On December 12, in a desperate attempt to reach the United States, 56 Central American migrants died on a road in Chiapas, Mexico, after the truck that was transporting them clandestinely overturned. Among the overcrowded and unventilated victims were youth, adults and families complete with children. This story, however, is one of many that is repeated frequently, whether on a truck, train or ferry. Every year, hundreds of people lose their lives trying to migrate to another country.
Since 2014, more than 45,000 people have died in the process of international migration, according to data from the Missing Migrants program of the International Organization for Migration. Migration routes in the Americas are the deadliest and one of the worst is the border between Mexico and the United States, with 5,815 deaths.
Although migrating is a human right, restrictive migration policies in countries force people who do not meet the requirements to apply for a visa to undertake dangerous journeys in search of a better life. As we commemorate the International Day of Migrants, we want to ask for a reflection on the migratory phenomenon in the region, the management of migration and the need to protect the lives of these people.
The right to migrate and migration policies
An estimated 281 million people in the world are international migrants. That is, about 3.6% of the world population. Although there is often talk of a migration crisis, the truth is that, in percentage terms, the number has remained relatively stable over the last 20 years.
In Latin America and the Caribbean there are 14.8% of international migrants. This is a great challenge for migratory management and the protection of their fundamental rights.
Although since 1948 the Universal Declaration of Human Rights has recognized “the right of all persons to move freely and choose their residence in the territory of a State”, free movement
it is subject to the protection of the Nation-State, which is configured in migration policies.
The main problem is the securitization of migration policies which, in many cases, perceive migrants as a threat to national security and leave human rights in the background. In this perspective, measures that seek to preserve order, in addition to being necessary, are fully justified.
This was the case of the 59 Venezuelans expelled from Colombia in 2019, who were given the responsibility of leading the vandal acts in Bogotá during the social protests that year. Nine of them took legal action due to the arbitrariness of the immigration authority during the expulsion process. Among them, the fact that they were abandoned in the middle of the Orinoco River.
In this regard, after a complex legal process, the Constitutional Court ruled when it found that due process and human dignity had been violated, which is why it dictated measures to revoke the expulsion of seven of them and avoid a repetition of the irregularities found in the case. Despite the positive aspects of the decision, this situation highlights a form of criminalization of migration and the risks of placing security above the rights of migrants.
Another example of the population’s structural challenges in terms of migration policy is the lack of a gender and children focus. Actions as alarming as the deportation of pregnant women of Haitian origin from attending health centers and hospitals in the Dominican Republic cannot go unnoticed. Nor the silences about children victims of violence and intersections in complex migratory contexts. The multiple layers of rights in migration management must be visible and guide public policies.
Migrate in times of pandemic
While the pandemic affected everyone, migrants – like other vulnerable populations – faced greater difficulties. The containment measures adopted by the countries in the face of the health emergency were just one of them. The closing of borders and prolonged isolation to contain the spread of the virus has left thousands of people worse off.
Furthermore, without the possibility of returning to their countries of origin or completing their trip, this population was condemned to conditions of extreme vulnerability. Irregular migratory status, in many cases, limited access to vaccination or health services, which prioritized nationals or regularized people. The precarious situation of these people has exacerbated hate speech and narratives about the danger that this population poses to public health.
In summary, migrants have been victims of multiple forms of violence that do not distinguish age or gender, linked to xenophobia and discrimination. In this regard, the Mercosur Associate States responded with a declaration of commitment to increase efforts to address their needs and, in particular, to avoid discrimination against this population under a necessary premise: “No one should be left behind, and no rights human must be neglected”.
International Migrant Day: a call to action
Since 2016, within the framework of the New York Declaration on Refugees and Migrants, the United Nations General Assembly established December 18 as the International Day of Migrants. With this, it seeks to expose the multiplicity of challenges they face, the lessons learned by the host countries and, above all, the opportunities for cooperation to strengthen migration management in a safe, orderly and regular manner.
In this regard, the declaration recognizes the contributions of the migrant population and the need to protect the security, dignity and human rights of migrants, regardless of their migratory status. This led to the idea of contributing to what we know today as the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration, an intergovernmental effort adopted by more than 150 countries in 2018.
It is worth remembering that many of these people migrate because of conditions in their countries of origin, so talking about migration and rights will always be complex. Criminalizing migration does not stop it, it only exposes the lives of migrants to greater danger. The unison call is for governments to guarantee human rights in migratory management.
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