First modification:
The organization Amnesty International denounced that the deployment of the military on the border between Peru and Ecuador “endangers the human rights” of migrants and refugees. Contrary to the organization’s request, Ecuador announced that it will reinforce its military presence at illegal border crossings.
After the deployment of more than 1,200 Peruvian troops in at least 30 border crossings between Peru and Ecuador to prevent illegal migration, the director of Amnesty International, AI, for the Americas, Erika Guevara, said through her Twitter account that, “Militarizing the border in Peru represents a serious risk to the human rights of migrants and refugees.”
Militarize the border in #Peru represents a serious risk to #DDHH of migrants & refugees and sets a dire precedent. We urge @FSagasti to limit the use of the military in migration control tasks and avoid a tragedy
https://t.co/PQbmSqtWEZ
– Erika Guevara-Rosas (@ErikaGuevaraR) January 28, 2021
In this sense, Guevara asked the interim president of Peru, Francisco Sagasti, “to limit the use of the military in migratory control tasks and avoid a tragedy”, given the massive arrival of Venezuelan citizens at the crossing points.
For the NGO, the uniformed men do not have the training or “adequate tools” to assume tasks of handling travelers and recalled the episode that occurred on January 26 in Tumbes, on the Ecuadorian border, when “the Peruvian Army fired firearms at the air to disperse defenseless people, including children. “
He added that “this not only contravenes international and Peruvian regulations on the use of force and firearms, but also sows the terrible precedent of using weapons of this type to intimidate the population that has the right to seek international protection.” The director of the entity demanded an investigation and corrective measures be taken.
The military deployment occurs in the middle of the electoral campaign
After Colombia, Peru is the second country with the largest Venezuelan population. According to data from the UN Refugee Agency, UNHCR, more than one million entered the Andean nation since 2016. Among them, 477,000 have a residence permit and only 1,282 have been recognized as refugees.
Due to the extensive illegal arrivals since mid-2019, Peru only allows the entry of Venezuelans with a passport and humanitarian visa processed at one of its consulates. Additionally, in the midst of the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic that once again has the hospital system in check and increased the rate of deaths, President Sagasti announced the reinforcement of land entry points to the nation, by time that ordered the return of the strict quarantine, which has been in force since next Sunday.
The measures come in the middle of the electoral campaign ahead of the presidential elections next April and after months of political upheaval since the removal of Martín Vizcarra, in November 2020.
Ecuador also increases its troops on the border
Despite calls from international organizations and criticism of Peru for its measures to limit the entry of migrants, described as excessive, Ecuador will echo the militarization of the border.
The government of Lenín Moreno will reinforce the military detachments, including 20 Hammer vehicles for patrolling and controlling migrants who want to access irregularly, according to Defense Minister Oswaldo Jarrín, who has been in talks with the Peruvian authorities.
“We realized that it is necessary to reinforce with personnel. We have permanent permanent detachments along the border line, some were raised and we are going to have to reactivate them,” Jarrín said.
The pandemic and the closure of borders, far from reducing illegal migration, have increased irregular migration, something that worries human rights defenders, who warn that this type of measures favors the increase in mafias that profit from the trafficking of persons.
With EFE
.
source https://pledgetimes.com/amnesty-international-urges-peru-to-withdraw-its-soldiers-from-the-border-with-ecuador/
Disqus comments