UNHCR Calls for Continued Access to Asylum Procedures for Children Fleeing Violence in Central America

WASHINGTON, July 9, 2014 (UNHCR) -The UN Refugee Agency, UNHCR, remains concerned over the rising number of children and families leaving their home countries in Central America and urges all countries in the region to adopt a robust humanitarian response that is based on fundamental protection principles. This response should include efforts to address the root causes of this movement; to prevent and respond to human trafficking; and to meet the needs of those children who may be victims of persecution or torture.

“We recognize the enormous challenges facing the U.S. and other countries as a result of this large movement of people,” said Shelly Pitterman, UNHCR’s Regional Representative in the United States. “We’re witnessing a complex situation in which children are leaving home for a variety of reasons, including poverty, the desire to join family, and the growing influence of trafficking networks. And as indicated in a UNHCR study published in March this year, within this movement there are also children who are fleeing situations of violence at the hands of transnational organized criminal groups and powerful local gangs.”

UNHCR therefore urges a comprehensive response aimed at preventing the need for such movement and addressing the best interests of the children who have already left. Development agencies, human rights actors, and donor governments must help the countries of Central America analyze and address the poverty, lawlessness, and other factors that force people to seek a better life or to escape harm. At the same time, children who have been trafficked or who fear persecution or torture need to be given the opportunity to tell their stories and have their best interests determined. “Those fleeing violence and persecution,” said Pitterman, “will require access to asylum determination procedures and will need long-term protection. Others will be able to return home and should be assisted with re-integration.”

UNHCR also supports U.S. efforts to engage in regional cooperation toward:

• Enhancing child protection systems in source/transit/destination countries;
• Enhancing the capacity of governments to address the humanitarian consequences of forced displacement through the development of public policies and protection responses;
• Identifying solutions that are in the best interests of children, including, where appropriate, tracing, return, family reunification, etc.; and
• Reinforcing asylum systems in countries of transit and asylum in Central America and Mexico.

For more information, please visit http://www.unhcr.org/en-us/children-on-the-run.html