UN concern at fate of 50 Mexicans on US death row

By Stephanie Nebehay

GENEVA, Aug 8 (Reuters) - The U.N. human rights office voiced concern on Friday for the fate of 50 Mexican nationals on death row in the United States after Texas defied a World Court order and executed one of their compatriots earlier this week.

The United States has an international legal duty to comply with a ruling by the International Court of Justice in March 2004 that it had violated its obligations under the Vienna Convention in the cases of 51 Mexican nationals, the U.N. said.

Jose Medellin, executed by lethal injection on Tuesday in Texas for the 1993 rape and murder of 16-year-old Elizabeth Pena, was among the 51 named by the ICJ as having been deprived of their right to consular services after their arrests.

The Mexican government had brought the case against the United States to the Hague court.

The ICJ ordered that the United States ensure that Medellin not be executed unless and until he received a review of his case to determine whether the breach of the Vienna Convention prejudiced his defence, U.N. human rights spokesman Rupert Colville told a news briefing in Geneva.

"The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights notes that the ICJ orders remain valid for another 50 Mexican nationals on death row in the United States whose situation is similar to that of Mr. Medellin," he said.

The U.N. human rights office has long opposed the death penalty, saying it should be imposed only for the worst crimes after a fair trial that meets international standards.

"The finality of the death penalty makes it essential that it is applied with scrupulous attention to safeguards set down in international law," Colville said.

"One of those safeguards is that foreign nationals should have access to consular services. That is crucial for the protection of all individuals who travel abroad," he said, referring to the 1963 Vienna Convention on Consular Relations.

U.S. President George W. Bush directed Texas to comply with the 2004 ruling mandating review of the cases. The U.S. Supreme Court said in March Bush's action had exceeded his authority.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon issued a last-minute public appeal to the United States to stay Medellin's execution.

The U.N. human rights office had contacted the U.S. government regarding the Medellin case before his execution, according to Colville, who declined to provide details.

U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour stepped down at the end of her term on June 30, and is to be succeeded by South African judge Navanethem Pillay on Sept 1. (Reporting by Stephanie Nebehay, edited by Richard Meares)