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Add to Preferred SourcesThe United Nations Migration Agency, IOM, is providing support and assistance to migrants crossing Central America in several self-styled caravans while expressing concern over “the stress and demands” they are placing on host countries.
In the Siglo XXI Migratory Station of Tapachula, Mexico, IOM and the Mexican Secretary of Foreign Affairs are supplying food and basic hygiene kits to over 1,500 migrants seeking asylum in the country.
IOM said that after walking some 850 kilometres from Honduras, exhaustion and the challenges ahead have caused many to opt for voluntary return, offered by Mexican authorities and Honduran consular officials.
“IOM maintains its position that the human rights and basic needs of all migrants must be respected, regardless of their migratory status,” said Christopher Gascon, UN Migration’s Chief of Mission in Mexico.
In coordination with UN refugee agency UNHCR, he said “we will continue to monitor the situation of the caravan counting on field staff, the Mexican Office of Assistance for Migrants and Refugees, and partner NGOs, providing information regarding alternatives for regular and safe migration, as well as options for voluntary returns,” he added.
Counting on its Mesoamerica Program – funded by the US State Department’s Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration – IOM is now also able to provide voluntary return assistance to migrants.
“The effective protection of human rights for all is based on the respect of processes conveyed in international treaties and national laws, which must be the frame of reference for any action that may be implemented in this situation,” Mr. Pisani concluded.
Original source: UN News
Published on 3 November 2018