This week Chile and Peru decreed a state of emergency on their borders due to the migratory situation that is being experienced, in a deplorable action, and which deepens the signs of failed states, without the capacity to assume the complex realities of today, and which prioritise repression and violence, following the
complex current realities, and which prioritise repression and violence, following the White House model.
On the border between Chile and Peru, specifically Arica-Tacna, there are hundreds of people stranded on the border between the two countries “in a critical humanitarian situation, without food, water, shelter or health care in the desert known for its extreme conditions” as Amnesty International points out as a result of the government’s measure, The government of the neighbouring country decreed a state of emergency in Tacna and six other departments of that country, when its president, Dina Boluarte, signed a decree which stipulates that the Peruvian National Police (PNP) will maintain “control of internal order, with the support of the Armed Forces”, preventing migrants from passing through. In the same vein, the mayor of Arica, Gerardo Espíndola, implemented an emergency decree in the territory that for years has been part of the migratory route for migrants. Because that is what they are, and not just another statistic, human beings, in no man’s land and absolutely abandoned by the entities that should protect them.
Human beings who do not abandon their family, their friends and their whole life on a whim, but because existence becomes untenable and the only option is to leave. When someone decides to emigrate, they leave behind the place where they were born, the places that build the memories of a lifetime; they leave behind their customs, their traditions, their culture; they leave behind family and loved ones and in their journey, they face multiple risks and a high degree of vulnerability. Most of the time, they are deprived of essential services and the support of their families, in continuous social and environmental stress. Not having an adequate support system, their mental health is affected by developing high rates of distress, depression, anger, guilt, despair, confusion, isolation, insomnia, difficulty concentrating and irritability. And when they arrive at their destination, they often have difficulty accessing health services, housing, education or employment, making them easy targets for abuse, extortion and exploitation.
States do indeed have the right to exercise jurisdiction at their international borders, but they must do so in accordance with their human rights obligations and not by punishing those seeking international protection and clamouring for better living conditions. For Erika Guevara, AI Director for the Americas, “by militarising and closing the door to thousands of people fleeing massive human rights violations in their countries of origin, the governments of (Gabriel) Boric (Chile) and (Dina) Boluarte (Peru) are needlessly aggravating the situation, turning it into a humanitarian crisis that increases the risk to the lives and safety of these people”, considering also that they arise & quote; in a context of growing stigmatisation and xenophobia, and legislative discussions that seek to criminalise irregular migration”.
Millions of people are in permanent movement and today MIGRATE is a leap into the void, it is an act of courage, and due to the political denaturalisation of the whole current process, it can be seen that, even in migrations that are indicated as “desired”, in reality there are a series of forces that motivate them. Hunger, extreme poverty and the growing threat of climate change, coupled with violence, conflict and persecution, have left many people with no choice but to flee.
All analysis of migration has considered migration to be economic and voluntary, although the causes are varied and objectively point to the fact that the conditions do not exist to reasonably sustain the inhabitants of a territory, leaving us facing a phenomenon of forced migration.
Despite the progress made in new rights to protect people and nature, which transcend the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, we are far from the minimum guarantees for the majority of people to enjoy an adequate level of compliance with the rights protected in the Declaration. Moreover, between civil and political rights, those that allow people to live without fear, and economic, social and cultural rights, those that allow people to live without want, there continues to be a glaring hierarchy, revealing the impositions of the capitalist economic development model. As Bertolt Brecht pointed out … “in authoritarian regimes the economic content of violence is veiled, while in formally democratic regimes the violent content of the economy is veiled”.
Parliamentarians, “who see themselves as political leaders”, are expected by citizens to play their part in pushing for migration laws that comply with states’ international obligations and ensure a meaningful, balanced and informed response to migration that is fair, mutually beneficial and respectful of human rights.
It is not that there is a lack of migration laws and policies. There are measures that recognise the positive contribution of migrants to economic wellbeing, national prosperity and development, but there are others which represent a
There are measures that recognise the positive contribution of migrants to economic well-being, national prosperity and development, but there are others that represent a reaction to migration and migrants as a threatening phenomenon and result in the violation of the human rights of migrants and their families.
The Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration (A/RES/73/195), the first intergovernmental agreement to cover all dimensions of international migration holistically, noted in 2018 in Morocco “The Global Compact is based on international human rights law and upholds the principles of non-retrogression and non-discrimination. In implementing the Global Compact, we ensure the effective respect, protection and fulfilment of the human rights of all migrants, regardless of their migration status, at all stages of the migration cycle. We also reaffirm the commitment to eliminate all forms of discrimination, including racism, xenophobia and intolerance, against migrants and their families”.
The public expects an end to inhumane acts as an unfortunate response to this complex migratory situation, which is on the rise throughout the region and the world, ignoring the fact that it is a humanitarian crisis that requires urgent, multidimensional attention and real reception policies. Simply put, people demand that the problem be solved, in a good way and once and for all.
If everything indicates that we are in a globalised world, where, for example, money circulates worldwide without restrictions, why not establish administrative measures, make use of the available technology, and
Why not establish administrative measures, use the available technology and create foreigners’ organisations with resources proportional to the current migratory requirements, as is done with capital?
In this century it is unsustainable to maintain barbarism, and it is an unavoidable requirement to comply with clear precepts that every person is a subject of law and must be protected under international legislation guaranteeing their basic human rights, clearly assuming that “no human being is illegal”.
Collaborators: M. Angélica Alvear Montecinos; Guillermo Garcés Parada; César Anguita Sanhueza and Ricardo Lisboa Henriquez. Public Opinion Commission
