CAT/C/MEX/CO/5-6 Impunity and violence against women 13. The Committee is concerned by reports that women continue to be the victims of gender-based murders and disappearances, especially in the States of Chihuahua, Jalisco, México and Nuevo León. While noting that major strides have been made in terms of the establishment of legal and institutional means of combating this phenomenon and other forms of violence against women, including feminicide, the Committee is concerned by indications that the new legal framework is not being fully applied by many states. The Committee also takes note with regret of the persistence of impunity for serious acts of violence against women, including those committed in 2006 in San Salvador Atenco, as recently pointed out by the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW/C/MEX/CO/7-8, paras. 18 and 19) (arts. 2, 12, 13 and 16). The Committee urges the State party to redouble its efforts to prevent and combat violence against women, including gender-based murders and disappearances, to punish the perpetrators of such violence and to adopt all necessary measures to give full effect to the decisions of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights in this connection, including its judgement of 16 November 2009 in the case of González et al. (“Cotton Field”) v. Mexico. Human rights defenders and journalists 14. While taking note of the recent promulgation of the Human Rights Defenders and Journalists Protection Act, the Committee remains seriously concerned at the large number of murders, disappearances and acts of intimidation and harassment committed against such persons. It is also concerned by reports of widespread impunity for these crimes and notes that, while most of them are attributed to criminal organizations, in some cases there have been indications that members of security forces may be implicated. In light of this situation, the Committee regrets that the State party has not provided it with specific information on the outcomes of investigations and criminal proceedings that are now under way (arts. 2, 12, 13 and 16). The Committee urges the State party to: (a) Take the necessary steps to guarantee the safety and physical integrity of human rights defenders and journalists by protecting them against any acts of intimidation or violence that they may face in the course of their activities; (b) Expedite the establishment of the protective mechanism provided for in the Human Rights Defenders and Journalists Protection Act; (c) Take steps to carry out prompt, thorough and effective investigations into any and all acts of intimidation or violence directed at human rights defenders and journalists and to prosecute those responsible and punish them in a manner that is commensurate with the gravity of their acts. Confessions obtained under duress 15. While taking note of constitutional guarantees relating to the inadmissibility of evidence obtained in a manner that violates fundamental rights, the Committee regrets that some courts continue to accept confessions that have apparently been obtained under duress or through torture by invoking the principle of “procedural immediacy”. The Committee considers the case of Israel Arzate Meléndez to be an emblematic illustration of the persistence of such practices even in jurisdictions in which the new criminal justice system is already in place. The Committee is closely following this case, which is now before the Supreme Court of Mexico (arts. 2, 12, 13, 15 and 16). GE.12-48654 5