IOM and the Government of Chiapas will today launch a mass
information campaign in the capital of Chiapas, Tuxtla Gutierrez,
with the slogan “En Chiapas no se toleran delitos contra
migrantes” (“In Chiapas, Crimes Against Migrants Are
Not Tolerated”).

The campaign, aimed at migrants who enter Mexico through its
southern border regardless of their migratory status, was developed
by IOM in coordination with the Secretariat for the Development of
the Southern Border, as part of an 18-month project to prevent the
kidnapping of migrants and to provide direct assistance to
victims. 

The campaign, funded by the Government of Chiapas, will provide
vital information to irregular migrants about the risks they may
face during their journey north, and encourages the reporting of
crimes committed against them.

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Mexico website

Campaign messages, which will include information about how
criminal elements prey on migrants and explanations of what
constitutes extortion and human trafficking, will be disseminated
through radio and television spots, vehicles fitted with
loudspeakers, posters, brochures and billboards along main transit
routes.

“To craft the campaign’s messages, we reached out to
Chiapas-based consular officials from El Salvador, Honduras and
Guatemala, as well as civil society organizations, all of whom are
in daily contact with migrants,” explains Patricio Carvallo,
Head of the IOM sub-office in Tuxtla Gutiérrez.

It estimated that over 400,000 irregular migrants from Central
America transit through Mexico each year on their way to the United
States.  Most of them enter Mexico through Chiapas’
porous borders. Increasingly they are being targeted by criminal
groups and corrupt officials.  Crimes against them include
theft, rape, beatings, kidnapping and murder.

Migrant shelters providing food and overnight accommodation for
the migrants will also show an IOM video highlighting some of the
risks. After the video, IOM staff will encourage migrants to come
forward if they have been victims of abuse.

The State of Chiapas has already put in place various innovative
programmes to protect migrants transiting through their
jurisdiction, including the Special Prosecutor for Crimes Committed
Against Migrants and the State Commission for the Protection of
Migrants’ Rights. 

“Even if excellent government and civil society programmes
exist, it is the migrant that makes the final decision whether to
migrate or whether to denounce a crime committed against them. That
is why information is so important, especially as these people
travel in extremely vulnerable conditions,” explains IOM
Mexico Chief of Mission Thomas Lothar Weiss.

To view the campaign video, please go to: "paragraph-link-no-underline" href=
"http://www.oim.org.mx/index.php" target=
"_blank">http://www.oim.org.mx/index.php.

For more information, please contact 

Patricio Carvallo

IOM Tuxtla Gutiérrez

Tel: +52 961 69 140 35

Email: "mailto:pcarvallo@iom.int">pcarvallo@iom.int