Amnesty International asks Mexico not to request visas from Venezuelans

The Government of Mexico implemented this measure due to the growing migratory flow, as reflected in the record of more than 123,000 asylum applications received so far in 2021.

MEXICO, (December 23, 2021).- Amnesty International (AI) asked Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador on Wednesday to reconsider his recent decision to request visas from Venezuelans given the increase in their transit through this country to the United States.

“We see with great concern that this decision by the Mexican government may have serious repercussions on the lives of Venezuelans who seek international protection in other countries in the region, including Mexico,” the association wrote in an open letter to López Obrador.

AI referred to the “Agreement by which the visa application in ordinary passports is made known to nationals of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela in the condition of stay of visitors without permission to carry out paid activities”, published on December 17 in the Official Gazette of the Federation (DOF).

The Government of Mexico implemented this measure due to the growing migratory flow, as reflected in the record of more than 123,000 asylum applications received so far in 2021, of which 5,623 are from Venezuelans, the sixth most abundant nationality.

But “the imposition of entry visas could put Venezuelans’ right to request asylum at risk,” warned AI in its letter, signed by the director for the Americas, Erika Guevara Rosas.

The organization argued that the human rights crisis and the humanitarian emergency in Venezuela have forced more than 6 million people to leave that country in recent years.

For this reason, he asked to allow “access to protection request procedures to all people who arrived from Venezuela,” in addition to “immediately applying effective measures to protect those people and guaranteeing that they are not returned.”

In recent months, Mexico has also reinstated visa requirements for citizens of Ecuador and Brazil, under pressure from the United States, whose Customs and Border Protection (CBP) “found” more than 1.7 million undocumented immigrants at its southern border in the fiscal year 2021.

Meanwhile, Mexican authorities have intercepted 228,115 migrants and deported 82,627 from January to October 2021, which is close to figures not seen in more than 15 years.

In the midst of this panorama, AI recalled that “the majority of Venezuelans who flee the country are refugees and have the right to international protection,” according to the 1951 Convention on the Status of Refugees and the 1984 Cartagena Declaration. that Mexico has incorporated.

“We call on (López Obrador) to reconsider the visa requirement decision, as well as to strengthen the asylum system for all people seeking international protection in Mexican territory, without discrimination and in line with the international obligations of Mexico in the area of ​​human rights ”, concluded the letter.

Source: Forbes

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