The Mexican government did not rule out the possibility of
referring Washington's plan on building fences on the US- Mexico
border to the United Nations (UN), said visiting Mexican Foreign
Minister Luis Ernesto Derbez in Paris on Monday.
The Mexican government is assessing the issue of filing a case
against Washington through an investigation which is still
underway, he told reporters after talks with his French counterpart
Philippe Douste-Blazy, noting once the "right elements are there,
of course we will proceed."
Vowing to work until the last day of outgoing President Vincente
Fox's term, which is due to end on Dec. 1, the minister said he did
not know whether President-elect Felipe Calderon will continue the
legal analysis.
Last week when asked if the Mexican government would refer the
issue to the UN, he said it was "examining with the foreign
relations legal team what options are open at an international
level, and we will take them."
Despite Mexico's efforts to lobby for a veto, US President
George W. Bush last Wednesday signed a bill, which had been passed
earlier by the US Congress, on building about 1,125 km of new
fencing along the US- Mexico border aimed at preventing illegal
immigration.
Under the bill, about US$1.2 billion will be spent during the
fiscal year that began on Oct. 1 for southwest border fencing and
other barriers.
The plan has aroused strong opposition from Mexico. Fox called
the fence plan "shameful."
Meanwhile, Calderon said the fences are not a solution to
illegal immigration, and he described the case as a bilateral issue
that should not be referred to the international community.
(Xinhua News Agency October 10, 2006)
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