E/CN.4/2003/85/Add.2 page 13 V. MIGRATION TRENDS ON THE SOUTHERN BORDER 36. Mexico’s southern border is widely used by migrants travelling to the United States or Canada. While flows of migrants through this region are not new, they have grown considerably since the 1990s and are increasingly viewed by the authorities as posing a threat to national security. Consequently, various plans have been drawn up and implemented with a view to curbing unlawful migration across Mexico’s southern border. The increased monitoring of this border coincides, in time and strategically, with the tightening of controls along the United States border with Mexico by the United States authorities. 37. In July 2001, the INM began its so-called Plan Sur (“South Plan”) with the aim of “strengthening the presence of the Mexican State in the fight against organized crime”5 from Tehuantepec Isthmus to the southern border. According to information received by the Special Rapporteur, the medium and long-term objectives of the Plan are to “safeguard national sovereignty and create conditions conducive to development for persons living on the southern border by combating organized crime”.6 With regard to migration policies, the objectives of the first phase are to combat the trafficking and smuggling of migrants in the southern region, to combat illegal trafficking in and exploitation of children, and to promote and consolidate a culture of respect for the law and human rights in the southern region. The second phase of the Plan provides for “a programme of action to create, in the medium and long terms, conditions conducive to the sustainable and comprehensive development of the country’s southern region”.7 38. Through statements gathered during her visit, the Special Rapporteur noted that the South Plan had resulted in the establishment of “inspection belts” (police posts) in various parts of the isthmus, which are intended to create a containment barrier covering the main routes taken by migrants on their way north. In addition to the INM, the Mexican army, the Federal Highway Police, the Public Security Police, the Judicial Police and the Office of the Procurator-General are participating in the Plan and coordinating their activities, in particular through the establishment of joint operational bases in strategic locations. In her talks with southern municipal officials, the Special Rapporteur noted that the Plan was seen as a federal operation in which the municipal officials did not feel involved. 39. The Special Rapporteur welcomes any positive results achieved by the South Plan in efforts to combat crime and develop the border regions. Nevertheless, she is concerned that increased controls and the presence of armed forces may have negative consequences both for international migrants and indeed for Mexicans travelling to the north of the country. The various bodies that take part in the interception of migrants allegedly have no training in migration matters and, according to information given to the Special Rapporteur, are even unfamiliar with certain identity documents, such as the temporary permit issued by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (to asylum-seekers), and the FM3 and FM2 visas. The abuses committed by public officials in interception operations are difficult to report, since migrants are rarely able to identify the body to which the officer involved in the abuse belongs.