Jessica Xantomila and Jared Laureles
The newspaper La Jornada
Sunday, July 28, 2024, p. 4
The Mexican Commission for Refugee Assistance (COMAR) office in Mexico City will be closed for nine weeks, as the Ministry of the Interior has notified that July 29 to August 2 will be non-working days.
The Migration Policy Working Group (GTPM) warned that this period of inactivity will probably be extended, as it has been happening. Since May 29, the work of the Comar in the capital of the country has been suspended, due to the failed attempt to change the address from the Juárez neighborhood to a property in Verónica Anzures. The neighbors of that area opposed the personnel operating at Bahía de Santa Bárbara number 193, where they intended to set up shop.
The GTPM, made up of various organizations and specialists, regretted the closure of the offices because there are many migrants who require their work to obtain refugee status, which would guarantee them the ability to find employment and access services.
This situation exposes people to acts of discrimination, extortion, abuse of power and systematic violations of their human rights
he said.
For this reason, he called on the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies to maintain Monitoring the implementation of the Refugee Law, complementary protection and political asylum
as well as listening to civil society to improve the standard in light of Mexico’s international and regional commitments.
In a statement, the Mexican government stressed that reopening the Comar offices must be a priority, since the suspension of activities also causes anxiety and stress in asylum seekers, as they do not know how their process is going or when they will be able to apply to be refugees, which in turn impacts their physical health.
