This week, WOLA and Temple University Beasley School of Law launched a new series of Annotated Table of Contents (ATOCs) for U.S. attorneys supporting asylum claims for clients from Central America and Mexico. This new set of ATOCs are tailored to cases from El Salvador, Mexico, and Nicaragua, and compiles information on country of origin conditions, including children recruited by gangs, state complicity, internal relocation, risks faced by human rights defenders and journalists, and persecution based on gender. You can learn more here.

We also published this joint press release with Human Rights Watch, calling for the Guatemalan government to reverse the electoral tribunal's decision to bar two candidates from running for presidency on dubious grounds. The electoral process, and the decision, are taking place in a context of deterioration of the rule of law, where the institutions charged with overseeing the elections have little independence or credibility. 

Best,

Maureen Meyer

WOLA's Vice President for Programs

• 🇬🇹 Guatemala’s Supreme Electoral Tribunal decision to bar candidates from running in the 2023 presidential elections on dubious grounds threatens political rights and damages the credibility of the electoral process. The decision should be reversed. Learn why.
  

• 🇲🇽🇺🇸 WOLA and Temple Law are publishing a new series of Annotated Table of Contents (ATOCs) for attorneys supporting asylum claims. Our ongoing asylum project provides expert research for attorneys to bolster their arguments about country conditions and fortify their client’s claims of dire need to seek protection in the United States. Access the resources here.

• 📩 WOLA joined 120+ organizations urging the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Justice to rescind in its entirety the “Security Bars and Processing” rule, barring refugees from asylum protection in the United States based on specious public health grounds that have been repeatedly discredited by public health and medical experts. Read the letter here.

The release of ATOCs on state complicity, internal relocation, and persecution due to gender in Mexico come at a time when there is a high number of Mexicans attempting to seek protection in the United States, including many who have been blocked from doing so under Title 42 expulsions.  Past resources that supplement the series include children fleeing recruitment by gangs in Guatemala and Honduras; as well as the persecution of Indigenous peoples in Honduras and Guatemala; the high-risk situation of human rights defenders and journalists in El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Mexico; and the hazards of the Remain in Mexico program.

In April 2022, WOLA launched its one-of-kind Border Oversight Database, which documents hundreds of reports of human rights violations and abuses against migrants and asylum seekers at the U.S.-Mexico border. 

Ana María Méndez

Director for Central America

“The decision to bar these candidates is based on dubious grounds and could undermine the rights of all Guatemalans to participate in free and fair elections [...] “Guatemalan authorities should urgently review these decisions and ensure a fair playing field for all candidates.”

WOLA's Director for Central America Ana María Méndez told in this joint Press Release.

WOLA is looking for its next Director for Venezuela, to help us advance human rights and a peaceful, democratic, and just solution to the country’s deep political and humanitarian crisis. Learn more here.

WOLA is searching for an Assistant Director for People and Culture, a sole contributor to use progressive and equity-based policies to manage all human resources functions. This role will manage a variety of programs and projects, including: evaluations, payroll, timesheets, benefits, hiring, and the general life cycle of an employee. Learn more here.

Copyright © 2022 Washington Office on Latin America, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email because you are signed up to the WOLA mailing list.

WOLA
1666 Connecticut Ave NW
Suite 400, DC 20009
United States

If you believe you received this message in error or wish to no longer receive email from us, please unsubscribe.