IACHR
Press Release
On the occasion of World Refugee Day, the IACHR observes serious challenges in the comprehensive protection of the rights of refugees and urges States to adopt effective and urgent measures in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic
June 20, 2020
Washington, D.C. - On the occasion of World Refugee Day, the
Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) observes the
growing challenges for the comprehensive protection of the human
rights of displaced persons with protection needs in the Americas,
and calls on the States of the Organization of American States (OAS)
to adopt measures to address the multiple dynamics of forced
displacement. Likewise, it urges the States to respect and
strengthen the mechanisms for the comprehensive protection of the
human rights of displaced persons, refugees, and asylum seekers.
The Commission notes that human mobility exhibits a complex set of
elements and that it usually occurs as a result of a combination of
push and pull factors. In particular, forced displacement stands out
as a multi-causal phenomenon, generated by factors such as
persecution, internal conflicts, massive human rights violations,
and organized crime. According to
figures from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
(UNHCR), during 2020, the region will continue to experience
large-scale forced displacement, with some 18.7 million displaced
people across the continent, including more than 5 million
Venezuelans seeking protection in almost all the countries of the
region. Along with the humanitarian crisis in Venezuela, the IACHR
observes with concern the crisis of forced displacement in the
region of the northern triangle of Central America. In this regard,
in the Northern Triangle of Central America, nearly 800 thousand
people have been displaced by different factors such as poverty, the
action of criminal gangs and other factors; in Nicaragua, the
intensified persecution in the country since the April 2018 crisis
would have resulted in tens of thousands of refugees and
asylum-seekers; likewise, it is observed that the restrictions on
access to the refuges on the southern border of the United States
have been exacerbated.
In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Commission expresses
its special concern about the impacts of policies restricting
international mobility of people, closing borders, suspending
procedural guarantees, and interrupting the operation of immigration
hearings and institutions and of national asylum systems in the
region. In this sense, it calls on the States to adopt various
measures, such as: i) guaranteeing access to the territory and
protection procedures, especially that of refuge, to people who are
forced to move from their countries, as well as respecting the
principle of non-refoulement; ii) make public health measures
compatible with the guarantees of due process in the procedures for
determining the status of the refugee, as well as with other
relevant protection mechanisms; iii) strengthen efforts to respond
to the massive mixed migratory movements of people displaced by
humanitarian crises in the region; iv) strengthen actions to
guarantee the principles of non-discrimination and the
intersectional approach of public policies, especially considering
the disproportionate and differentiated impact based on structural
discriminations of gender, race, age, social class, and, v)
strengthening actions in times emergency and health crisis to
prevent and avoid xenophobia, stigmatizing discourses and any
violence or violation of rights. These recommendations are enshrined
in the
Inter-American Principles on the human rights of all migrants,
refugees, asylum seekers, stateless persons, and victims of human
trafficking in the Americas, in
IACHR Resolution 01/2020 on Pandemic and Human Rights, as well
as complementary
pronouncements on the protection of refugee populations in the
context of the pandemic.
Regarding access to territory and asylum and complementary
protection procedures, the Commission observes the persistence of
practices restricting access to territories in the Americas,
accompanying national responses to the COVID-19 pandemic. In this
sense, the IACHR observes with special concern the use of health
security arguments to reduce access to national asylum systems, the
acceleration of expulsion processes from countries, which
jeopardizes respect for the principle of non-refoulement, and
proposals for structural changes in asylum systems that would
increase obstacles for people seeking refuge.
On the other hand, the IACHR warns that by 2020, the global health
emergency would have potentiated the pre-existing risks presented by
serious humanitarian crises at the global and regional levels.
According to the UNHCR
evaluation, the IACHR observes that the increasing chronic
violence and insecurity, together with the restrictions taken in
response to the COVID-19 virus, are increasing the difficulties for
tens of thousands of people in northern Central America. In this
sense, violence has forced some 720,00 people in the region to move
and, during the pandemic, it exposed thousands of other displaced
people to situations of confinement in insecure domestic
environments or to suffer disproportionately from the socioeconomic
impacts of the health emergency, especially refugee women, girls and
boys, which, as the Commission noted in the
Press Release, reinforces the need for a gender perspective and
an intersectional approach. Likewise, through its different
monitoring mechanisms, the IACHR notes that the blockades related to
COVID-19 in countries from the region have resulted in an increase
in the use of informal routes and insecure and more violent border
crossings, which place previously displaced people in an even more
vulnerable situation.
Regarding the fight against xenophobia and stigmatizing discourse,
the Commission reiterates its call to the States contemplated in its
Resolution 01/2020 on Pandemic and Human Rights in the Americas,
in order to implement measures to prevent and combat these factors
of discrimination and avoid the use of discriminatory language and
incentives for violent reactions by private actors and public
authorities. Therefore, the IACHR reiterates that migration policies
and public discourses focused on the comprehensive protection of the
human rights of migrants and displaced persons in general, provide
better environments for the early and rapid identification of
corresponding protection needs, such as refuge.
The Commission also recognizes the work of refugees, asylum seekers
and migrants who, at this time of pandemic and health emergency,
have contributed and continue to contribute in the most diverse
roles in the response to the health emergency in the region. The
IACHR highlights the case of refugees and asylum seekers who apply
their health training, medical training, as well as human energy in
actions of direct assistance and essential services. In this regard,
it recalls its
recommendation to the States to evaluate, in accordance with the
instruments and regulations that they have the possibility of
strengthening health personnel and other services with over-demand
due to the context of the pandemic, through the incorporation of
trained migrants and refugees, facilitating the necessary procedures
for their professional activity.
In this context, the IACHR urges States to constantly evaluate, in
their national asylum systems, the ways of expansion and
strengthening of refuge, such as the possibilities of applying the
expanded definition established by the
1984 Cartagena Declaration, to evaluate the new risks and
displacement factors. In addition, the Commission calls on States to
take into account the
2014 Declaration and Plan of Action of Brazil, which invites
countries to make commitments such as improving analysis and
knowledge; address the causes of displacement; strengthen
institutional capacities to promote recognition of refugee status;
and expand regular, safe, accessible and affordable channels of
migration. Likewise, the Commission highlights the importance of
coordinated actions between States, the international community and
different social sectors - such as non-governmental organizations,
the academy, companies, host communities and other actors - in the
development and implementation of the durable solutions that
constitute the core of comprehensive protection of the rights of
refugees. The IACHR highlights that such protection coincides with
the spirit of regional declarations on the matter and its own
recommendations and the Inter-American legal standards, as
recommended in its Resolution 2/2018 on forced displacement in
Venezuela.
Furthermore, the Commission takes note of the efforts that various
countries in the region have made to address prolonged situations of
forced displacement from Venezuela and other countries within the
region. This, so that this population can exercise rights such as
access to contact the asylum authorities, access to a territory, and
special protection of non-refoulement, among other guarantees
established in International Refugee Law.In this sense, the IACHR
highlights actions such as the coverage of the rights of the refugee
population and their socioeconomic inclusion in Argentina; the
measurements of extension of the validity of temporary documents for
applicants for refugee status in Bolivia; and the establishment of
humanitarian corridors in Colombia, at three international bridges
on the Colombia-Venezuela border. In Brazil, according to
information provided by the State, the Commission highlights the
implementation of recent measures such as the extension of the
validity of residence permits and the modernization of computer
systems; the inclusion without discrimination of migrants and
refugees in the emergency income program in response to the pandemic;
the application of the definition of the Cartagena Declaration for
the recognition of Venezuelan people as refugees, who also benefited
from the continuity of the Operation Warm Welcome; and measures
against xenophobia.
Considering the above, the IACHR calls on States to strengthen
national and regional efforts in the framework of World Refugee Day
to address the factors that drive the displacement of people and
urges that with the participation of all social sectors, become
agents of change, and take safe, open and regular migration measures
so that these individuals who are looking for a promising future are
not victims of acts of violence, exploitation or discrimination of
any type.
A principal, autonomous body of the Organization of American States (OAS), the IACHR derives its mandate from the OAS Charter and the American Convention on Human Rights. The Inter-American Commission has a mandate to promote respect for and to defend human rights in the region and acts as a consultative body to the OAS in this area. The Commission is composed of seven independent members who are elected in an individual capacity by the OAS General Assembly and who do not represent their countries of origin or residence.
No. 001/20