UN agency welcomes Mexico’s new refugee law
The United Nations refugee agency today welcomed the entry into force of a new law in Mexico on the protection of refugees and asylum-seekers that now gives the country a legal framework that complies with international standards in this area.
The law, which was formally signed by President Felipe Calderón on Wednesday, was drafted in 2009 by the Mexican Refugee Commission with technical support from the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
Mexico signed the 1951 Refugee Convention and its Protocol in 2000 and has a history of protecting asylum-seekers and refugees, according to the agency.
However, until now, the country lacked a specific legal framework as previous laws did not comply with international standards, it added.
The new “Law on Refugees and Complementary Protection” incorporates Mexico’s good practices on refugees, such as permission to work, access to health services including health insurance, access to education and revalidation of studies.
It includes definitions of a refugee as per the 1951 Convention relating to the status of refugees as well the Cartagena Declaration on Refugees adopted in 1984. It also considers gender as grounds for persecution.
Mexico will grant complementary protection for people not considered as refugees but whose life has been threatened or could be at risk of torture, ill treatment, or other forms of cruel inhuman treatment.
“This law conforms to international law and standards, as it includes the principle of non-refoulement (no forced returns), non-discrimination, and no penalty for irregular entry, the family unity principle, the best interests of the child, and confidentiality, among others,” UNHCR spokesperson Andrej Mahecic told reporters in Geneva.
Mexico continues receiving refugees from Latin American countries (mainly from Colombia, Haiti, El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala) but also extra-regional refugees (from Democratic Republic of the Congo, Sri Lanka, Iraq, Iran, Nepal, Nigeria, and Myanmar, among others).