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STORY: MEXICO / GRANDI
TRT: 02:27
SOURCE: UNHCR
RESTRICTIONS: PLEASE CREDIT UNHCR ON SCREEN
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS
DATELINE: 26 AUGUST 2017, MEXICO CITY, MEXICO
26 AUGUST 2017, MUSEO DE LA MEMORIA Y TOLERANCIA, MEXICO CITY
1. Wide shot, dais
2. Wide shot, audience
3. SOUNDBITE (English) Filippo Grandi, High Commissioner for Refugees:
“There are many people – and I have met many of them in last few days – that have lost any trust in the ability of their governments to provide protection, and for this reason have decided to move on seeking that protection. We call these people refugees.”
4. Med shot, dais
5. SOUNDBITE (English) Filippo Grandi, High Commissioner for Refugees:
“Security, including here in Mexico, continues to be a problem. Unfortunately, this is a phenomenon in which people escape from insecurity but continue to be insecurity along the way. They are very vulnerable to gangs or individuals attacking them, stealing from them, raping the women.”
6. Wide shot, dais
7. SOUNDBITE (English) Filippo Grandi, High Commissioner for Refugees:
“Mexico has one office, the COMAR, that deals with refugees. It is a relatively small office. It needs to be strengthened because unfortunately, the persistence of the crisis, especially in Honduras and El Salvador, means that this movement will continue. The migration movement may actually decrease, but we continue to see a large number of people fleeing to seek protection.”
8. Wide shot, press conference
PALACIO DEL GOBIERNO, MEXICO CITY, 26 AUGUST 2017, SOURCE: UNHCR
9. Pan right, Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto comes out and greets UN Refugee Chief Filippo Grandi
10. Med shot, Peña Nieto presents Grandi to his cabinet
11. Med shot, leaders at table, smiling
12. Med shot, Peña Nieto with Grandi in foreground
13. Close up, Peña Nieto
14. Med shot, Grandi thanking Peña Nieto for receiving him and describing an earlier visit in 1999
15. Med shot, both men speaking
During an official visit to Mexico, the High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi, highlighted the role the country is playing in receiving refugees from Central American nations and other parts of the world.
Mexico is increasingly seen as a country of destination, particularly by Central American refugees, rather than just a transit country. It has a large population and a growing economy and can accommodate with the growing number of asylum-seekers and refugees.
During a press conference at the Museo de la Memoria y Tolerancia, Grandi said many people “have lost any trust in the ability of their governments to provide protection, and for this reason have decided to move on seeking that protection.” He said “we call these people refugees.”
The High Commissioner said “security, including here in Mexico, continues to be a problem. Unfortunately, this is a phenomenon in which people escape from insecurity but continue to be insecurity along the way. They are very vulnerable to gangs or individuals attacking them, stealing from them, raping the women.”
He noted that Mexico has an office, known as COMAR, that deals with refugees.
He said it is “a relatively small office” and “needs to be strengthened because unfortunately, the persistence of the crisis, especially in Honduras and El Salvador, means that this movement will continue.”
Grandi was welcomed to the Government Palace by President Enrique Peña Nieto
Mexico has a historic asylum tradition. During the 20th century, Mexico received exiles from Spain (1930s-1940s), South American countries (1970s), and Central America (1980s). Article 11th of the Mexican Constitution recognises the right to seek asylum, and Mexican refugee legislation generally complies with international standards, and is exemplary in many aspects as it grants permanent residence for refugees, and guarantees the right to work, education, health, family unit, among others.
The profiles of the population arriving in Mexico have changed, from a population predominantly of young men, to a larger number of families including single women with children, unaccompanied children, and even elderly people.
The majority of new refugees are from the North of Central America and Venezuela.
