Jose Guevara, Michael Chamberlin and Ariana Garcia are whistleblowers. As mass crimes ravage their country, Mexico, they're ready to take any risk to end the impunity of the narcos, and especially of the Mexican army and police. Their fight: to haul up the highest officials of their country before the International Criminal Court, the ICC, charged with the task of trying war crimes and crimes against humanity.
In Mexico, the Government has been at war with drug cartels for ten years. Murders, abductions, attacks, the armed struggle has justified violence on both sides. Since 2006, 150 000 people have died, 28 000 people have disappeared and 92 % of the crimes haven't been tried. Blighted by corruption, the Mexican state has failed to bring the culprits to justice. When not simply protecting them. Faced with this disastrous situation, a man has risen up.
As a lawyer specialized in international law, Jose Guevara has faith in justice. According to him, if his country can't stop crimes, the International Criminal Court located in The Hague has to deal with it. Working closely with Ariana Garcia, Michael Chamberlin, or Jimena Reyes, human rights activists, he's been sounding the alarm.
Ariana and Michael investigate and gather evidence, Jose and Jimena build the legal cases, they fight on every front. We follow them to places where civilians mostly are victims of war crimes and crimes against humanity, crimes that concern the International Criminal Court. We follow them all along their investigations amongst the population and their procedures in The Hague, home of the ICC, where they'll submit the case they're building, in order to launch an international judicial inquiry.
As a supranational legal authority, the International Criminal Court mission is to prosecute crimes when the States that have accepted its jurisdiction – as Mexico has – don't do justice themselves.
We'll find out how the Court functions, as well as its red tapes and limits, unfortunately. A cosy microcosm, with limited means, far from the victims, the fifteen-year-old ICC raises doubts over its efficiency and independence, realpolitik oblige.
Will the whistleblowers manage to launch an international criminal investigation in their country? Is the ICC the solution to prosecute those responsible for crimes in Mexico and achieve the ideal of international justice ?
Mexico, dying for justice
2017
Format
52 mn
PartnErs
Arte
Media Res
CNC
Terranoa
Belgian Tax Shelter
Fonds pour le Journalisme
Production
Narratio Films
Directors
André Chandelle
Patrick Remacle
Mexico, dying for justice
Jose Guevara, Michael Chamberlin and Ariana Garcia are whistleblowers. As mass crimes ravage their country, Mexico, they're ready to take any risk to end the impunity of the narcos, and especially of the Mexican army and police. Their fight: to haul up the highest officials of their country before the International Criminal Court, the ICC, charged with the task of trying war crimes and crimes against humanity.
In Mexico, the Government has been at war with drug cartels for ten years. Murders, abductions, attacks, the armed struggle has justified violence on both sides. Since 2006, 150 000 people have died, 28 000 people have disappeared and 92 % of the crimes haven't been tried. Blighted by corruption, the Mexican state has failed to bring the culprits to justice. When not simply protecting them. Faced with this disastrous situation, a man has risen up.
As a lawyer specialized in international law, Jose Guevara has faith in justice. According to him, if his country can't stop crimes, the International Criminal Court located in The Hague has to deal with it. Working closely with Ariana Garcia, Michael Chamberlin, or Jimena Reyes, human rights activists, he's been sounding the alarm.
Ariana and Michael investigate and gather evidence, Jose and Jimena build the legal cases, they fight on every front. We follow them to places where civilians mostly are victims of war crimes and crimes against humanity, crimes that concern the International Criminal Court. We follow them all along their investigations amongst the population and their procedures in The Hague, home of the ICC, where they'll submit the case they're building, in order to launch an international judicial inquiry.
As a supranational legal authority, the International Criminal Court mission is to prosecute crimes when the States that have accepted its jurisdiction – as Mexico has – don't do justice themselves.
We'll find out how the Court functions, as well as its red tapes and limits, unfortunately. A cosy microcosm, with limited means, far from the victims, the fifteen-year-old ICC raises doubts over its efficiency and independence, realpolitik oblige.
Will the whistleblowers manage to launch an international criminal investigation in their country? Is the ICC the solution to prosecute those responsible for crimes in Mexico and achieve the ideal of international justice ?
TEAM
Director : André Chandelle, Patrick Remacle / Chiefs operators : Emmanuel Cappellin, Patrice Michaux, Marc Debelle, Jean-François Awad, François Roland, Fred Vallet / Chief editor : Luc Plantier / Compositeur : Olivier Militon / Producers : Audrey Ferrarese, Maurice Ribière et Fred Decoux
DISTRIBUTION
Terranoa