America
Trump tightens the screws on refugees
While Colombia’s peace process is at a critical stage, neighbouring Venezuela is experiencing its own humanitarian crisis. As the violence in Central America forces more people to flee, President Trump is making it harder to cross the border into the US.
The US is expelling an increasing number of Latin American migrants. The Trump administration has, for instance, revoked the temporary residence permits of 425,000 immigrants from countries such as El Salvador, Haiti and Honduras. They now risk being deported sometime in the next two years. These countries are among the most violent in the world, and if deported, many fear that a large number of people will return to face a highly uncertain future. American authorities point to the original premise of the temporary residence permits, granted because these people were seeking refuge from disasters. The official position is that most are no longer in need of protection and that they can return home safely.
The US has put in place great resources to keep people from crossing the border from Mexico illegally. However, in keeping with the US' obligation to the 1951 Refugee Convention, it is still possible to apply for asylum on the border. Due to limited capacity for registering asylum seekers, however, a large number of people have accumulated on the Mexican side of the border, waiting for permission to cross and seek asylum.
The US is receiving fewer resettlement refugees
In 2016, Obama's last year as president, the US received 97,000 resettlement refugees via the UN according to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees’ Global Trends study. Despite the Obama administration's promises of a similar number the following year, Trump introduced a three-month long pause from receiving resettlement refugees in the beginning of 2017. Further limitations for refugees from all Muslims countries were also introduced affecting, among others, refugees from Syria. By the end of 2017, the US received fewer than 33,000 resettlement refugees. The number looks to be even lower in 2018.
More people are seeking asylum in Canada
The increasingly restrictive US refugee policies have led to more people choosing to cross the border to Canada to seek asylum. Canada has traditionally received few refugees, as the country is far away from areas people have fled. However, it is one of the countries in the world receiving the most resettlement refugees relative to its population size. In 2016, Canada received 47,000 resettlement refugees because of the Syrian crisis. The number was reduced to 27,000 in 2017, which is still higher than in preceding years
The violence in Central America is forcing more people to flee their homes
San Pedro Sula - A homicide near a primary school. Photo: EU / ECHO / A. Aragon
San Pedro Sula - A homicide near a primary school. Photo: EU / ECHO / A. Aragon
Violence and poverty have long caused people to leave El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras, the countries known as the Northern Triangle. According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) more than 294,000 asylum seekers and refugees from the Northern Triangle were registered globally by the end of 2017. This is a 58 per cent increase from the year before, and sixteen times more people than in 2011. Previously, most people went through Mexico, heading for the US, but this has changed in recent years. Increasingly, people are seeking asylum in Mexico, Belize, Costa Rica and Panama instead of the ever-more restrictive US.
UNHCR has asked for USD 36.2 million to aid and protect those fleeing their homes. In May 2018, they had received only 12 per cent of the requested funds.
Of the 50 most violent cities in the world, 42 are in Latin America. Violence continues to dominate everyday lives, and in some areas, mothers refuse to send their children to school for fear of kidnappings.
One of the reasons for the extreme violence is that governments have not dealt with the poverty issues in their countries. Inequality is high, and social marginalisation contributes to youth joining gangs. Other reasons for the continued
violence are corruption, weak government institutions, drug trade and easy access to weapons.
The gangs control large areas in cities and in some rural areas. They trade in drugs, weapons and people. The gangs terrorise the civilian population through extreme violence, extortion, kidnappings and corruption. Many of those unwilling
to join gangs receive death threats which forces them to flee their homes. Corruption threatens democracy
Corruption threatens democracy
Though the time of military dictatorships in Central America has passed, democracy still needs to mature in the region. Many believe that politicians are ignoring widespread corruption and are therefore part of the problem. In January 2018, the Honduran president, Juan Orlando Hernandez, began his second presidential term. The opposition and protesters accused him of election fraud and introducing military dictatorship in the country.
The democratisation processes have not ended corruption, lowered unemployment rates or lowered poverty rates. The money that migrants in the US are sending home has been, and still is, an important addition to thousands of family members who have stayed behind.
A soldier in the neighborhood of Villa Christina in Honduras' capital Tegucigalpa. Photo: EU / ECHO A.Aragon
A soldier in the neighborhood of Villa Christina in Honduras' capital Tegucigalpa. Photo: EU / ECHO A.Aragon
A crucial year for Colombia
Peacebuilding: Blanca Orozco, a nun in charge of the agricultural school in San Vicente de Caguan, Colombia, meets the FARC commander “El Paisa” for the first time. Photo: Richard Skretteberg/NRC
Peacebuilding: Blanca Orozco, a nun in charge of the agricultural school in San Vicente de Caguan, Colombia, meets the FARC commander “El Paisa” for the first time. Photo: Richard Skretteberg/NRC
In South America, the armed conflict in Colombia has featured prominently in the news for decades. In September 2016, the government and the guerrilla group FARC signed a historic peace agreement. It was ratified in congress in November the same year, after the Colombian people rejected the first version in a referendum a month earlier.
The Colombian population are still divided in terms of how they feel about the peace process; many feel that they were not adequately included, and lack trust in the authorities.
Many also experience that the peace agreement hasn't actually led to peace. In many areas previously controlled by FARC, other armed groups have moved in and seized control over important natural resources and important drug routes. Violence has increased in some of these areas, leaving many feeling less safe than before.
High murder rates and new displacements
Despite the peace agreement, 139,000 people were forced to flee from violence and conflict in 2017, which it is still less than the preceding year. Afro-Colombians and indigenous groups are particularly affected, since they often live in areas where the state has little control. It is especially worrying that the coca production in Colombia has increased considerably over the recent years. This industry generates money for weapons, contributes to corruption, and ultimately forces people to flee.
In 2017 alone, 170 local leaders and human rights activists were murdered in Colombia, according to the Colombian organisation Indepaz. The government has faced criticism for not being able to guarantee the safety of the civilian population.
A complicated peace agreement
FARC has changed from a guerrilla group to a political party. As part its reintegration into Colombian society, FARC members have laid down their weapons and gone back to school. Nevertheless, much time passed before measures were taken to help former FARC members build normal lives. Many have left the demobilisation camps to seek employment and meet family they have not seen in years. Others are being recruited into other armed groups.
The government and the armed group ELN have been in formal peace talks since February 2017. In January 2018, ELN repeatedly attacked Colombian security forces, and president Juan Manuel Santos therefore halted the peace talks. However,
dialogue was reopened the day before the congressional election in mid-March. The lack of a peace agreement with ELN is one of the reasons violence continues in Colombia.
A new Colombian president
The right-wing party Centro Democrático gained a majority in the congressional elections in March, and their candidate, Iván Duque won the presidential election in June 2018. The left-wing candidate Gustavo Petro came in second, making him the first openly leftist candidate to reach the second round of a modern Colombian election.
The peace process in Colombia is still fragile. Duque has been a strong critic of the peace agreement and wants to renegotiate it. The election campaign demonstrated that the Colombian society is still divided with regards to the peace process.
Difficult situation in Venezuela
For many years Venezuela, Colombia’s closest neighbour, has received large numbers of Colombians fleeing from civil war. However, an increasing number of people have moved in the opposite direction over the last few years. While not all Venezuelans leaving the country are refugees, it is becoming increasingly clear that a significant number need international protection, according to UNHCR. The agency has reported a sharp increase in the number of asylum applications.
Displaced Venezuelans residing in border areas are in need of food, water, medicine, shelter and protection. The crisis impacts neighbouring countries and may destabilise an already fragile peace process in Colombia. The international support for host countries must be urgently scaled up to ensure that people receive the necessary assistance. Inside Venezuela, a significant number of people are also in urgent need of assistance.
