It is not only in Europe that immigration has made its mark in electoral campaigns. In the United States, Joe Biden announced the temporary suspension of asylum requests as soon as the number of illegal entries exceeds 2,500 people per day, for a week. This tightening of the screws could reassure independent voters and moderate Republicans a few months before the presidential election. On the other hand, this does not reassure the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.
1 min
With our correspondent in Geneva, Jeremy Lanche
According to the High Commission for United Nations for refugees, the new measures will prevent many people in need of international protection from benefiting from asylum. They will find themselves without a viable option to get to safety “. In a few words, the UNHCR summed up the fear of humanitarian organizations.
THE UNITED STATES, as a State party to the 1967 Protocol on the Status of Refugees, are normally required to respect the principle of non-refoulement, that is to say not to return an asylum seeker to a country where his life could be threatened. However, we know that migrants are more likely to be victims of the gang violence which plagues Mexican society.
“ We ask them to respect their international obligations »
This is not the first time that the UN has criticized the American administration for its asylum policy. The last time was under Donald Trump. “ We are aware of the difficulties faced by the United States, but we ask it to respect its international obligations and to reconsider these restrictions which undermine the fundamental right to seek asylum “, says the agency.
Read alsoUnited States: Biden toughens migration policy at the Mexican border before the presidential election