Negotiations in Miami Must Not Treat Central Americans Fleeing Violence as Bargaining Chips Madeleine Penman and Marselha Gonçalves Margerin - Inter Press Service
go to original June 15, 2017

Today in Miami, the governments of US and Mexico are putting aside their well-publicized tensions of recent months and co-hosting a conference on security and governance in Central America´s Northern Triangle of El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras, from where thousands of people flee extreme violence to seek asylum in the US and Mexico.

Seeing the United States and Mexico in front of the cameras as happy co-hosts sparks a number of questions.

Why is no one speaking about Trump´s great big wall? Who is talking about their much-aired differences in negotiating a new NAFTA trade agreement?

It remains to be seen whether these impasses between the US and Mexico will be the bargaining chips during discussions in Miami that affect the lives of families, children and entire communities whose lives are being destroyed by powerful gangs known as maras that effectively control the lives of thousands of people in countries such as Honduras and El Salvador.

Many citizens have no choice but to flee from these countries that have some of the highest homicide rates on the planet.

Yet rather than looking at humanitarian approaches to the crisis in these countries, the Conference on Prosperity and Security in Central America will be largely led by John Kelly, Secretary of Homeland Security, whose main job is to patrol US borders. He will be inviting attendants to bunker down together at the United States armed forces Southern Command base to discuss solutions for Central America with a host of government, private sector and international development actors.

At the same time, the obligations of all these governments under international law to protect people who are fleeing for their lives, must not be forgotten.

Madeleine Penman, Mexico Researcher at Amnesty International and Marselha Gonçalves Margerin, Advocacy Director for the Americas at Amnesty International USA

Read the rest at Inter Press Service

Related: Human Rights Take a Back Seat at Central America Summit (teleSUR)

Related: Mexico, U.S. United for Central America’s Prosperity (Miami Herald)

Related: Human Rights Leaders Voice Concerns About Central America Conference (WLRN)

Related: All Smiles (at Least in Public) as Central American Conference Begins in Miami (Miami Herald)

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