When military officers commit abuses, are they held accountable?
No. Virtually all military abuses of civilians go unpunished. A major reason for this is that they are investigated and prosecuted by the military itself, and the military justice system is not structured to address human rights violations independently and impartially. The system is extremely opaque and secretive; the defense secretary controls both the armed forces and the military justice system; military judges lack security of tenure; and there is virtually no civilian review of military court decisions. What’s more, victims and their families cannot effectively challenge the decision that their allegations of human rights abuses be heard in a military tribunal rather than a civilian court. Proof of the military justice system’s failure to hold soldiers accountable is in the numbers. According to information provided the Mexican government – made available only after Human Rights Watch repeatedly requested evidence that the military justice system was in fact prosecuting abuses –
