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1.
One of the first activities conducted by the Special Rapporteur
on “Migrant Workers and their Families in the Hemisphere” was that
of elaborating two questionnaires for the purpose of collecting
information on the situation of migrant workers and their families.
One of the questionnaires was sent to each member state of the OAS,
and the other was sent to nongovernmental organizations dedicated to
the issue of migrant workers in the region. The aim sought through
sending out such questionnaires is to have a broader vision concerning
the characteristics, practices and legislation in existence in each
state with respect to the phenomena of migrant workers and their
families.
[95]
2.
In the 1998 Annual Report of the IACHR, the Special
Rappourtership reproduced the responses given by States who had
responded before the publication of the Annual Report.
[96]
3.
The IACHR, with the objective to gather more information
decided to reiterate the questionnaire to those states that have not
responded it. The new answers are reproduced in the present report,
received when the IACHR reiterated the questionnaire, as well as the
responses received following the publication by the Commission of its
1998 Annual Report.
4.
This Second Progress Report of the Special Rapporteurship has
eight new responses: Bolivia, Belize, Costa Rica, Jamaica, Nicaragua,
Panama, Paraguay and Peru.
5.
Hereafter, the Commission will publish the responses of the
member States to the questionnaire.
These will refer to the rights examined in the questionnaire
grouped thematically to permit a clearer appreciation.:
[97]
1.
Does xenophobia or racism with
respect to migrant workers exist in your country? How is it
manifested? Are there any types of law that punish such acts against
migrant workers?
2.
Is there xenophobia or racism
that affects the migrant workers of your country in the countries of
employment or transit? How is it manifested? Are there any laws to
sanction such acts?
BOLIVIA
1.
There is no xenophobia or racism against immigrant workers in
Bolivia; Article 156 of the Bolivian Constitution stipulates that work
is a duty and a right, constitutes the basis of social and economic
order, and thus deserves the protection of the State.
2.
Yes; migrant workers from our country are affected by
xenophobia and/or racism, in Argentina. This can be seen in how
complex it is for them to sort out their irregular situations and
obtain legal status; they are also denied the opportunity to secure
jobs on an equal footing and they are harassed by the police.
The
Argentine-Bolivian Bilateral Agreement of February 16, 1998, says that
the two countries must work to sort out those issues, but this is
ignored by Argentina.
BELIZE
1.
No.
2.
No.
COSTA
RICA
1.
Regrettably, there have been some isolated cases of xenophobic
behavior and racism against foreigners, particularly those of
Nicaraguan origin. For further information, see the following
articles:
Doris
Sosa S. et al., Percepción de la población costarricense sobre los nicaragüenses
que viven entre nosotros, IDESPO, UNA, Heredia, January 1997.
Patricia
Alvarenga Venotulo, Conflictiva
convivencia: los nicaragüenses en Costa Rica, Cuaderno de Ciencia
Social, Nº 1, FLACSO, San José, 1997.
There
is no legislation that specifically punishes racism against migrant
workers; however, if such attitudes are displayed in actions that
undermine public order, they can be punished under common criminal
law.
2.
No information.
JAMAICA
1.
Migrant workers in Jamaica are not subject to racism or
xenophobia. The Jamaican Constitution protects every person in Jamaica
from discrimination on the grounds of race, place of origin, political
opinions, color or creed. The Constitution makes an exception for laws
that make provisions with respect to persons who are not citizens of
Jamaica that may be discriminatory either of itself or in its effect.
2.
There is no racism or xenophobia that affects migrant workers
from Jamaica in other countries of employment or transit. Jamaican
migrant workers are not affected by racism or xenophobia in their
countries of employment or transit.
NICARAGUA
1.
All foreign citizens may enter the country, provided they meet
the requirements set by the Nicaraguan State; they may settle in the
country provided they meet the regulations that govern paid work in
the country.
2.
No reply.
PANAMA
1
y 2. .No. In our country there is
no xenophobia, no racism, and no discrimination of any kind against
foreigners or Panamanian nationals.
PARAGUAY
1.
No cases of xenophobia have been reported in the country. 2.
Paraguay’s Constitution guarantees equality for all citizens.
PERU
1.
In accordance with the terms of the International Labor
Organization’s Convention Nº 111, dealing with discrimination in
employment and occupation, which was ratified by Peru by Legislative
Resolution Nº 17687 of August 10, 1970, we can state that there is no
xenophobia or racism with respect to migrant workers.
All
forms of discriminatory behavior are expressly forbidden by our
Constitution; hence, no provision can justify the disparate treatment
of equals, and certainly not on the grounds of such natural conditions
as sex, race, language, beliefs, etc.
Under
our laws, defense of the person and respect for human dignity is the
maximum goal of society and the state (Article 1); thus:
Article
2: All individuals shall have
the following rights:
To
equality before the law. No person shall be discriminated against for
reasons of origin, race, sex, language, religion, beliefs, economic
status, or any other cause.
Article
26: In labor relations, the
following principles shall be observed:
Equal
opportunities without discrimination.
We
also have Law Nº 26772, which provides that offers of employment and of access to educational programs may not
contain requirements constituting discrimination
or an undermining of equal opportunities or equal treatment.
Discrimination
or the undermining of equal opportunities or equal treatment is taken
as meaning personnel or educational requirements that are not covered
by law and that imply distinct treatment lacking an objective and
reasonable cause, based on reasons of race, color, sex, religion,
opinion, national origin or social standing, economic or political
status, marital status, age, or any other factor.
This
provision has been regulated by Supreme Decree No. 002-98-TR, which
establishes that the Administrative Labor Authority will be
responsible for taking action once the investigation of incidents
constituting discrimination under Article 1 of Law Nº 26772 has been
requested; moreover, and on an exceptional basis, in the event of a
notorious or blatant violation, the competent authority is granted ex
officio powers, as set forth in Article 7:
If
the complaint is declared grounded, or if the reply in an ex officio
procedure is dismissed, the sanction imposed by the Authority shall be
a fine equal to one Tax Assessment Unit (UIT). Said fine shall apply
to hiring employers, centers of education, and employment agencies and
other entities that act as intermediaries in connection with job
offers, depending on who placed the corresponding advertisement.
Repeat offenses shall be punishable by a fine of five UITs. A repeat
offender is an individual who publishes or disseminates offers of
employment or of access to centers of education that have already been
punished by the Administrative Labor Authority or when the second
offer involves similar facts, circumstances, or characteristics.
This
was the backdrop against which the law was enacted. It stipulates that
offers of employment or of access to education may not contain
requirements that discriminate, cancel, or undermine. The
discrimination law criminalizes all forms of discrimination on racial,
ethnic, religious, and sexual grounds, punishing it by community
service of between 60 and 120 working days and disqualification for a
period of three years. It also stipulates that the determination of
administrative liability will be made by the Ministry of Labor and
Social Provision or by the Ministry of Education, depending on whether
the offense relates to employment or to education. It also empowers
the criminal judge to order the temporary closure of the establishment
in question (Law Nº 27270).
2.
It does not exist; legislation against all forms of
discrimination is contained in our laws, as described in the above
paragraph.
2.
Equal Protection before the law
1. Is there any discrimination
against immigrant workers in your country? How is it manifested? Are
there any laws to punish such acts?
2. Is there any discrimination
against emigrant workers from your country in the countries of
employment or the countries of transit? How is it manifested?
3. Are there cases in your country
of illegal immigrant workers who have less favorable working
conditions than those of your citizens and are these persons exploited
or performing forced labor? If so, could you give any cases? Are there
mechanisms or procedures to make sure that such situations do not
occur? What are they?
4. Are immigrants workers,
especially undocumented or irregular workers, employed at wages below
the minimum wage in effect for citizens of your country? If so, could
you give the reasons for this and the consequences?
5. Do you know whether any emigrant
workers from your country are employed in the countries of transit or
employment under working or wage conditions that are below the minimum
applied or paid to the citizens of those countries? If so, could you
indicate the country or countries where this occurs, the reasons and
the consequences?
6. Does your country have any type
of inspection or criminal, civil or other type of penalties to prevent
employers from hiring irregular migrant workers?
BOLIVIA
1.
Immigrant workers do not suffer discrimination; their
opportunities depend directly on their ability to perform within the
national economy.
2.
According to reports presented by individuals and the media to
the Ministry of Labor and Microbusiness, in Argentina discrimination
can be seen in the wages received by Bolivian migrant workers, which
are less generous than those earned by Argentine nationals; in
addition, their working days are longer than allowed by law.
3.
It does not exist. The General Labor Law, through the
Foreigners’ Working Regulations, governs and controls the activities
of foreigners and companies; labor conflict records at the Ministry of
Labor and Microbusiness for the last ten years contain no information
about migrant workers who have been exploited or compelled to perform
forced labor.
4.
The records of the Ministry of Labor and Microbusiness contain
no complaints or cases of immigrant workers being contracted at wage
levels below the national minimum.
5.
Yes. In the USA and Argentina, irregular migrant workers are
usually hired under lower labor standards than those countries’
nationals. The consequences of this are margination, inability to
secure education for their children, and no access to health care and
social security. If a migrant worker reports this situation, he runs
the risk of being deported because he is unable to legalize his status
and put his papers in order.
6.
Article 27 of the Foreigners’ Working Regulations states that
companies that hire immigrant workers who do not meet legal
requirements are subject to the sanctions set by the Ministry of Labor
and Microbusiness.
BELIZE
1.
No.
2.
No.
3.
No.
4.
No.
5.
No.
6.
No.
COSTA
RICA
1.
Regrettably, there have been some isolated cases of
discrimination against migrant workers, particularly in labor matters.
There is no legislation that specifically punishes discrimination
against migrant workers; however, actions that undermine public order
that also entail discrimination can be punished under the regular
criminal and labor laws.
2.
No information.
3.
Regrettably, migrant workers do receive less favorable
treatment than Costa Rican nationals. Although Article 92 of the
General Migration and Nationality Law prohibits the hiring of
foreigners who are residing illegally in the country, in practice such
hirings do take place. Nevertheless, violation of this provision does
not exempt employers from the obligation, set forth in Article 100
thereof, of providing their workers with the payment and social
guarantees stipulated by law.
In
practice, employers of illegal migrant workers frequently pay them
less than the legal minimum wage and do not comply with such social
guarantees as sickness and disability insurance, pensions, death
benefits, industrial accident coverage, Christmas bonuses, vacations,
unemployment, and proper notice.
The
mechanism for controlling and correcting situations of this kind
involves labor inspections, carried out by officials from the Ministry
of Labor and Security, and the inspections that the General Migration
Directorate is entitled to conduct under Article 97 of the General
Migration and Nationality Law in places where migrants live and work.
Violations must be reported to the judicial authorities so a fine can
be imposed in accordance with commercial legislation and the General
Migration and Nationality Law (Arts. 96 and 101).
4.
Yes, some unscrupulous employers take advantage of migrant
workers’ situations and the ample labor supply available by failing
to pay the legally required social levies and minimum wages; they are
able to do this because of the material need and relative
defenselessness of those workers. This practice leads to unemployment
among Costa Rican workers; the avoidance of contributions weakens the
social security regime; and fresh illegal workers are encouraged to
come into the country, thereby endangering the national health
service.
The
immigration amnesty currently in force is intended to become an
instrument for the juridical security of migrant workers: once their
papers are in order, they will be able to appeal to administrative and
judicial bodies to assert their labor rights, without fearing any
potential repercussions.
5.
No information.
6.
Yes. See answer to question 3.
JAMAICA
1.
There is no discrimination against immigrant workers in
Jamaica. (Please see answer to question 17.)
2.
There is no discrimination against emigrant workers from
Jamaica in the countries of employment or the countries of transit.
3.
The government is not aware that there are illegal migrant
workers in Jamaica.
4.
Immigrant workers, whether undocumented or irregular, are not
employed at wages below the minimum wage of the country.
5.
Emigrant workers from Jamaica are not employed in the countries
of transit or employment under wage conditions that are below the
minimum applied or paid to the citizens of those countries. In fact
special wage rates have been worked out with the United States and
Canada and these rates are often higher than the countries’ minimum
wages.
6.
If in this question “irregular” is defined as “illegal”
immigrants or immigrants who have come entered Jamaica without the
authorization to work but who do so anyway, then the Foreign Nations
and Commonwealth Citizens (Employment) Act makes it a crime for any
employer to have in his employ a foreign national or Commonwealth
Citizen without there being in force a valid work permit in relation
to that employee.
NICARAGUA
1.
No reply.
2.
Discrimination against illegal Nicaraguan migrant workers
abroad occurs most particularly in the workplace in the receiving
countries, and it takes the shape of reduced opportunities, lower pay
for services rendered, and low-quality services.
3.
Article 48 of the Nationality Law states that illegal migrant
workers may not work or carry out remunerated or lucrative endeavors,
either on their own behalf or for others, and with or without a
relationship of dependence; in the event that [answer truncated].
4.
No reply.
5.
No reply.
6.
No reply.
PANAMA
1
y 2. No. In our country there is no xenophobia, no racism, and no
discrimination of any kind against foreigners or Panamanian nationals.
3.
No reply.
4.
No reply.
5.
No reply.
6.
No reply.
PARAGUAY
1.
There are no official records of any kind of discrimination
against migrant workers in the country.
2.
Occasional news reports describe discrimination against this
country’s migrant workers in the nations where they find employment
or through which they travel.
3.
When illegal migrant workers perform paid work, they invariably
face the risk of being exploited by their employers as regards their
wages; thus, to prevent such situations, it is recommended that
illegal migrants straighten out their status in the country.
4.
Regular migrant workers have the same labor rights and
obligations as Paraguayan workers.
Irregular
migrants cannot carry out paid work in the country.
5.
No firm information about this is available.
6.
Law Nº 978/96, “On Migrations,” and the Criminal Code.
PERU
1.
There is no discrimination of any kind against migrant workers
in our country. The relevant legislation can be found in Law Nº
26772, which provides that offers of employment and of access to
education may not contain requirements that constitute discrimination,
cancellation, or undermining of equal opportunities or equal
treatment; this is regulated by Supreme Decree Nº 002-98-TR and Law
Nº 27270, which establishes administrative responsibility and the
punishment of temporary closure for instances of discrimination as
described in Law Nº 26772.
2.
No reply.
3.
Article 23 of our Constitution stipulates that work, under its
different guises, is a matter for the state’s priority attention; it
further says that no labor relation may restrict enjoyment of
constitutional rights or ignore or undermine the workers’ dignity,
and it also provides that no person may be obliged to work without
remuneration or without freely consenting thereto. Thus, the Peruvian
government does not oblige any immigrant to carry out forced labor or
to work under conditions of exploitation, since that is expressly
forbidden by our Constitution.
Irrespective
of the above, we must note that it is important for foreign workers to
observe the formalities set forth in current legislation upon entering
the country; thus, a worker must come into the country with a business
visa and not a tourist visa, since the latter forbids work activities
and does not allow the tourist status to be changed.
The
foreigner must sign the labor contract, which, after approval by the
Ministry of Labor, must be presented with due certification from the
Peruvian consular service in the place where it was issued and duly
legalized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
After
obtaining a residence visa and the corresponding foreigners’ ID
card, the foreigner may be named as a worker on the company’s
personnel lists; in other words, until that time he must have
performed no work.
It
should be stressed that foreign workers enjoy the same rights and
benefits as Peruvian workers; however, because of the amounts they are
paid, it is common practice to agree on an overall payment on an
annual basis, including bonuses, seniority rewards, etc., and when the
worker has secured a residence visa he can begin negotiations with the
immigration authorities for residence visas to be given to his
parents, spouse, and minor children.
If
the hiring period has expired, the company must request an extension.
Failing to do so is punishable by the labor authorities as regards
labor obligations and by the immigration authorities as regards the
visa granted to the worker in question.
All
workers have the same rights and obligations by law; however,
irregular migratory status will lead to the imposition of sanctions by
the immigration authorities. Problems arise in cases involving
undocumented migrants and the immigration authorities; however, the
problem of paying their wages arises from the fact that they do not
have employment contracts.
In
this regard it should be noted that the contracts of foreign workers
included in the percentage quotas and of workers exempt from those
quotas are governed by special regulations as regards their duration,
their approval, and certain additional obligations on the part of the
employer.
Employment
contracts shall be for a fixed period of no more than three years and
may be subsequently extended for periods of no more than three years.
In granting the visas, the competent authority shall take into account
the duration of the contract, in accordance with the Nationality Law,
residence visas shall cover a period of up to one year and shall be
renewable.
In
addition, it should be pointed out that the immigrants who come to
work in our country have employment contracts that have been duly
authorized and approved by the Subdirectorate of Records; from this it
can be deduced that business-owners who need to hire such employees
should take the necessary steps and precautions to ensure that the
worker in question is not affected by problems that would arise from
his illegal presence on our soil.
Regarding
infractions by employers, these are punishable by fines, irrespective
of any other legal provisions that may apply if they have been
breached. Thus:
As
regards inspections, the Administrative Labor Authority is responsible
for approval procedures and for conducting regular selective
inspections. The authority will check if the employer has incurred in
any of the listed infractions; if so, it will require the contract
situation to be put in order, within the following month, irrespective
of any fines and judicial actions that could arise from such
infractions.
If
the situation is not sorted out in the specified time, the fine will
be imposed and, if compliance is not forthcoming, a double fine will
be imposed. An appeal may be filed against the first-instance
resolution no later than three days after notice of the resolution was
given.
During
inspection visits, the labor inspectors shall pay particular attention
to checking that workers have the requisite migratory status. If a
worker is found working without the necessary migratory status, the
administrative authority shall notify the corresponding immigration
authority.
4.
No reply.
5.
No reply.
6.
No reply.
..continued
3.
Illegal traffic of migrant workers
1.
Are there private agencies or
individuals working in your country engaged in hiring migrant workers
for forwarding to other countries? If so, are there any laws
regulating such agencies or individuals? Could you describe those
laws?
2.
Do you know if there is any
illegal or clandestine traffic of irregular migrant workers in your
country, either by individuals, corporations or national or foreign
organizations that conduct such activities? If so, how do these
persons or organizations work to develop the illegal or clandestine
traffic of migrant workers?
3.
Has your country taken measures
to prevent, eliminate or punish legally (civil or criminal) any
persons, organizations or companies that organize, assist, participate
or work in the illegal or clandestine traffic of migrant workers? If
so, could you describe what these measures or penalties consist of?
Could you reveal any court or administrative proceedings carried out
for this purpose?
BOLIVIA
1.
In the Bolivian State there are no private agencies or
individuals that legally recruit migrant workers for other countries.
2.
Unknown.
3.
Individuals, organizations, and companies that organize or
participate in illegal trafficking or that break the legal provisions
as currently in force are subject to the sanctions provided for by
law.
BELIZE
1.
No.
2.
Yes.
3.
Yes. The
Immigration Act was amended to impose penalties on public carriers for
bringing illegal immigrants to Belize, contrary to the entry
requirements.
COSTA
RICA
1.
No information on the existence of such companies exists;
however, legislation to regulate them is on the statute books. Article
134 of the General Migration and Nationality Law stipulates that:
Article
134: The recruiting of immigrants not expressly authorized by the
competent national authorities within the territory of the nation is
forbidden, as is the establishment of any kind of private emigration
agency or agency dealing therein and all advertising or publicity
materials requesting national labor for work abroad for which the
corresponding authorization does not exist.
2.
Regrettably, illegal trafficking in migrant workers has arisen
because of the economic situation in Nicaragua.
On
the one hand, immigrants are brought into Costa Rica, especially by
traffickers who help them cross the country’s northern border
illegally. The Interior Ministry has also conducted inspections in
nightclubs and has discovered foreigners with tourist cards working as
prostitutes.
Recent
studies by social research centers and investigative reports in the
country’s leading newspapers have revealed some evidence of illegal
migrant workers being trafficked into other countries, with the added
problem that they generally enter Costa Rican territory legally.
Additionally,
there have been some as yet unsubstantiated reports of trafficking in
Costa Rican women.
3.
Costa Rica’s Criminal Code specifically addresses the crime
of trafficking in women and children. Thus, Article 172 reads as
follows:
Anyone
who encourages or facilitates the entry into the country or egress
therefrom of women or minor-aged children of either sex for the
purpose of prostitution shall be punished by a prison terms of between
five and ten years.
This
term shall rise to between eight and ten years if any of the
circumstances listed in Article 170 are involved.
The
article lists three circumstances in which the punishment is
increased: if the victim was under the age of 18; if deceit, violence,
or any form of intimidation or coercion was involved; or if the
perpetrator was the victim’s progenitor, descendant, other relative,
or legal guardian.
While
the crime of illegally trafficking in migrant workers is not textually
provided for, Article 372 of the Criminal Code regulates what are
known as crimes of an international nature. The article reads as
follows:
A
prison term of ten to fifteen years shall be imposed on the leaders
and members of international criminal organizations that traffic in
slaves, women, children, or narcotic drugs, or that carry out acts of
terrorism, or that violate the provisions of human rights treaties
entered into by Costa Rica.
Clearly,
the lack of clear legal coverage of the crime of illegal trafficking
in workers leads to defenselessness for hundreds of people who leave
their home countries in search of a better future. In light of this
legal vacuum, the General Directorate of Immigration and Nationality
has proposed draft legislation to deal with such crimes.
JAMAICA
1.
There are private agencies and individuals that are engaged in
hiring migrant workers for employment overseas. The “Employment
Agency Regulation” Act, empowers the Minister of Labor, Social
Security and Sport to issue licenses to individuals and agencies
pursuant to which they may recruit nationals for local as well as
overseas employment.
2.
We have no knowledge of such organizations.
3.
There is no organization that specifically addresses alien
smuggling.
NICARAGUA
1.
The law that regulates all these activities is the Labor Code,
Article 16 of which deals with the regulation and operation of the
private agencies or individuals who are paid to act as intermediaries
between workers and employers.
2.
Nicaragua is highly affected by its geographical position; it
is an obligatory transit point for migrants as they move north;
trafficking in irregular migrants takes place through a network of
individuals who operate by land, sea, and — to a lesser extent
— air. This network of traffickers exploits migrants by
charging vast sums of money, and to take them through our country,
they undertake illegal activities such as forging and doctoring
documents, falsifying identities, bribing, etc.
3.
The General Directorate of Immigration and Nationality, the
Interior Ministry, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs jointly
coordinate administrative measures to prevent the illegal trafficking
of people; these include, for example, the visa consultation system
for nationals of certain countries where such crimes are more common.
In addition, our country is a member of the Regional Conference on
Migration, which comprises the nations of Central America, the USA,
and Mexico.
In
1996, Nicaragua enacted Law Nº 240, “Law against the Trafficking of
Illegal Migrants,” which defines the crimes of illegally trafficking
in migrants and illegally entering the country.
Our
Migration Code has been amended to increase the fines and punishments
applicable to those who traffic in human lives; it also provides for
harsher sanctions for public officials who abuse their authority
vis-à-vis crimes of this kind.
PANAMA
1.
No reply.
2.
On occasions, our country is used as a conduit for illegal
trafficking in human lives. However, we do not know whether the people
in question are migrant workers.
3.
Yes. In this connection, by means of Law Nº 53 of December 12,
1995, the Republic of Panama added Article 310-A to Article 310 of its
Criminal Code; the new provision reads as follows:
Any
person involved in any way with trafficking in human lives, with the
consent of the individuals in question, and who in any way avoids or
evades the immigration controls established in the continental
territory of the Republic, shall be punished with a prison term of
between five and ten years.
Note
that this law is for general application; that is, it does not specify
the (labor) status of the trafficked migrant.
PARAGUAY
1.
There are no reports of its existence in our country.
2.
No such reports have been made.
3.
The Migrations Law provides as follows in Article 108,
paragraphs:
1. Foreigners who enter the country by presenting falsified or
adulterated papers or documents issued to another person, or who make
use of the same during their stay in the country.
2. Anyone who helps a foreigner enter the territory of the nation
in violation of this law and its regulations, or anyone who hides such
a foreigner once in the country.
3. Foreigners expelled from the territory of the nation and who
reenter it without prior authorization from the General Directorate of
Migrations.
4. Anyone who obstructs the execution of a legally issued
expulsion or deportation order. If said person is a public official,
the applicable punishment shall be supplemented with a ban from public
employment for a period of between one and two years.
PERU
1.
No reply.
2.
No reply.
3.
On November 8, 1999, Peru enacted Law Nº 27202, “Law
incorporating crimes against migratory law into the Criminal Code.”
This measure added Article 303-A to the aforesaid code, providing
that:
Anyone
who illicitly and in order to secure material gain, for himself or for
another, carries out, promotes, favors, or facilities entry into or
egress from the country by third parties shall be punished by a prison
term of between one and four years, with a fine of between 180 and 375
day-equivalents, and disqualification for between two and four years,
under Article 36, paragraphs 2, 4, and 8, when:
1.
The agent is a public official or civil servant charged with
migratory administration or control or with preventing or
investigating any crimes, or is responsible for enforcing sanctions
and monitoring their execution.
2. The conditions in which such persons are transported seriously
endanger their person or mental balance.
4.
Violence, abuses against migrant workers
1. Have there been any cases in your
country in the last ten years where immigrant workers or their family
members have been the targets of violence, abuse or mistreatment,
either by employers or other persons, groups or organizations? What
are the inspection and penalty mechanisms to prevent and condemn such
violence and abuse? How many court or administrative proceedings have
been started for this reason? Could you discuss any?
2. Have there been any cases in your
country in the last ten years of abuse of authority, violence, torture
or death of immigrant workers and their family members as a
consequence of the activities of the police or migration officials?
Have any court or administrative proceedings been started or completed
in this area, and what have the results been?
3. Do you have any background
information on cases in which migrant workers from your country or
members of their families have been the targets of violence, abuse,
mistreatment, torture or death either by employers, groups or
organizations, immigration police or other state employees in the
countries of employment or transit? Could you give any cases?
BOLIVIA
1.
No such complaints have been filed.
2.
No such complaints have been filed.
3.
There are no reports of this.
BELIZE
1.
No.
2.
No.
3.
No.
COSTA
RICA
1.
Statistics indicate that to date, the People’s Defender,
Costa Rica’s ombudsman, has dealt with 36 complaints from the
migrant population since 1996. The most frequent complaints and
questions from such individuals were the following:
i. Violations of personal integrity and the right of free transit.
Abuses
of authority during arrests in mass deportations and expulsions.
Denial
of the administrative and legal remedies available for proving their
legal presence in the country.
Prolonged
stays of up to three days in detention centers prior to deportation.
ii. Violation of the right to nationality.
Refusals
to register the birth of children born to undocumented foreigners
outside hospital facilities.
iii. Violation of the right to health.
Refusals
by employers and business-owners to insure their undocumented workers;
refusals by hospitals and clinics to provide health care and
medication.
iv. Violation of the right to education.
Refusals
to enroll children at schools and to enroll older people in
high-school equivalency programs.
v. Violation of the right to housing.
Costa
Rican nationals are preferred over resident foreigners as
beneficiaries of state-financed housing programs.
vi.
Violation of labor rights.
Precarious
working conditions are encountered by migrants who work in the
agricultural and construction industries in different rural areas,
particularly on sugar-cane, citrus fruit, and melon farms in the north
and on banana plantations in the Atlantic region.
vii.
Unfair wages for these workers.
Significantly,
complaints filed by migrants have been decreasing in number. Thus, the
latest report from the nongovernmental organization CODEHUCA
(Commission for the Defense of Human Rights in Central America), dated
October 1998, indicates that Nicaraguans living in Costa Rica are
treated well because the violations that occurred in the past have
been eliminated.
Among
those infractions was the authorities’ practice of gathering
together all the Nicaraguans from a given place and taking them to the
Nicaraguan border, without allowing them to collect their belongings.
As has already been said, such actions are a thing of the past.
As
said above, if a violent incident does occur, the individual may file
a complaint with the ombudsman or with CODEHUCA, or he may take it
directly to the courts.
The
records of the Constitutional Chamber contain no cases of amparo relief remedies filed against private individuals for
violence in the workplace. Cases of abuse occur sporadically,
particularly at the hands of police officers in the Atlantic and
northern regions, but they are considered isolated occurrences.
International organizations and the Nicaraguan authorities themselves
have acknowledged the interest and efforts of the Costa Rican
authorities in improving the legal situation of those inside the
country illegally.
2.
Particularly in the country’s border region (north and
Atlantic). At present these are isolated cases that are being examined
by Costa Rica’s ombudsman. Thus, the ombudsman’s office has issued
a number of recommendations for correcting certain institutional
irregularities that are harmful to migrants.
3.
No information.
JAMAICA
1.
There have been no cases in Jamaica over the last ten years
where immigrant workers and their family members have been the targets
of violence, abuse, mistreatment, torture or death either by
employers, groups or organizations, immigration or police officials or
other state employees.
2.
There have been no cases in Jamaica over the last ten years
where immigrant workers and their family members have been the targets
of violence, abuse, mistreatment, torture or death either by
employers, groups or organizations, immigration or police officials or
other state employees.
3.
N/A. See answer above.
NICARAGUA
1.
No cases of violence, abuse, or mistreatment against migrant
workers and their families have been reported. Our Labor Code
establishes punishments for employers who break labor laws.
2.
No reply.
3.
No reply.
PANAMA
1.
No reply.
2.
No reply.
3.
No reply.
PARAGUAY
1.
No cases have been recorded.
2.
Except for some isolated cases of Brazilian migrants being
harassed-in Alto Paraná Department, at the hands of organized
Paraguayan peasants who claimed the lands they occupied-no other such
cases have been reported.
The
Paraguayan government, by means of a presidential decree, set up an
interinstitutional working group charged with studying the problems
faced by the Brazilian migrants and putting their migratory status in
order.
3.
No such case has been reported.
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