Child migrants held in cages in McAllen, Texas.

By: Emir Olivares Alonso

The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) [1] ordered the United States government to implement precautionary measures in favor of the 572 immigrant underage minors that have been victims of the “zero tolerance” policy implemented by the Donald Trump administration, with which hundreds of families have been separated.

The objective of these measures, which Mexico’s Nacional Human Rights Commission announced yesterday, is to protect immigrant children from the cruel and inhuman treatment to which they have been submitted as a consequence of the immigration policy of the United States government.

The inter-American organism gave the Trump administration 10 days to report to it about the adoption of the protection for these minors and to periodically update said information.

It ordered adopting the measures necessary for the protection of the rights of family life, personal integrity and identity of the proposed beneficiaries, particularly assuring that those rights are safeguarded through the reunification of the children with their relatives or their biological parents and in support of the higher interest of the children.

It is sought to protect human rights “that are essential to ensure that the infants enjoy an appropriate quality of life, such as their rights to personal integrity, health, family and personal freedom.

“These human rights must be protected, especially facing the inhumane situation in which the immigrant boys and girls are found, after having been separated from their families as a consequence of the ‘zero tolerance’ policy. Moreover, taking into consideration that the cruel conditions in which they find themselves could cause harm to their physical and psychological integrity.”

While family reunification is carried out, the IACHR ordered the United States government to adopt the necessary measures to immediately guaranty free and regular appropriate communication between the beneficiaries and their family members in accordance with their best interest.

The granting of these precautionary measures is the product of the alliance of six human rights defense institutions in the region, which for the first time joined together to ask for said protection and they set an important precedent. We’re talking about Mexico’s National Human Rights Commission, the Ombudsman of Colombia, the Ombudsman of Ecuador, the Human Rights Ombudsman of Guatemala, the National Commissioner for Human Rights of Honduras and the Ombudsman for the Defense of Human Rights of El Salvador.

[1] The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) is part of the human rights arm of the Organization of American States (OAS). The United States is a member of the OAS.

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Originally Published in Spanish by La Jornada

Tuesday, August 21, 2018

http://www.jornada.com.mx/2018/08/21/politica/013n2pol

Re-Published with English interpretation by the Chiapas Support Committee