hope that this Council, in strict adherence to International Law, International Humanitarian Law and International Human Rights Law, will fulfill its responsibility and effectively contribute to ending the war and restoring peace,” he concluded.

Mexico's stance on Russian attacks in Ukraine has generated international controversy. Especially for its neighbor to the north of the United States.

Precisely, on Tuesday it was announced that some 25 Mexican legislators, including the depurate for the Labor Party (PT), Gerardo Fernández Noroña, could be left without visas to enter the United States, after that country's congress proposed to withdraw those permits as they were considered pro-Russian. Alberto Anaya Gutiérrez, president of the PT, and former deputy for Nuevo León, Santiago González Soto, are other characters that make up the list, who also make up the so-called Mexico-Russia Friendship Committee.

“The temporary election of this committee sent a clear message to the United States and the free world,” Texas Democratic Congressman Vicente Gonzalez warned. He indicated that although President López Obrador himself “continues to take a neutral public stance on the conflict between Russia and Ukraine,” “the actions taken by members of his own Morena party and others suggest otherwise,” and he concluded, considering it unfortunate that the US neighbor himself has not already joined the democracies. to condemn Russia and impose sanctions on it.

While this Monday the renowned newspaper The Washington Post mentioned the Aztec country in a harsh editorial against countries that still have reservations to condemn the Russian attack in Ukraine. “Many large and influential nations, including some democracies with which the United States has strong relations, have been wrong. It is a worrying aspect of the crisis and requires a deliberate but differentiated US response,” the newspaper noted.

Although, among the reasons, the most unjustified is the Mexican position. “For Mexico alone, the problem is pure mistaken ideology rather than conflict of interest. It has only $2.3 billion in two-way trade with Russia, but the southern neighbor of the United States and the largest merchandise trading partner ($614.5 billion in 2019) sticks to President Andrés Manuel López Obrador's non-interventionist dogma. Some members of his left political party, unscrupulous, chose this moment to inaugurate a 'friendship committee' with Russia,” the publication condemned.

And in their conclusion, they conclude by noting “Washington should aggressively deploy moral persuasion, trade and aid, both economic and military. That is what Russia has been doing; this country must respond in the same way.”

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