Rifugiati dal Centro America: le organizzazioni del summit scrivono a Obama

Il 20 settembre la sede del Center for Migration Studies di New York (CMS) ha ospitato lo shadow summit dal titolo “The US Response to Central American Refugees”. I partecipanti hanno espresso le proprie preoccupazioni sulla politica americana

Il 19 settembre l’Assemblea generale delle Nazioni Unite ha ospitato a New York un vertice di alto livello per coordinare un approccio più umano ai grandi movimenti di rifugiati e migranti (del side event sul ruolo delle organizzazioni religiose, che si è tenuto lo stesso giorno sempre a New York e in cui è intervenuto padre Florenzo Maria Rigoni, missionario scalabriniano in Messico, abbiamo già scritto qui).

Il giorno successivo, 20 settembre, nella sede del Center for Migration Studies (CMS), si è tenuto un ulteriore evento: lo shadow summit dal titolo The US Response to Central American Refugees.

“Dear President Obama”

Fra i relatori, lo stesso padre Rigoni, direttore della Casa del Migrante a Tapachula (che ha parlato nel primo dei tre panel); fra le organizzazioni presenti, oltre al CMS, anche lo Scalabrini International Migration Network (SIMN).

Ecco la lettera che i partecipanti hanno elaborato e spedito al presidente Obama, in cui esprimono profonda preoccupazione per la politica adottata dagli Stati Uniti nei confronti di richiedenti asilo e rifugiati all’interno dei confini. Si tratta infatti di una strategia che «non è riuscita ad arginare il flusso di profughi provenienti dal Centro America».

Dear Mr. President:

We, the participants of the shadow summit, The U.S. Response to Central American Refugees, held September 20 in New York, urge you to end the deterrence strategy pursued by your Administration to stem the flow of Central American refugees seeking protection from violence and persecution. We urge you to invest in robust protection programs which give these vulnerable refugees an alternative to making the dangerous journey out of their countries, while ensuring that those who do seek protection at our borders can do so in a safe, just, and humane way.

Mr. President, we applaud your leadership in setting a refugee ceiling of 110,000 refugees from around the world for FY 2017, as well as your initiative to call upon other nations to commit more resources and resettlement space to the world’s refugees. However, we are deeply concerned with U.S. policy toward asylum-seekers and refugees in our own region and inside our own borders.

It is our view that the deterrence strategy your Administration has pursued, which has sent thousands back to danger, has failed to stem the flow of refugees from Central America. The individuals seeking asylum we have met and worked with, along with countless others, made the decision to flee only when they felt they had no other choice from which to protect themselves. We urge you to end such practices as family detention, the support of Mexican interdictions and return without due process and screening, and the deportation of vulnerable refugees from the United States who have not had full access to due process in U.S. courts.

We encourage you to fully fund and expand protection programs announced by your Administration, including the Central American minor (CAM) program and in-country refugee processing and to support a comprehensive approach to strengthening Mexico’s asylum system in conjunction with civil society and international organizations. Meanwhile, we urge you to immediately grant Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for individuals from the Northern Triangle countries of Central America – Honduras, El Salvador, and Guatemala.

Finally, we urge you to direct longer-term, human rights-focused U.S. assistance to address the root causes of violence, corruption, impunity and poverty driving these refugees from their countries, as opposed to enforcement efforts.

Mr. President, again we applaud your leadership in convening world leaders at the United Nations to address the world’s global refugee crisis. We urge you to show that same leadership in our own backyard, with vulnerable children and families leaving the Northern Triangle of Central America.

Thank you for your consideration.

Sincerely

7 Consigli ai leader mondiali

Le associazioni partecipanti hanno inoltre consegnato a tutti i governi presenti al summit una lista delle azioni da intraprendere per realizzare un nuovo accordo sulle questioni trattate (7 actions world leaders urgently need to take to make a new deal for refugees, migrants and societies a reality).

Il documento è stato elaborato con il Civil Society Action Committee, un’organizzazione di reti globali operanti con migranti e rifugiati che promuove azioni e incoraggia contatti di advocacy tra società e stati.