IDLO and the federal Electoral Tribunal of Mexico have signed an agreement to expand their cooperative ties with a view to strengthening democratic processes and promoting the rule of law and access to justice. The two organizations will collaborate on areas of common interest, including regional networks on electoral justice, access to case law and rules of conduct for judges.
The agreement was concluded during a meeting at IDLO’s headquarters in Rome on June 19, 2018 between IDLO’s Director-General Irene Khan and José Luis Vargas Valdez, a Justice of the High Chamber of the Electoral Tribunal, representing its President and Chief Justice, Janine M. Otálora Malassis. The Mexican Ambassador to Italy, H.E. Juan José Guerra Abud, also took part in the meeting.
“With democracy and electoral systems increasingly under threat around the world, we welcome this opportunity to strengthen IDLO’s collaboration with Mexico’s Electoral Tribunal,” said Ms. Khan. “The Tribunal has shown strong leadership in the area of electoral jurisprudence, and we are committed to sharing international good practices through the Global Network on Electoral Justice.”
The Global Network on Electoral Justice is an international collaborative forum that works to strengthen the effective protection of electoral-political rights. IDLO is a member of the network and participated in its inaugural meeting in November 2017.
Justice Vargas Valdez expressed his appreciation for the formalization of cooperation between the two institutions. “I am convinced that the synergy between the two institutions has great potential. Both IDLO and the Tribunal are committed to enhancing rule of law, democracy, access to justice and gender parity,” he noted.