UN expresses its “concern about violence and xenophobia” against Venezuelan migrants in Chile

The HIM-HER-IT expressed this Monday his “concern about violence and xenophobia” towards immigrants in Chile following a protest against undocumented foreigners in the north of the country on Saturday.

In that mobilization, some of the 3,000 protesters gathered in the city of Iquique, 1,750 km north of Santiago, they burned the belongings of the migrants who were camping on the street, facts that are being investigated by the Prosecutor’s Office.

“Respecting sovereignty [de Chile]We urge the authorities and the population to act within the framework of respect for #DDHH [derechos humanos] and international humanitarian law “, said the UN on its Twitter account.

“We reiterate our willingness to support with technical assistance and collaborate in the efforts of national and local authorities”, added.

The mobilization was littered with flags of Chile and posters and shouts against irregular migrants, mainly venezuelans, who for years have entered Chile by clandestine passages from Bolivia, crossing the Andes mountain range and the Atacama desert.

The joint special representative of the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) for Venezuelan refugees and migrants, Eduardo Stein, expressed in a letter published on social networks his “sadness and consternation “over the acts” of hatred, intolerance and xenophobia “in Iquique, which” are extremely worrying. “

“These acts of intolerance go against the spirit of solidarity, acceptance and respect for the fundamental rights that the people and government of Chile have historically demonstrated, receiving Venezuelans generously, in the same way that, in the past, the Venezuelan people would open their doors to a large number of Chilean refugees and migrants, ”said Stein.

The Minister of the Interior of ChileRodrigo Delgado, expressed his disagreement with the violent protest. However, “we are going to continue with the evictions in all public spaces that are required” and also “with the expulsion plan” of undocumented migrants carried out by the Chilean government, he clarified.

A day before the protest, the Chilean police evicted hundreds of Venezuelan migrants who had been camping for a year in a square in Iquique.

Income from persons to Chile through clandestine passages they added 23,673 until July, almost 7,000 more than in the whole of last year, according to a report by the Jesuit Migrant Service (SJM).

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