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Source: IOM Migration trends. According to updated information based on oficial available sources (such as population statistics, migration records and estimates), the map shows the approximate Venezuelannmigrant stock in selected countries.
The world is currently dealing with
the largest number of internationally displaced persons in history. According
to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), 68.5 million
people worldwide were forcibly displaced from their countries and in Latin America
the total of persons of interest for UNHCR was 8.826.832
people by the end of last year.
The dynamics of displacement are not
new to the region. For decades, the continent has witnessed how we Latin Americans
have been forced to leave our homes in order to save our lives and those of our
families. However, ongoing displacement dynamics -such as migratory and refugee
flows from Central America’s Northern Triangle- have increased in strength.
Many Hondurans, Salvadorans and Guatemalans are risking their lives and safety
to embark on a trip through Mexico and cross the border to the United States in
order to flee poverty, lack of economic opportunities, and high levels of
violence.
Latin America is experiencing new dynamics of forced displacement, many of which have developed at unprecedented speeds.
On the other hand, the region is
experiencing new dynamics of forced displacement, many of which have developed
at unprecedented speeds. In the last two years, we have witnessed a massive
outpouring of Venezuelan nationals who have been forced to leave their country
due to a breakdown in the rule of law, ongoing acts of State-sanctioned
repression and violence, serious restrictions on freedom of expression, as well
as food and medicinal shortages.
Likewise, a large number of
Nicaraguan nationals have been forced to flee as a result of the large number
of human rights violations that have taken place since the beginning of 2018 in
the wake of Nicaragua´s repression of social protests.
In light of this, last week, former United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon narrated his
own experience of displacement
as a refugee to the New York Times and identified the global refugee crisis as
"a true test to our collective conscience". He believes the world is
experiencing a crisis of solidarity towards those forced to leave their homes.
The crisis is also evident in the creation of militarized borders, the criminalization of migration, the neglect of the most vulnerable, the separation of families and in the segregation and mistreatment of migrants and refugees.
In our region, this crisis is
evident in the reluctance by many states to implement inclusive refugee
international standards and in restrictive migratory policies, which have
proven to be unable to stop the movement of people and forced them to opt for
routes that increase their vulnerability. The crisis is evident in the mass
deportations of migrants and refugees from some countries, in the xenophobia
that has crept its way into political agendas and public discourse, turning it
into part of our everyday life, in the creation of militarized borders, the
criminalization of migration, the neglect of the most vulnerable, the
separation of families and in the segregation and mistreatment of migrants and
refugees.
Although migrants and refugees in
Latin America have encountered great generosity both in transit and in their
final destinations, violence and an overall lack of access to rights remains a
serious concern. From the attacks on Venezuelan migrants and
refugees in Brazil, the xenophobic rallies against Nicaraguan migrants
and refugees held in Costa Rica, the massive deportations in Mexico and the possibility
that Mexico will accept U.S.’ funds to carry out more
deportations,
these are just some examples of the serious human rights violations that are
being carried out against migrants and refugees in Latin America.
It is unfortunate, because this is
the same Latin America that gathered in Colombia over 30 years ago to enact the
Cartagena Declaration on Refugees of 1984, where countries agreed to expand the
definition of refugee, a definition that responds to the current forced
displacement dynamics in Latin America.
It is also the same Latin America that
has a long tradition of asylum, clear Inter-American standards of protection
regarding the right to seek and receive asylum. The same Latin America that has
demonstrated its political will to deepen the recognition of rights for migrant
and refugee populations by subscribing multiple regional treaties in the
subject.
The protection standards for the region abound, what is needed is a true will to use international law in responding to the migratory and refugee flows in order to assure them human dignity.
However, today some of the very same
States that promoted an ampler definition of the term “refugee” are refusing to
apply it to those persons with an unquestionable need for international protection.
It is clear that the protection standards for the region abound, what is needed
is a true will to use international law in responding to the migratory and
refugee flows in order to assure that human dignity is the starting point in
these responses.
As a legal fellow working at the
Center for Justice and International Law and as a member of the human rights
movement, we must continue to raise our voices, depoliticize the discussions
regarding migrant and refugee flows, understanding that human rights violations
do not discriminate between ideologies on the left or the right. It is
imperative that we distance ourselves from discourses that divide us, to assume
that a collective responsibility before these crises, which is inherently ours,
and share it with all other stakeholders and to which we must respond with
solidarity and with a human rights centered approach.