Issue No. 8 / Communications Office – IOM Chile / August–September 2016

IOM Chile Participates in the “XVIII Jornadas Migratorias” Organized by the Chilean Catholic Institute for Migration (INCAMI)

On August 24 the the XVIII 2016 Migration Encounter held by the Chilean Catholic Institute for Migration (INCAMI) was inaugurated in the Senate Chamber located in Santiago. This initiative is organized by the INCAMI and the Scalabrini International Migration Network (SIMN), with sponsorship by the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (through the Consular Policy Division, Office of International Migrations), the Ministry of the Interior (through the Department of Migration and Foreigners), and the Honorable Senate of the Republic of Chile. The participants included representatives from various civil society organizations, international bodies, academia, migrant associations, and non-governmental organizations. The inauguration ceremony was presided by Monsignor Galo Fernández, President of INCAMI, and Jaime Esponda in representation of the Mission Chief from the International Organization for Migration. Day One consisted of two modules. During the first module, Father Flor María Rigoni gave an expert presentation on the migratory experience from the perspective of the Church’s management efforts. For the second panel discussion, which focused on the community experience, representatives from the Mayor’s Offices of Maipú and Central Station spoke of their experiences in managing migrant populations.

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On August 25th, Day Two began with a module focused on international experiences, with presentations by Federico Agusti from the Argentinian Ministry of the Interior and Ezequiel Téxido, Liaison Officer from the IOM Regional Office in Buenos Aires. The second day concluded with a module aimed at reflection, with presentations by Marco Antonio González from the Manufacturing Promotion Society (SOFOFA), and Rodrigo Sandoval, Head of the Chilean Interior Ministry’s Department of Migration and Foreigners, followed by the seminar closing ceremony.

The story of…

Rosalia Knapp, 100 years old and 80 of those

years in Chile: “When you first arrive in a new

country, things are not easy.”

Read also...

Cover Photo Ezequiel Téxido, Liaison Officer, IOM Regional Office for South America Federico Agusti, Argentinian Minister of the Interior

Monsignor Galo Fernández, President of INCAMI, with Jaime Esponda from IOM Chile, welcoming participants to the XVIII Migration Encounter.

IOM Chile Communications Office

Presentation given by IOM Chile at the charter meeting of the Working Forum on Migrant Smuggling created by the Public Ministry.

The serious nature of migrant smuggling, along with the fact that our country is not exempt from this form of organized crime, poses the urgent need to establish a national framework for inter-institutional coordination. This initiative of the Attorney General to respond to said need is now a reality. Upon being invited to participate, the International Organization for Migration expressed its commitment to cooperate with this effort in fulfillment of its institutional mandate. MIGRANT SMUGGLING: A CRIME AGAINST THE STATE AND THE CONSEQUENCES THEREOF. The objective legal basis for combatting this criminal activity is the fact that it constitutes, first of all, an action against the sovereignty of the State, which, according to current international law, includes the power to determine whether or not to admit a foreigner into its territory. As such, in strictly penal terms, the passive subject of this crime is the State, not the migrant. This does not imply, however, that the migrant is an active subject of the crime, nor that he/she should be seen as a victim of the smuggler’s criminal activity. It is obviously mistaken to claim that migrants are responsible for the crime of smuggling. The authors of the Palermo Protocol did not intend to use the term ‘victim’ when referring to the migrant, preferring to speak of the person who is ‘the object’ of the crime (Article 2). Being the object of a crime is quite different from being responsible for that crime. The Protocol also establishes aggravating circumstances for the crime of migrant smuggling, in which migrants also become victims in legal terms when their lives or security is put in danger or they are subjected to inhumane or degrading treatment (Article 6). THE NECESSARY DISTINCTION IN THE PALERMO PROTOCOL. In this sense, the criminal activity is not migration, but the illicit smuggling of migrants, and the need to protect the migrants. This is the perspective that all States should apply when investigating and prosecuting this crime. Article 2 of the Protocol states that its objective is to protect the rights of migrants subjected to smuggling, while Article 4 reiterates this concept. It is true that migrants consent to submitting to the smuggler, generally out of need and even for reasons that fit the definition of a refugee, such as persecution or danger for their lives or liberty, because nobody agrees to be smuggled simply because they so desire or are looking for adventure. For this reason, migrants are not accomplices per se, nor are they safe from becoming victims of other crimes while being smuggled (as generally happens, in the form of violence, exposure to precarious conditions, dangerous modes of transportation, etc.).

To reinforce this perspective that distinguishes the migrant from the perpertrator of the crime of smuggling, the Protocol also differentiates between illicit smuggling and ‘illegal entry’ into a State’s territory. The latter constitutes a legal figure independent from smuggling that can not be attibuted to organized crime. Even when illegal entry is classified as a crime, caution should be observed before prosecuting migrants who have been subjected to smuggling by assuming that they are responsible for such illegal entry, as the circumstances in which they submitted to the smuggler should be considered. In these cases, automatic application of the law may be reckless in terms of the human rights of the migrant. It is for this reason that Article 5 of the Protocol states that, “Migrants shall not become liable to criminal prosecution...for the fact of having been the object of conduct” that constitutes smuggling and its aggravating circumstances. PROTECTION FOR THE RIGHTS OF SMUGGLED MIGRANTS. In addition to the aforementioned precautions, State public policies (including legislation and directives for police action and criminal prosecution) should grant due relevance to the obligation of the Protocol’s States Parties to adopt all appropriate measures to protect the human rights of smuggled persons, as well as to process such asylum petitions as may be presented by them. Article 19, Paragraph 1, of the Protocol explicitly states that none of its provisions may affect the other rights of States and persons under international law, including international humanitarian law and human rights law and the provisions related to refugees. Therefore, a matter that deserves special attention is the eventual repatriation of smuggled migrants. There is a general principle of law—which transcends the Convention on the Status of Refugees and has come to constitute jus cogens—the principle of non-refoulement, which prohibits States from returning a person to a territory in which his/her life or liberty may be at risk, whether by way of expulsion, deportation, denial of entry at the border, etc.

Jaime Esponda from IOM Chile during his presentation.

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) Becomes Part of the

United Nations System

At the High-Level Meeting on Refugees and Migrants called by the United Nations General Assembly and held in New York on September 19th, a Relationship Agreement was signed between the United Nations and the International Organization for Migration (IOM). By way of this historic Agreement, the IOM, in its capacity as the leading global organization on migration, formally adhered to the United Nations as a Related Organization, thus reinforcing cooperation and an even closer coordination in order to face, within the sphere of their respective mandates, the global challenges related to unprecedented levels of human mobility. The Agreement demonstrates a worldwide commitment to more humane and orderly migration to benefit all people and all countries. The IOM Mission in Chile rejoices with the news of this Agreement, which ratifies its commitment to continue providing ongoing support to the Chilean government, local governments, civil society, and of course to migrants themselves, in order to enhance their positive contribution to sustainable development, with full respect for human rights. IOM Chile salutes the Agencies of the United Nations System, with which it shall continue to develop productive joint efforts.

Ban Ki-Moon, United Nations General Secretary, with William Lacy Swing, IOM General Director, at the ceremony in New York where the Relationship Agreement was signed on September 19th, 2016.

UN Photo / Rick Bajornas

More information at: oimchile.cl

Rosalia Kanapp, age 100, was born and raised in Romania (formerly Hungary). In 1937, at age 21, she arrived in Chile. Conditions were tough at first. She had difficulty learning the language, but finally succeeded. In time, she decided to become a naturalized citizen, and now has lived in the country for eighty years. “I came to Chile in 1937 because I fell in love with my boyfriend, we got married in Romania, and one month later we decided to move to Chile. The ships arrived full of people, and we came to stay.” “At first I didn’t like it here at all. I didn’t speak the language, so nobody understood me, but I had to adapt. In time I came to like it here, because the people were peaceful and everyone worked to support themselves.” “At first I had to work nights to earn money, because we had to pay the rent and we had to eat. When you first arrive in a new country, things are not easy.” My husband and I worked hard, and such was life. When I first came here there were no buses. There was a trolley that ran down the middle of the street, and we had to ride it to get around. There were no supermarkets or departments stores. The country has changed a lot, and many more people have come.”

The story of Rosalia Knapp,

100 years old and 80 of those

years in Chile: “When you

first arrive in a new country,

things are not easy.”

Silvia Rucks, United Nations Resident Coordinator in Chile, met with IOM Chile representatives, headed by Chief of Mission Norberto Girón, to celebrate the IOM’s recent incorporation into the System. Various efforts that the IOM has collaborated on with the United Nations in Chile for years were discussed at the meeting. The participants highlighted the occasion as an opportunity to consolidate this working relation-ship and move ahead with a joint agenda within the framework of the 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals. In a symbolic act, Silvia Rucks gave a United Nations pin to Norberto Girón, thus closing a historic week in which, on September 19th in New York, United Nations General Secretary Ban Ki-Moon and Embassador William Lacy Swing, General Director of the International Organization for Migration, signed the Agreement to incorporate the IOM into the UN System. The meeting was also attended by Alejandro Mañón, United Nations Coordination Officer, and Silvia Olego, Jorge Sagastume, and Sebastian Mathews from IOM Chile.

United Nations Resident Coordinator in Chile Welcomes the IOM to the System

Norberto Girón, IOM Chile Mission Chief, with Silvia Rucks, United Nations Resident Coordinator in Chile

United Nations Team and IOM Representatives during the Meeting

Agreement Signed between the Antofagasta Regional Government and the IOM for Technical Advising on Migration-Related Issues

More information at: oimchile.cl / On the social networks we are: /oimchile

Within the scope of their respective mandates, bound to the sphere of their respective jurisdictions, and subject to the resources at their disposal, the Regional Intendency of Antofagasta and the IOM will act in close collaboration and reciprocity on matters of common interest related to migration. For Governor Volta, the agreement is significant, because “migration is an issue of increasing importance in the Antofagasta Region, where we have made concrete progress with the Shelter Camp Transition Plan, the Inter-Culturality Cabinet, and soon the Citizen Council.”

He added that, “The spaces we will create, and the support we are receiving from the IOM in particular, will serve to promote non-discrimination, integration, and social cohesion as mechanisms that help everyone move towards a peaceful co-existence between immigrants and nationals.” Norberto Girón, Mission Chief in Chile for the International Organization for Migration (IOM), explained that, “For the IOM, the Antofagasta Regional Government has been implementing very specific and concrete actions to address the issue of migration. In this sense, we want to reiterate to all government personnel that the IOM will continue to provide technical assistance to accompany these efforts and initiatives that the Governor has mentioned. The IOM will also continue to accompany the efforts of the Regional Ministerial Secretariats of Justice, Education, and Housing here in Antofagasta.” Finally, the parties agreed to work jointly in implementing projects of common interest, identify appropriate communications channels, and define participation mechanisms. They may also establish commissions, committees, or other technical or advisory bodies focused on matters of common interest related to migration.

The IOM is commited to the Sustainable Development Goals and the 2030 Agenda