Mexico Troops Must Leave Streets: UN Rights Official

Mexico City: The United Nations' human rights chief called on Mexico on Wednesday to set a timetable for the withdrawal of military forces from controversial police work.

Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, said the ministers of defense and the navy told him that they themselves were not at ease with having their forces doing police chores.

Zeid recommended that President Enrique Pena Nieto's administration "adopt a timeframe for the withdrawal of the military from public security functions."

Drug-related violence surged in Mexico after then president Felipe Calderon deployed troops in late 2006 to crack down on organized crime.

Human rights organizations have accused soldiers of committing abuses while deployed on the streets of Mexico.

Separately, Zeid urged the government to follow the recommendations of independent experts from the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights to follow new leads in the high-profile case of 43 missing students.

Mexico's foreign ministry said it was Mexico City's job to solve these problems.

"Mexico, as a nation, recognizes that the country faces major challenges in order for it to achieve full respect for Human Rights nationwide. Still... it falls to the government to decide how to face these challenges," a foreign ministry statement said.