Summary of the matter addressed in the submission:

The Submitters assert that Mexico is failing to effectively enforce various provisions of Mexican environmental law regarding the prevention, monitoring, oversight and control of air pollution in Hermosillo, Sonora. Among other arguments, the Submitters point to the alleged failure to enforce and ensure compliance with the Mexican Official Standards (Normas Oficiales Mexicanas-NOMs) on air pollution; the alleged lack of actions to prevent air pollution in properties and areas under state and municipal jurisdiction; the alleged failure to establish and update a National Air Quality Information System; and the alleged lack of defined state and municipal urban development plans indicating the zones where polluting industries may operate. The authorities deemed responsible under the submission are the Secretariat of the Environment and Natural Resources (Secretar¡a del Medio Ambiente y Recursos Naturales-Semarnat), the Office of the Federal Attorney General for Environmental Protection (Procuradur¡a Federal de Protecci¢n al Ambiente-Profepa), the Executive Branch of the Sonora State Government, the State Secretariat of Urban Infrastructure and Ecology (Secretar¡a de Infraestructura Urbana y Ecolog¡a), the State Secretariat of Health (Secretar¡a de Salud), the Hermosillo municipal government, the State and National Human Rights Commissions (Comisiones Estatal y Nacional de Derechos Humanos), the Second District Court (Juzgado Segundo de Distrito) in Sonora and the Third Collegiate Circuit Court (Tercer Tribunal Colegiado de Circuito). The Submitters also requested that the matter of the submission be considered for a CEC Secretariat report under Article 13 of the NAAEC.

Names and citations of the environmental laws in question:

Various provisions of Mexican environmental law regarding the prevention, monitoring, oversight and control of air pollution; Mexican Official Standards (Normas Oficiales Mexicanas-NOMs)

Submitter(s):

Academia Sonorense de Derechos Humanos, A.C., and Domingo Gutiérrez Mendívil