E/CN.4/2003/8/Add.3 page 14 been in the holding centre for three or four months because of logistical problems and, in the case of some nationalities, because of the lack of a consular or diplomatic representative in Mexico, which made it particularly difficult to determine a person’s true nationality; (b) A visit was also paid to the migrant holding centre at Mexico City international airport, to which passengers who arrive on international flights to Mexico City without a valid passport or visa are taken. The maximum stay in this centre is 48 hours. After this, the individuals are returned to their country of origin or sent to the migrant holding centre in Iztapalapa mentioned in the preceding paragraph. Generally speaking, those held in the airport holding centre are waiting to be returned to their country, as flight availability and schedules allow. During its visit, the Working Group saw about 10 people in this migrant holding centre. Most of them had arrived in Mexico a few hours earlier and were waiting to board return flights. Nevertheless, the Working Group observed that this holding centre, which looks more like an airport waiting room, is unsuitable for stays of more than one day, given its lack of facilities there are no beds or bunks, showers, cooking facilities, dining areas, etc. 35. Following its visit to the country, the Working Group received a communication dated 22 November 2002 from the Permanent Representative of Mexico to the United Nations Office at Geneva, describing the measures taken by the National Institute for Migration to reorganize the migrant holding centre in Iztapalapa, for which the Institute is formally responsible. The reorganization programme includes measures to speed up the procedure for dealing with cases of prolonged detention so that the legal time limits are respected, while guaranteeing the human rights of those held in administrative detention. The other measures include agreements with accredited members of the consular corps in Mexico to streamline procedures for issuing identity papers and recognizing the nationality of the persons being held. Also, Chinese and English interpreters have begun to be hired, coordination with the Ministry of the Interior’s Commission for Aid to Refugees (COMAR) in processing asylum applications has been improved and it has been made easier for members of NGOs working with migrants to enter the centre. 36. The Mexican Government also reported that the measures include the publication in the holding centre of the telephone numbers of all accredited consular representatives in Mexico and those of COMAR, UNHCR, the National Human Rights Commission and the internal oversight body of the National Institute for Migration, and reviewing the existing internal regulations and the regulations on security, visits, living together, order and discipline, with a view to ensuring that inmates are guaranteed all their rights, including their right to legality and transparency in the handling of their cases. VI. AREAS OF CONCERN A. The preliminary investigation system and arbitrary detention 37. The predominant legal system in Mexico is a so-called “mixed” one, although in practice it is mainly inquisitorial in the investigatory phase, for the following reasons: in addition to its investigatory functions, the Public Prosecutor’s Office, which comes under the executive,