Bachelet appalled by conditions of
migrants and refugees in detention in the US
GENEVA (8 July 2019) - UN High
Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet said on Monday she is appalled
by the conditions in which migrants and refugees - children and adults - are
being held in detention in the United States of America after crossing the
southern border. She stressed that children should never be held in immigration
detention or separated from their families.
The High Commissioner stated that
several UN human rights bodies have found that the detention of migrant
children may constitute cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment that is
prohibited by international law.*”
“As a paediatrician, but also as a
mother and a former head of State, I am deeply shocked that children are forced
to sleep on the floor in overcrowded facilities, without access to adequate
healthcare or food, and with poor sanitation conditions,” High Commissioner
Bachelet said.
“Detaining a child even for short
periods under good conditions can have a serious impact on their health and
development - consider the damage being done every day by allowing this
alarming situation to continue.” The High Commissioner noted that immigration
detention is never in the best interests of a child.
Noting the disturbing report by the
Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Inspector General on the conditions
in migrant centres along the southern border, Bachelet urged the authorities to
find non-custodial alternatives for migrant and refugee children – and adults.
“Any deprivation of liberty of
adult migrants and refugees should be a measure of last resort,” she said. If
detention does take place, the High Commissioner emphasized, it should be for
the shortest period of time, with due process safeguards and in conditions that
fully meet all relevant international human rights standards.
“States do have the sovereign prerogative to
decide on the conditions of entry and stay of foreign nationals. But clearly,
border management measures must comply with the State’s human rights
obligations and should not be based on narrow policies aimed only at detecting,
detaining and expeditiously deporting irregular migrants,” she added.
“In most of these cases, the
migrants and refugees have embarked on perilous journeys with their children in
search of protection and dignity and away from violence and hunger. When they
finally believe they have arrived in safety, they may find themselves separated
from their loved ones and locked in undignified conditions. This should never
happen anywhere.”
The UN Human Rights Office’s
presences in Mexico and Central America have documented numerous human rights
violations and abuses against migrants and refugees in transit, including the
excessive use of force, arbitrary deprivation of liberty, family separation,
denial of access to services, refoulement, and arbitrary expulsions.
The High Commissioner recognised
the complexity of the situation and the challenges faced by States of origin,
transit and destination. She called on them to work together to address the
root causes compelling migrants to leave their homes by implementing
crosscutting policies that take into account the complex drivers of migration.
These include insecurity, sexual and gender-based violence, discrimination,
poverty, the adverse impacts of climate change and environmental degradation.
Bachelet also paid tribute to
individuals and civil society organisations that have been providing migrants
with the most basic of rights, such as the rights to water, food, health,
adequate shelter and other such assistance.
“The provision of lifesaving assistance is a
human rights imperative that must be respected at all times and for all people
in need – it is inconceivable that those who seek to provide such support would
risk facing criminal charges,” she said.
ENDS
* See relevant standards adopted by
various UN human rights bodies, including the CMW, CRC, the Special Rapporteur
on migrants and torture:
https://www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/HRC/RegularSessions/Session28/Documents/A_HRC_28_68__Add_3_ENG.docand https://tbinternet.ohchr.org/_layouts/15/treatybodyexternal/Download.aspx?symbolno=CRC/C/GC/22&Lang=en
For more information and media requests,
please contact: Rupert Colville - + 41 22 917 9767 / rcolville@ohchr.org or
Ravina Shamdasani - + 41 22 917 9169 / rshamdasani@ohchr.org.
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