The Ombudsman’s Office requires the authorities to do everything in their power to prevent events such as the unfortunate bus accident in Planes de Gualaca and the recent fire, both with migrants as passengers, from happening again.
It is imperative that the entities in charge of supervising the transfer of migrants corroborate the real state of both the rolling equipment, the profiles of the drivers, as well as guarantee migrants their human rights so that the humanitarian corridor is safe, orderly and dignified; allowing them a stop to eat or for their physiological needs, taking into account that, in most of the trips, children and adolescents go, as well as older people.
In this sense, the Ombudsman’s Office highlights that in the Migrant Reception Stations (ERM) in Darién and Chiriquí, human rights officers, together with representatives of international organizations have monitored the human rights of migrants upon arrival. to the country and continue to provide support on issues such as: the right to water, health, decent accommodation, cases of missing persons, actions in favor of children and adolescents (NNA), people with disabilities, pregnant women, the elderly, among others. .
Currently, the entity maintains an open complaint against the National Migration Service and the Ministry of Security, at the request of a migrant who complained about the travel hours from Darién to Planes de Gualaca, without stops, according to the complainer; therefore, the entity is awaiting the response of the trades by both institutions.
In addition, the Ombudsman of Panama for the sake of the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Dignified Migration signed in Marrakech, by Panama in 2018, urges the authorities to reinforce controls for greater road safety in transfers, which allows continue with the good practices already carried out by the Panamanian State in attention to the agreements and the ruling of the IACHR; recalling that migration is a human right and under international law, migrants have human rights by virtue of their humanity.
