The Government of Chile “must put an end to summary deportations of Venezuelans” carried out within the framework of a migration law “and ensure that all expulsions comply with international human rights law,” Human Rights Watch (HRW) said Wednesday.
Through a document, the organization pointed out a series of serious violations of the fundamental rights of expelled Venezuelan migrants, such as impediments to access phone calls and lawyers., summary deportations on weekends (when appellate courts are closed) and family separation, among others.
After examining 21 court decisions and more than 250 deportation orders, the international body also identified “violations of due process, including the right to be heard and to present evidence” before the expulsion is finalized.
“The Chilean courts have shown that many Venezuelans who sought to escape the devastating crisis in their country of origin were deported without due process, violating elementary standards of international law”said the director for the Americas of HRW, José Miguel Vivanco, according to the document.
Along the same lines, Vivanco pointed out that it is “contradictory” that the government headed by Sebastián Piñera “firmly condemns the abuses in Venezuela while ignoring the rights of Venezuelans in their eagerness to deport them to a country where their lives could be in danger.”
It is estimated that Chile is home to about 1.4 million migrants -equivalent to 7% of the population- and to date the Venezuelan community is the largest, with 457,000 people.
HRW pointed out that the Chilean Executive announced the expulsion of 1,500 people throughout 2021 on 15 charter flights and that, according to the Jesuit Migrant Service (SJM), by April of this year it had deported 294 people, in most cases “Without judicial control” and affecting mainly Venezuelans.
This government policy is part of a law that provides for the expulsion of those migrants on whom legal cases weigh, so that they serve the sentence in their country, and also that of those who entered the country clandestinely and are in an irregular administrative situation.
“ABSENCE OF DUE PROCESS”
According to the HRW review, in the vast majority of cases “The (Chilean) policemen did not allow the migrants to object to their deportation before the order was issued,” thus undermining rights enshrined in international treaties ratified by the Chilean State, such as “their right to be heard and to present evidence to challenge the expulsion.”
The Supreme Court has annulled several deportation orders in recent months on the grounds that they were the product of an “insufficient administrative contentious procedure,” but in almost all cases this annulment was post-deportation, HRW said.
“The interviews conducted by HRW and the resolutions issued in these cases show that, in fact, the Chilean government deprived migrants of the possibility of fully exercising the rights guaranteed by international law,” the report states.
“COLLECTIVE DEPORTATIONS”
According to HRW, the decisions do not refer to the individual circumstances of each case, “which do not appear to have been taken into account” and although administrative rulings were presented for each deported person, “the language used in various cases was practically identical. and a case-by-case analysis was not carried out ”.
When analyzing deportations in Chile, UN agencies in the country have repeatedly emphasized that all people have the right to have their circumstances evaluated individually, including the need to receive protection and the risks that deportation could represent. for his life, his freedom or his integrity, HRW recalled.
“SEPARATION OF FAMILIES”
Summary deportations, the document establishes, prevent a large number of Venezuelan citizens from proving family ties in Chile, especially considering that both marital and parental status are not registered with the Chilean State.
Added to this is the difficulty of obtaining certificates or official documents both in Venezuela and abroad, since the consular services of the Caribbean country are “limited.”
HRW, meanwhile, assures that human rights lawyers stated that some people soon to be expelled do not mention their family ties to prevent other members from also being deported.
“These deportations can violate children’s right to family unity. Chile must prioritize the best interests of children and facilitate their reunification with their parents ”, emphasized the NGO.
(With information from EFE)
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