Unicef ​​reiterates that children have the right to asylum and to remain with their families

The statement, signed by the executive director, Catherine Russell, specifies that UNICEF “firmly supports the current efforts of the United States and the governments of the region to address these root causes of migration”, but then adds that children and girls “need more support”.

Remember that there are millions of children and families in Latin America who are on the move in the region every day, fleeing natural disasters, violence, extortion or poverty, which are “the fundamental causes that drive migration and displacement”. .

For this reason, all these children and those families have the right to “safe migratory routes” and UNICEF calls “all governments, including the United States, to guarantee access to asylum processes, regardless of nationality.”

They must also be guaranteed access to essential services and “help them create opportunities for education and livelihoods,” the note says.

The Unicef ​​statement is issued at times of maximum tension on the southern border of the United States, where migrants accumulate on both sides of the border in the uncertainty of what may happen immediately after the end of Title 42, which allowed expulsions “hot” due to reasons related to the covid pandemic.