Photo: SIPAZ
On May 17th, following the deaths of several Guatemalan children and adolescents detained by immigration agents in Mexico and the US, different networks of civil organizations and people defending the rights of the migrant population expressed their “outrage, repudiation and concern” over this situation. They also noted that these cases are not isolated “but continuous events that reflect patterns of human rights violations and, therefore, highlight the inhumane conditions of the control of migratory flows that these countries exercise, thus making the universal right to life impossibe.”
Therefore, they demanded a halt to the detentions of children or adolescents, accompanied or unaccompanied, and guarantee their integrity and human rights, incorporating “the fundamental principle of the best interests of children in all migratory and asylum processes.”
They also urged “to guarantee the non-repetition of these events, as well as to investigate and punish the officials who are responsible, directly and indirectly, for these regrettable acts, in which fundamental rights of people in great need of protection were compromised.”
For more information in Spanish:
Ante las muertes de niñas, niños y adolescentes guatemaltecos en manos de agentes de migración en México y EEUU; (OSC, comunicado del mayo de 2019
Organizaciones piden un alto a las detenciones de niños, niñas y adolescentes migrantes, (Chiapas Paralelo, 22 de mayo de 2019)
Exigen a AMLO que cesen “detenciones” de niños migrantes, (La Jornada, 17 de mayo de 2019)
For more information from SIPAZ:
National: Judge Recognizes Migrant Caravan Children and Adolescents as Refugees (March 6, 2019)
National/International: 181 Countries Approve United Nations Global Pact for Refugees (January 4, 2019)
National/International: 164 Countries Approve UN Global Migration Pact (January 2, 2019)
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