Assessing the Efficacy of the Application of the new Mexican Law for Refugees and Subsidiary Protection 2011 Through the Mexican Commission for Refugee Aid (COMAR) in Relation to Asylum Seekers

Abstract

In Mexico the governmental authority in charge of refugees and asylum seekers is the Mexican Commission for Refugee Aid (hereafter COMAR). In 1980, Mexico was the host country for numerous populations that were fleeing dictatorships in Central America. Therefore, the Mexican federal government established COMAR as the agency in charge of analyzing asylum claims and responding to refugee needs. Since then, COMAR has been the governmental agency in charge of carrying out refugee status determinations (hereafter RSD) and providing assistance to refugees in Mexico in accordance to national and international standards. Hence, in January 2011 the Mexican government enacted a new refugee law and COMAR became the institution in charge of its applicability. According to the organisation Voices on International law, Policy and Practice “Mexico created this law in order to bring its practices into line with international standards, nonetheless, despite the law is expansive and inclusive in its definitions and principles, falls short on process and protection for disfavored groups”. Therefore, the scope of my research will be the new asylum law at the light of the protection of the rights of asylum seekers. Firstly, I will analyze if the new national asylum law has fully incorporated the 1951 Refugee Convention. Secondly, I will conduct a qualitative research through interviews with COMAR officials. Secondly, I will conduct interview with asylum seekers in order to analyze how the law is put into practice.