(Panama) The novel coronavirus pandemic has “exacerbated” the violations of the fundamental rights of migrants in Latin America, in particular Venezuelan and Central American girls and adolescents, denounced Monday the humanitarian organization Plan International.
Posted on Aug 3 2020 at 15 h 58
France Media Agency
“The socio-economic impacts, movement restrictions and border closures, due to the COVID pandemic – 19, have exacerbated the violations the rights of the migrant population, particularly those of young girls and adolescents, ”warns the NGO, which has its regional headquarters in Panama.
The situation is particularly dramatic for the Venezuelans present in Colombia, Brazil, Ecuador and Peru according to Plan International.
The NGO also denounces the living conditions of migrants from Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador who flee to the United States and Mexico.
Plan International recalls that these are “two of the worst migratory crises in the world”.
“In both cases, the circumstances represent a risk of violence against children,” says Nicolas Rodriguez, regional director of disaster risk management for the NGO.
“There are many cases of unaccompanied children, especially in the northern triangle” of Central America (Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala) where minors migrate in order to reunite with their families, he emphasizes.
To date, Latin America and the Caribbean has recorded 3.2 million confirmed cases of people infected with the new coronavirus, including more than 200 000 are deceased.
The health crisis has led many countries to tighten their migration policy, preventing migrants from regularizing their situation.
According to Plan International, this has worsened the living conditions of migrants who find it more difficult to access health services, education and employment, and puts them at the mercy of violence.
“Migrants are trapped, without means of subsistence and without access to basic services”, denounces Mr. Rodriguez, who is calling for the urgent opening of humanitarian corridors to protect them and allow their passage.
The situation of girls and adolescent girls is the most critical, according to Plan International.
“They are particularly vulnerable” because they are “more exposed” to sexual exploitation, without being able to assert their condition as victims because of the difficulty of denouncing what they are undergoing, underlines Amalia Alarcon, another responsible for the NGO.