IOM and UNHCR call for those responsible for the deaths of 50 migrants in Texas to be prosecuted

The UN agencies for migrants and refugees called for a rigorous investigation and prosecution of all those responsible for the deaths of at least 50 people discovered this Thursday in the trailer of an abandoned tractor in the state of Texas, United States.

Although all the circumstances are not yet known, including the nationalities of many of those killed, the bodies of at least 50 people have so far been recovered from a truck in San Antonio, some 250km from the Mexican border. The media, citing local authorities, report that survivors, including children, are recovering in hospital from heat stroke and exhaustion.

“This is not the first, nor will it be the last such tragedy.as human traffickers continue to prey on migrants and other vulnerable people who are only seeking a better life for themselves and their families,” said Michele Klein Solomon, regional director of the International Organization for Migration for Central and North America and the Caribbean. “We mourn with the families the loss of their loved ones and we call on the authorities on both sides of the border to vigorously investigate and bring to justice all those who, with their cruel disregard for human lifecontributed to this terrible incident.”

The General secretary was shocked by the tragedy. “This horror reveals once again the need for comprehensive strategies for safe, orderly and regular migration in the region,” he said in a statement from his spokesman in which he also asks states to work together to adopt concrete measures to help avoid these “unnecessary deaths.”

The spokeswoman for the Human Rights Office said the tragedy “Illustrates the compelling need to create pathways for legal migration and holds accountable those directly responsible for this loss of life.”

The Secretary of Foreign Affairs of Mexico has reported that among the deceased there are 22 Mexicans, seven Guatemalans and two Hondurans. The other victims have not yet been identified.

Almost 3000 missing

© UNICEF/Louis Kelly

One of the migrant children located at Nest, a space for children supported by UNICEF in Tijuana, a Mexican border city adjacent to San Diego, United States.

According to IOM’s Missing Migrants Project, almost 3,000 people have been reported missing or killed trying to cross the border from Mexico into the United States since 2014. This latest tragedy raises the number total deaths in the first six months of the year to 290.

“Without sufficient security pathways, vulnerable and desperate people will continue to fall prey to smugglers or be forced to resort to desperate measures to cross borders. Among those undertaking these journeys there are asylum seekers and refugees fleeing violence, persecution and human rights violations, as well as migrants, victims of human trafficking and others,” said Matthew Reynolds, UNHCR representative in the United States and the Caribbean.

“What is needed are safer alternatives to these dangerous irregular displacements, which guarantee expeditious access to asylum procedures for those seeking international protection. Preventing loss of life must be everyone’s priority.”

People traveling on this route are routinely exposed to serious human rights violations and exploitation by criminal gangs.

Recently, the heads of nine UN agencies and three international organizations they made an appeal to governments and other actors to save lives. The declaration specifically called on States to respect their obligations under international law, including human rights law, regardless of nationality, ethnic or social origin, gender, migration status or other grounds, the right to family life, the best interests of the child and the absolute prohibition of forced disappearance or arbitrary detention, among others.