UN special rapporteur demands an inquiry into the death of Guatemalan girl held in the US custody suggesting that authorities should open a full and independent investigation and to stop detaining migrant children.
Felipe González Morales, the UN’s special rapporteur on the human rights of migrants, has sent a formal complaint to US secretary of state Mike Pompeo, via officials in Geneva, in which he sounds the international alarm about the death. Jakelin died on 8 December, less than 48 hours after she was detained by Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) at a remote border crossing in New Mexico.
he said that the family of Jakelin Caal, from the Mayan indigenous community, should be given access to legal representation in the proceedings in a language they understand.
“Redress to her family should be provided and if any officials are found responsible they should be held accountable,” he said in a statement.
he also calls for an immediate end to the detention of migrant children in the US and urges the Trump administration to address “failings within the immigration system to prevent similar situations”.
Caal and her father Nery were in a group of more than 160 migrants who handed themselves into U.S. border agents in New Mexico on Dec. 6. Jakelin developed a high fever while in the custody of U.S. Customs and Border Protection and died two days later at a hospital in El Paso, Texas.
González said that he has made two formal requests to be allowed to make an official fact-finding visit to detention centers and border patrol stations. There has been no reply from the state department.
