P-to-P, June 13, 2024 [AlterPresse] — Global Justice Clinic (in French: Clinique justice mondiale) and the Human Rights Center (Cdh) Fray Matías [[1] call on the Mexican authorities to give Haitians on their territory refugee status on the basis of Cartagena declaration on refugees from November 1984 [[2]in a report sent to the online agency AlterPresse.
Adopted on November 22, 1984, during the conference on the international protection of refugees in Central America, Mexico and Panama, this declaration guarantees refugee status to applicants facing threats to their life and security. or their freedom, because of the specific conditions in their country of origin, recalls the report by Global Justice Clinic and the Cdh Fray Matías.
Mexico does not sufficiently protect Haitians who flee these threatening situations, criticize the Global Justice Clinic (from the Faculty of Law of New York University) and Cdh Fray Matías.
By the end of 2023, the Mexican Commission for Assistance to Refugees (Comar) rejected 12,774 (11.4%) applications and left 94,344 (84.0%) unanswered, the report said.
Between 2021 and 2023, Haitians were least likely to have their application approved when they applied for refugee status in Mexico.
From 2001 to 2023, only 5,214 applicants, or 4.6%, received refugee status or complementary protection from Comar, among the 112,332 Haitians seeking refugee status in Mexico.
“Haitians are among the first five nationalities to apply for refugee status.”
The Global Justice Clinic and the Centro de derechos humanos (Cdh) Fray Matías call on Mexico to provide Haitians with protection as refugees according to the Cartagena Declaration, even if there are other legal statuses for these people. people.
The government of Mexico has an obligation to provide Haitians with refugee status, given the widespread violence, massive violations of human rights and the decline in Haiti, underlines the report by Global Justice Clinic and Cdh Fray Matías, referring to the Cartagena Declaration of November 1984.
Global Justice Clinic and Cdh Fray Matías criticize the indifference of the Mexican authorities to the deterioration of living conditions in Haiti, which force many people to migrate to foreign countries in search of better well-being.
“The violence in Haiti is occurring at a level typical of a country at war. In 2023, many more people were killed in Haiti than in Ukraine. Armed criminal groups, gangs or bandits have more power than the State or civil society,” describes the report by Global Justice Clinic and the Centro de derechos humanos (Cdh) Fray Matías
“The gangs ransacked important social institutions, such as (public) markets and water distribution networks. There are other institutions, like hospitals and schools, that have been forced to close their doors forever. There is no elected authority in the whole country.”
“The violence continues. Haitians face increasing hunger,” the report notes. [mff emb rc apr 13/06/2024 14:10]
[[1] The Centro de derechos humanos (Cdh) Fray Matías defends and promotes the Human Rights of people in various contexts of movement in the southern region of Mexico, through processes of individual and collective support, community integration and impacts ( political repercussions, to affirm and guarantee the full exercise of their rights.
[[2] The Cartagena Declaration on Refugees was adopted at the Colloquium on the International Protection of Refugees in Central America, Mexico and Panama, Cartagena de Indias, Colombia, November 22, 1984.
