Comisión de Derechos Humanos del Distrito Federal

They are the essential rights to human nature. Without them one cannot live with the dignity that every single person is entitled to have and are necessary for the existence of people and the community. Human rights are established in the first chapter of the Mexican Political Constitution (Constitución Política de los Estados Unidos Mexicanos).

They are also recognized in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, sighed by the President of Mexico, approved by the Senate, in the terms established by our constitution and other international instruments.

•	Human rights are the prohibition of slavery and torture, the right to life, freedom and safety.
•	To speak to the authorities respectfully to make petitions and, obviously, to obtain answers.
•	To own property Individually or as a group.
•	To have freedom of thought, conscience and religion, as well as freedom of opinion and to express yourself.
•	To have the freedom to unite and have a peaceful gathering.
•	Equality before the law and, when someone is accused of committing a crime, to be considered innocent, until he/she is found guilty.
•	It is the right of a victim of a crime for the delinquent to be punished.

Remember: All human rights are limited to the rights of others.

What are the CDHDF and its Powers?

The Mexico City Human Rights Commission (CDHDF) is the organization in charge of investigating complaints and reports of alleged violations to human rights, when they are attributed to any authority or public servant that has a job, position or commission in the pubic administration of Mexico City or in the law enforcing organizations, which have local jurisdiction in Mexico City.

The President of the CDHDF—also known as the Defender of the People—is assigned by the México City Legislative Assembly ( Asamblea Legislativa del Distrito Federal, ALDF) and his authority is autonomous, in other words, it is not subject to any authority or public servant.

The CDHDF works are based on its own laws and internal regulations.

The powers of the CDHDF are (article 17 of the Mexico City Human Rights Law):

•	I. To receive complaints of alleged violations on human rights.
•	II. To know about and investigate written requests by the people of alleged violations on human rights in the following cases:
	a)	By acts or omissions of an administrative matter by public servants or by the Mexico City authorities, which 3rd article of this Law refers to.
	b)	When a person or any social agent commits a crime with the consent of a public servant or local authority of Mexico City; or when the latter refuse, on no grounds, to exercise the obligations that they have in relation to these crimes, especially when they affect people’s physical integrity.
	III. To make conciliatory proposals between the people who complain and the authorities or the public servants allegedly responsible, to immediately solve the problem when possible.
•	IV. To make autonomous public recommendations, reports and complaints - without ties - before the corresponding authorities.
•	V. To impel the adherence of human rights in Mexico City.
•	VI. To suggest to the different authorities in Mexico City, the posing of projects of the alterations on the legislative and lawful decisions, as well as administrative practices which, according to the CDHDF, lead to a better protection of human rights.
•	VII. To promote the study, teaching and spreading of human rights in its territorial area.
•	VIII. To issue its internal rules and regulations.
•	IX. To make and orchestrate preventive programs regarding human rights.
•	X. To ensure that the conditions of the people deprived of their freedom in detention, internment and social re-adaptation centres of Mexico City centres, are in accordance with the law and for their human rights to be fully respected, to be able to request the medical examining of prisoners or those arrested when there are alleged mistreatments or tortures, reporting to the corresponding authorities the results of the revisions performed. It is understood that these powers have no prejudice regarding the Human Rights National Commission (CNDH), an for them to be exercised we will promote the instrumentation of coordination mechanisms useful for this.
•	XI. The others that grant this law and other legal and established codes.

Brief History of the CDHDF

The Mexico City Human Rights Commission (CDHDF) was established on September 30, 1993. It is the most recent of the public organizations for the protection of human rights that exists in Mexico, which are founded in the article 102 section B of the Mexican Political Constitution, which was authorized in the Highest Law of our country in the institution of the defender of the people.

The Defender of the People appeared in Sweden at the beginning of the XIX century. Nowadays it exists, with diverse variations, in many countries of the world. He/she is a mediator, with great prestige and morality, among the authorities and those governed, who seeks conciliatory ways to solve conflicts between each other.

The Defender of the People is completely autonomous not only regarding the governmental authorities but also regarding political parties, enterprises, pressure groups and religious associations. Autonomy is a crucial characteristic of the public defender of human rights.

Due to the slow and difficult way in which the matters of the traditional, judicial and administrative instances, the Defender of the People has the power to, in order to solve the cases quickly, act without excessive formalisms, and is not forced to exhaust long proceedings.

The People that the CDHDF Serves

Any person that considers that his/her or another persons human rights have been violated, regardless of his/her social condition, nationality, race, religion, sex, age, marital status, etc, can go to the Mexico City Human Rights Commission.

It is not a requirement to have a lawyer or an agent to make a complaint.

The service given to the public is direct

All the services are completely free of charge.

It is open every single day of the year, 24 hours a day.

The information presented by the people with complaints is completely confidential and this same standard is followed when the files are issued.

Those who go to the Commission only have to report, either written or orally, why they feel their rights were violated and to present any evidence that they may have.

Legal Authority of the CDHDF

(Article 18 and 19 of the Mexico City Human Rights Commission Law):

The Mexico City Human Rights Commission (CDHDF) cannot become involved with cases regarding:

•	Acts and resolutions of electoral organisations or authorities.
•	Resolutions regarding jurisdictional matters.
•	Issues regarding working matters.
•	Consultation posed by the authorities, citizens or other entities, on the interpretation of constitutional dispositions and of other juridical rules and regulations.

For the purposes of the above Law, we consider as jurisdictional resolutions:

•	The final sentences that will conclude the requests.
•	The interlocutory sentences that are brought in during the process;
•	The court orders and agreements passed by the judge, court staff, court or law enforcing organisation, with a previous evaluation and juridical or legal process carried out before it is issued, and
•	With regards to administrative issues, the similar cases to the above in the aforementioned clauses.

All the other acts or omissions of the procedures different to the ones mentioned in the previous sections can be considered to be administrative and, consequently, susceptible to be presented before the Mexico City Human Rights Commission.

The Commission is not able to examine jurisdictional matters.