Chiapas: National Guard and Police Oppression of Migrants Protesting over COVID-19 Fears

@Conexion Migrante

On March 23rd, between 50 and 70 migrants, mainly from Central American countries, clashed with Federal Police and National Guard agents inside the Siglo XXI Migration Center in Tapachula.

Given the worldwide spread of COVID-19, Guatemala closed its borders on March 17th and asked Mexico to end the deportations of Central American migrants. For this reason, many find themselves unable to return to their countries of origin or continue their journey through Mexico to the United States. They are trapped in Tapachula.

In addition to that, at least two shelters on the border between Guatemala and Mexico stopped their service due to the pandemic meaning that migrants who have not been detained by elements of the National Guard are in a high risk situation as they have no place of refuge.

Information on the events of last Monday at the immigration station was obtained through interviews with witnesses and victims.

They reported that there was a protest by a group of migrants in the courtyard of the men’s module at around 5 pm to express their fear in the context of COVID-19 and demand their release or return to their countries of origin. Previously, they had repeatedly denounced the conditions in the migration station, which has severe overcrowding, food and water shortages, and limited medical care.

In response to the protest, a brigade of Federal Police and some 20 National Guard agents entered, who dispersed the group using pepper spray and water jets. According to what was documented by the Human Rights Observation and Monitoring Collective, they dragged the protesters to the bathrooms, a place without surveillance cameras, to punish them with kicks and punches, as well as Taser devices for electric shocks.

They then led people by bus to an unknown location. “It is urgent to find out how many people were removed from the Migration Center, where they are and what the current physical and mental health situation is,” said Conexion Migrante.

In a statement, the Collective for Observation and Monitoring of Human Rights in Southeast Mexico and the Driving Group against Immigration Detention and Torture expressed that they condemn “energetically all acts of violence and the use of disproportionate force against people, men, women and adolescents in immigration detention.” They demand “that the facts be clarified, those responsible be punished and that the physical and mental integrity of all persons who are in immigration detention or other forms of deprivation of liberty be guaranteed.”

They also pointed out that according to Article 1 of the United Nations Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment “the term ‘torture’ shall be understood as any act by which serious pain or suffering is intentionally inflicted on a person; whether physical or mental, in order to obtain information or a confession from her or from a third party.”

For its part, the National Institute of Migration (INM) published a statement stating that “it seeks to implement actions so that migrants of Central American origin, housed in migratory centers and provisional stays of the institute, can return safely to their places of origin.”

For more information in Spanish:

Comunicado de las organizaciones de derechos de migrantes (25 de marzo de 2020)

Guardia Nacional reprime violentamente protesta de migrantes en Tapachula, Chiapas (Conexión Migrante el 25 de marzo de 2020)

Activistas mexicanos denuncian violencia contra inmigrantes que protestan por temor a coronavirus (Infobae el 26 de marzo de 2020)

Migrantes quedan atrapados en México por COVID-19 (Chiapasparalelo el 25 de 2020)

For more information from SIPAZ:

Chiapas/International: Caravan of 4,000 Reaches Southern Border – Stopped by National Guard (January 21, 2020)

Chiapas: Migration Authorities Stop Migrant Caravan in Tapachula (October 17, 2019)

Chiapas: African Migrants Clash with National Guard in Tapachula

(October 8, 2019)

International/National: UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Ends Mexican Visit while African Migrants Protest in Tapachula (October 7, 2019)

Chiapas: Federal Police Attack Migrants and Journalists at Migration Center in Tapachula (September 2, 2019)

Chiapas/National/International: Human Rights Organizations Demand End to Child and Adolescent Migrant Detentions (May 26, 2019)

National/International: CNDH Requests Special Measures for Migrants (May 8, 2019)

National/Chiapas: Federal Legislators Visit Migratory Center in Tapachula

@ChiapasParalelo

On February 10th, 19 federal legislators, including the president of the Chamber of Deputies, Laura Rojas Hernandez, and the president of the Political Coordination Board of the Chamber of Deputies, Mario Delgado Carrillo, visited the Siglo XXI Migratory Center in Tapachula, Chiapas.

Local legislators and representatives of international organizations such as the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCHR), the International Organization for Migration (IOM), and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), also participated in the visit. The group of legislators and representatives of organizations were received by Francisco Garduño Yáñez, commissioner of the National Institute of Migration (INAMI). They also met with local civil society organizations.

In this regard, the president of the Chamber of Deputies, Laura Rojas Hernandez said that, “this visit is not a point of arrival, but is a starting point. The supported commissions, I am sure by the Jucopo and the Board of Directors, will be doing analysis work to propose to the plenary session of the Chamber of Deputies any legislative reforms that can help to better address the problem.”

The National Migration Institute has invested 336 million pesos for the maintenance and rehabilitation of its spaces, and the immigration station in Tapachula received 179,000 migrants in 2019. However, some of the deputies who visited the immigration station criticized what they saw. Jorge Argüelles, coordinator of the Social Encounter Party, accused the INAMI delegate who received them from not having the capacity to be in that job, and who during their visit, tried to deceive them and hide the reality inside the immigration center.

For his part, the Governor of Chiapas, Rutilio Escandon Cadenas, highlighted the rights of migrants, and the responsibility of the Mexican state when it comes to protecting them: “Mexico has great respect for fundamental rights, our obligation is to attend humanely and rescue them from the hands of criminals and smugglers of undocumented immigrants … We understand them very well, Mexico is a migrant people, but we will not give truce or consideration with criminals, they always infiltrate with the objective of affecting migrants and the population of Chiapas.”

For more information in Spanish:

Diputados federales visitan la Estación Migratoria de Tapachula, Chiapas Noticieros Televisa, 11 de febrero de 2020.

Legisladores visitan Tapachula; Trump, Sembrando Vida y Derechos Humanos Chiapas Paralelo, 10 de febrero de 2020.

For more information from SIPAZ:

National/Chiapas: CNDH Asks INM and COMAR for Precautionary Measures for 78 People Stranded in Tapachula (January 16, 2020)

Chiapas: Civil Organizations Report on Observation Mission in Tapachula (November 24, 2019)

Chiapas: Migration Authorities Stop Migrant Caravan in Tapachula (October 17, 2019)

 

International/National: UNHCHR Calls on Mexican State to Increase Efforts to Effectively Implement General Law on Forced Disappearance of Persons

Photo @ novedadesaca.mx

On January 14th, the Office in Mexico of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHCHR) called on the Mexican State in a statement to redouble efforts to advance the effective implementation of the General Law for Matters of Forced Disappearance of Persons, Disappearance committed by Individuals and on the National Persons Search System.

Two years after the entry into force of this law, the UNHCHR announced that “the publication of new official information and public recognition of the problem are advances. Likewise, it has observed progress in the institutional consolidation of the National Search Commission and the formation of the majority of the state commissions.”Two years after the entry into force of this law, the UN-DH announced that “the publication of new official information and public recognition of the problem are progress. Likewise, it has observed progress in the institutional consolidation of the National Search Commission and in the formation of the majority of the state search commissions.”

However, “it is still necessary to continue promoting legislative harmonization and institutional consolidation. In this regard, there are 23 federated entities to pass their local legislation harmonized with the General Law; 28 do not have a harmonized law of special declaration of absence; seven must still form their prosecutor’s office specializing in crimes of disappearance and three have yet to create their local commission.”

It considered that in relation to a diagnosis that favors the design of better strategies for the attention and eradication of disappearances “it is worrisome that there is still no full collaboration in the matter between the federation and the states. An example of this is that not all state law enforcement agencies have sent updated or complete information on missing persons for their incorporation into the National Registry of Missing and Unlocated Persons.”

It especially encouraged the state authorities to continue advancing “in the adoption of the programs, registries and databases established in the Law and to continue working to strengthen the search and research efforts, through institutional, budgetary and regulations. ”And to all the authorities involved in consolidating the operation of the Extraordinary Forensic Identification Mechanism.

Finally, it invited the Mexican State to strengthen the spaces for collaboration and technical assistance with specialized international organizations.National Search Commission and in the formation of the majority of the state search commissions. ”

However, “it is still necessary to continue promoting legislative harmonization and institutional consolidation. In this regard, there are 23 federated entities to pass their local legislation harmonized with the General Law; 28 do not have a harmonized law of special declaration of absence; seven must still form their prosecutor’s office specializing in crimes of disappearance and three have yet to create their local commission. ”

It considered that in relation to a diagnosis that favors the design of better strategies for the attention and eradication of disappearances “it is worrisome that there is still no full collaboration in the matter between the federation and the states. An example of this is that not all state law enforcement agencies have sent updated or complete information on missing persons for their incorporation into the National Registry of Missing and Unlocated Persons.”

It especially encouraged the state authorities to continue advancing “in the adoption of the programs, registries and databases established in the Law and to continue working to strengthen the search and research efforts, through institutional, budgetary and regulations measures”, and to all the authorities involved in consolidating the operation of the Extraordinary Forensic Identification Mechanism.

Finally, it invited the Mexican State to strengthen the spaces for collaboration and technical assistance with specialized international organizations.

For more information in Spanish:

ONU-DH: a dos años de su entrada en vigor, es necesario redoblar esfuerzos en la implementación de la ley sobre desaparición de personas (ONU-DH, 14 de enero de 2020)

ONU-DH presiona para que gobiernos implementen ley sobre desaparición de personas (Proceso, 14 de enero de 2020)

For more information from SIPAZ:

National/Guerrero: Agreement to Reintroduce Interdisciplinary Group of Independent Experts in Ayotzinapa Case. Number of Disappeared Increases in the Country (January 14, 2020)

Guerrero: Body of Activist Arnulfo Cero Found in Hidden Grave More than One Month after his Disappearance in Tlapa de Comonfort (November 24, 2019)

International/National : Un Human Rights Committee Issues 48 Human Rights Recommendations for Mexico (November 12, 2019)

Nacional: Se lleva a cabo el coloquio “El Estado de la Búsqueda de Desaparecidos en Guerrero. Retos y perspectivas” (November 6, 2019)

National: Red TdT Publishes Human Rights Balance for 2019

On January 1st, the National Network of Civil Human Rights Organizations “All Rights for All” (TdT Network) published a balance sheet for 2019 and a series of recommendations to address the human rights situation in the country towards “a fair and successful future for everyone.”

It considered that 2019 was an “uncomfortable” year of “high contrasts and confrontations”. As for individuals and groups of human rights defenders, it recalled that 21 of them were killed for their work in the timeframe, demonstrating that “they continue to perform their work in high-risk conditions. (…) With concern, we emphasize that aggressions against defenders of land and territory persist; likewise, this year increased criminalization and aggressions against defenders of migrants and forcibly displaced person.” It denounced that “public officials at all levels of government have mage human rights defenders vulnerable. This includes the highest investitures of the State, but above all, it is at the municipal level where a good part of the perpetrators of the most serious aggressions are found.” It documented that in at least six cases of the 21 murders, “municipal governments were key actors in perpetrating attacks against defenders, serving primarily as intellectual authors.” For 2020, it urged the Mexican State to “generate the conditions to effectively combat aggressions against defenders, specifically murder and extrajudicial execution.”

Regarding violence against women, the TdT Network documented that it persists in the country and has even increased alarmingly in some states. “There are still serious deficiencies in the design and implementation of public policies to ensure a life free of violence for Mexican women,” it said.

In terms of security, democracy and justice, the challenge, the TdT Network stated that “good intentions do not guarantee the consolidation of an adequate model of justice.” “The questioning of the importance of autonomy and independence for a more effective and expeditious justice seems worrying,” it said.

Regarding migration, the TdT Network stated that “during 2019 the Mexican government opted for decisions that have put thousands of people from Central America and the Caribbean at risk, and increasingly from countries in Africa and Asia. With the signing of trade agreements with the United States in June, Mexico agreed to place the lives of migrants in need of international protection as a currency.”

They also “see with concern the increase in forced internal displacement flows to the north, center and south of the country,” it said, calling on the Mexican State to facilitate the on-site visit of the IACHR to the Northern and Southern borders, as well as the visit of that of the UN Special Rapporteur on the human rights of internally displaced persons, (…) attending to the reports and recommendations that come out of these visits.

For more information in Spanish:

Van 21 asesinatos de defensores de derechos humanos en gobierno de AMLO: Red TDT (Aristegui Noticias, 2 de enero de 2020)

En 2019, 21 defensores de derechos humanos asesinados (La Jornada, 1ero de enero de 2020)

Mataron a 21 defensores de derechos humanos en 2019, confirma ONG (El Sol de México, 1ero de enero de 2020)

2019 año de contrastes y confrontaciones;2020, año de reconstruirnos desde los DH (Red TdT, 1ero de enero de 2020)

For more information from SIPAZ:

Nacional: 28 activistas asesinados en 2019 por rechazar proyectos del gobierno, según organizaciones civiles.  (2 de diciembre de 2019)

Nacional/Internacional : « Cuando las Palabras No Bastan », informe de Amnistía Internacional a casi un año de la toma de posesión de AMLO (28 de noviembre de 2019)

Nacional: México es el sexto país más peligroso para ambientalistas según Global Witness; al menos 12 activistas asesinados en 2019 7 de octubre de 2019

Nacional: 21 defensores ambientales fueron asesinados en 2018 (CEMDA) 26 de marzo de 2019.

Nacional : 161 defensores y 40 periodistas asesinados en el sexenio que termina, Red TdT 30 de noviembre de 2018.

National/International: Consultation on Maya Train did not Meet International Standards

@Aristegui Noticias

In a statement published on December 19th, the Office in Mexico of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHCHR) said that the indigenous consultation process on the “Maya Train Development Project”, “has not complied with all international standards in the field.”

It reported that it participated as an observer in this process and attended four of the 15 regional information assemblies and eight of the 15 regional consultative assemblies in Chiapas, Campeche, Yucatan, Tabasco and Quintana Roo.

“While the Office recognizes the decision of the Government of Mexico to make efforts to respect, protect and guarantee the rights of indigenous peoples, including their right to consultation and consent for the aforementioned project and welcomes the participation of multiple governmental entities in the process, it observed that the call, the protocol and the information presented only referred to the possible benefits of the project and not to the negative impacts that it could cause,” says the statement regarding the limitations of the informed nature of the process.

In other concerns, the UNHCHR noted that although “during the briefings and in the consultative stage, some authorities stated that the guarantee of various economic, social and cultural rights was not conditional on the acceptance of the project”, “as a consequence of the way in which the project was presented and the sessions were developed, the people of the communities expressed their agreement with the project as a means to receive attention to basic needs such as water, health, education, work, housing, healthy environment and culture, a logic that affects the free nature of the query.”

The UN DH also expressed concern about the cultural adequacy of the process, when the methodology of the process was not built and agreed with the communities involved. “This implied that the definition of whom to consult, where to do it and at what time it was established unilaterally by the authorities,” it said.

It deplored the low participation and representation of indigenous women in the process and that “the majority of those who participated were municipal and ejidal authorities, leaving out other groups and people who are part of the communities.”

It also stressed that the purpose of the information and consultative assemblies was to “establish agreements with the communities regarding their participation in the implementation and distribution of benefits, which could imply that the project will be done regardless of the outcome of the consultation.”

For more information in Spanish:

Consulta por Tren Maya no cumple estándares internacionales: ONU (La Jornada, 19 de diciembre de 2019)

Consulta sobre el Tren Maya incumple estándares internacionales: ONU-DH (Proceso, 19 de diciembre de 2019)

Rechaza ONU consulta ciudadana del Tren Maya (El Universal, 19 de diciembre de 2019)

ONU-DH emite observaciones sobre consulta de Tren Maya (Excelsior, 19 de diciembre de 2019)

For more information from SIPAZ:

Nacional: los participantes de la Consulta Indígena aceptaron el proyecto del Tren Maya, autoridades; sigue sin respetarse convenio 169 de la OIT, OSC(17 de diciembre de 2019)

Nacional: Organizaciones civiles, indígenas, y académicos se pronuncian en contra de la consulta por proyecto del Tren Maya. 9 de diciembre de 2019.

Nacional: Inicia proceso de licitación del Tren maya sin consulta previa a pueblos indígenas 4 de mayo de 2019

México: Consulta sobre el Tren Maya y 9 otros proyectos “prioritarios” del próximo gobierno 27 de noviembre de 2018

Nacional: AMLO anuncia consulta para la construcción por el tren maya 10 de noviembre de 2018

International: UNHCHR Expresses Doubts over Independence and Autonomy of National Human Rights Commission (CNDH) after Rosario Piedra Ibarra’s Election

(Twitter @CNDH)

In a statement published on November 20th, the Office in Mexico of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHCHR) emphasized the importance of guaranteeing the independence and autonomy of the National Human Rights Commission (CNDH in its Spanish acronym) so that can play an effective role: “[The UNHCHR] recognizes the fundamental role of the National Human Rights Commission (CNDH) in the promotion and protection of human rights and its valuable contribution in the construction of a democratic society and a rule of law. For the full exercise of its mandate, the CNDH needs to be fully independent and legitimate. This implies, among other requirements, that the process of designating its head is particularly scrupulous, objective, transparent and accurate, in such a way that any type of questioning that affects the legitimacy of the person to whom it is designated, of the institution is avoided whose head is named and who makes the corresponding election.”

This statement was published after Rosario Piedra Ibarra was elected as the new president of the CNDH, although opposition political parties as well as human rights groups and victims, called for Piedra not to take office, due to incongruities and alleged fraud in the election process.

In response to said statement, President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador (AMLO) said that he respects the opinion of the UNHCHR but attributed the opposition to this appointment to the fact that for a long time the CNDH was “serving as a cover.”

For more information in Spanish:

ONU-DH enfatiza la necesidad de asegurar la independencia y autonomía de la Comisión Nacional de los Derechos Humanos (ONU-DH, 20 de noviembre de 2019)

CNDH debe estar dotada de plena independencia y legitimidad: ONU tras polémica por designación de Piedra (Animal Político, 20 de noviembre de 2019)

ONU muestra preocupación por autonomía de la CNDH (El Sol de México, 20 de noviembre de 2019)

AMLO respeta opinión de ONU sobre elección de Rosario Piedra en CNDH (Milenio, 22 de noviembre de 2019)

For more information from SIPAZ:

Nacional: Rosario Ibarra de Piedra rinde protesta como nueva presidente de la CNDH (13 de noviembre de 2019)

Nacional: Activista Rosario Piedra Ibarra electa nueva presidenta de la CNDH (8 de noviembre de 2019)

Nacional: Repondrán proceso de votación para elegir quien quede frente a la CNDH (12 de noviembre de 2019)

 

National/International: Effort to Protect Migrants “Lasted a Few Months”, UNHCHR

Jan Jarab (@Rompeviento)

On October 28th, in the framework of the inauguration of the 5th Regional Forum on Migration and International Protection, the representative in Mexico of the office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHCHR), Jan Jarab, said he sees setbacks in the initial efforts of the government of Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador (AMLO) to protect the guarantees of migrants: “I want to acknowledge that such an attempt was made, but given the international situation it survived a few months, and today we have detained migrants again”, he said.

Deploying the return to a containment policy, Jarab expressed concern about the health and overcrowding conditions that persist in some of the migration centers: “Today we see a situation where we again even have children in detention, where there are difficulties in access to the right to health, and also the precarious conditions of extra-continental people who are on the southern border”, he said.

“When there is a policy focused on containment, on immigration control, what happens is that migrants in irregular conditions look for increasingly dangerous routes and face increasingly dramatic risks from organized crime, not only extortion but disappearances”, he also warned.

Within the framework of this same event, the president of the organization Without Borders, Ana Saiz, said that the number of detainees at the 53 immigration stations across the country is estimated at 150,000, plus another 50,000 returnees from the United States as part of the “Stay in Mexico” program. Saiz said that, “Mexico has never had such a violent policy against migrants.”

On this same date, the National Migration Institute (INM in its Spanish acronym) announced that it will strengthen the training, monitoring and evaluation of public management in immigration offices and centers in the country in order to sensitize its officials on the respect and safeguard of human rights, a program that will be carried out in coordination with the National Council to Prevent Discrimination (CONAPRED in its Spanish acronym).

For more information in Spanish:

Jan Jarab: sólo duró unos meses la política migratoria enfocada en derechos humanos (Proceso, 28 de octubre de 2019)

Retroceso de actual gobierno en protección de migrantes: ONU-DH (La Jornada, 29 de octubre de 2019)

INM refuerza acciones para el respeto a derechos humanos de migrantes (Regeneración, 29 de octubre de 2019)

INM sensibilizará a funcionarios para prevenir discriminación (La Jornada, 29 de octubre de 2019)

For more information from SIPAZ:

Chiapas: Migration Authorities Stop Migrant Caravan in Tapachula (October 17, 2019)

National/International: CSOs Denounce Poor Conditions in Provisional Migration Centers in Chiapas (October 13, 2019)

Chiapas: African Migrants Clash with National Guard in Tapachula (October 8, 2019)

International/National: UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Ends Mexican Visit while African Migrants Protest in Tapachula (October 7, 2019)

National/International: Mexico and US Reevaluate Migration Agreement after Three Months; Disagreement over Desired Outcomes (September 23, 2019)

International/National: UNO Calls for Evaluation of National Guard as Migratory Control in Mexico (September 2, 2019)

Chiapas: Federal Police Attack Migrants and Journalists at Migration Center in Tapachula (September 2, 2019)

Chiapas/National/International: Human Rights Organizations Demand End to Child and Adolescent Migrant Detentions (May 26, 2019)

National/International: CNDH Requests Special Measures for Migrants (May 8, 2019)