UN launches campaign to protect child migrants in Mexico, Central America

Record ID: 900730

  • Title: UN launches campaign to protect child migrants in Mexico, Central America
  • Date: 1st June 2017
  • Summary: MEXICO CITY, MEXICO (MAY 31, 2017) (REUTERS) EXTERIOR OF MUSEUM OF TOLERANCE AND MEMORY UNITED NATIONS HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR REFUGEES (UNHCR) LOGO DURING CAMPAIGN LAUNCH CHILD MIGRANTS IN THE AUDIENCE FOR CAMPAIGN CHILD MIGRANT AT CAMPAIGN LAUNCH CHILDREN MIGRANTS SEATED IN FRONT ROW AT CAMPAIGN LAUNCH PANEL FOR CAMPAIGN LAUNCH ARRIVING ON STAGE UNHCR REPRESENTATIVE MARK MANLY (LEFT) AND MEXICAN ACTOR DIEGO LUNA (RIGHT) POSING FOR MEDIA AT CAMPAIGN LAUNCH (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) UNHCR REPRESENTATIVE MARK MANLY, SAYING: "There is an increasing number of people leaving Central America and with the characteristics of a refugee. However, we should not stop recognising that in this situation it is necessary for governments in the region to strengthen their efforts to guarantee the human rights of these children, in particular to guarantee the fundamental right of not returning any child or adult to a situation or a country where their life is in danger." GENERAL VIEW OF PANEL SEATED ON STAGE (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) MEXICAN ACTOR DIEGO LUNA, SAYING: "Of course we are worried about Mexicans who emigrate to the United States, how they are treated, the deportation cases appear to be outrageous. We should not stop thinking about how what we are doing to those who are coming to the country in search of the same. Today, Mexico due to all that is happening, the politics of the United States, is not just a transit (country) but a place where many want to go to." GENERAL VIEW OF CAMPAIGN LAUNCH HOST TALKING TO CHILD MIGRANTS SITTING ON STAGE (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) HONDURAN CHILD REFUGEE RESIDING IN MEXICO, EMA, SAYING: "We can't live in Honduras anymore, there are many people leaving the country for the same reason, crime, the Maras (gangs) are bad, the deaths of innocent people, children. We can't live in Honduras anymore." SIGN FOR UNHCR CAMPAIGN "CHILDREN ON THE RUN"
  • Embargoed: 15th June 2017 15:22
  • Keywords: campaign border Central America Mexico United Nations UNHCR child migrants
  • Location: MEXICO CITY, NUEVO LAREDO, TAMAULIPAS, MEXICO / SAN PEDRO SULA, HONDURAS / MCALLEN, TEXAS, USA, UNIDENTIFIED LOCATIONS
  • City: MEXICO CITY, NUEVO LAREDO, TAMAULIPAS, MEXICO / SAN PEDRO SULA, HONDURAS / MCALLEN, TEXAS, USA, UNIDENTIFIED LOCATIONS
  • Country: Mexico
  • Topics: Arts / Culture / Entertainment,Asylum/Immigration/Refugees,Government/Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVA0016JG698J
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: The United Nations launched a campaign in Mexico City on Wednesday (May 31) to provide aid to an increasing number of children fleeing Central America for a better life in Mexico and the USA.
    The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) organised the "Children On The Run" campaign to call on governments and the public to raise $18 million to help provide safe refuge for the thousands fleeing poverty and violence in Central America.
    According to the United Nations, the number of unaccompanied migrants crossing overland into North America has doubled every year since 2011. The United States also reported that about 54,000 children and their guardians were apprehended between October 2016, and January 2017 alone.
    Central America is one of the most dangerous regions in the world, battling criminal gangs and cartels in the midst of extreme poverty.
    Helping to launch the United Nations campaign was Stars Wars actor Diego Luna, who urged Mexicans to consider the plight of Central Americans in their country as on par with the tenuous situation Mexican nationals in the USA under President Donald Trump.
    According to the UNHCR, nearly 60% of unaccompanied migrant children from Central America detained in Mexico were in need of international protection, with many eligible for refugee status.
    With Trump's clampdown on migrants in the USA, children such as Ema from Honduras have chosen to stay on in Mexico.
    Mexico is reportedly struggling to process increasing numbers of refugee claims. The phenomena has created a slipover in asylum claims in Central America's more stable nations such as Costa Rica, Nicaragua and Panama. Asylum requests in these countries soared by over 150% last year alone.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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