Hundreds of migrants from India, Nepal and Vietnam have been stranded in dangerous conditions at Sao Paulo’s international airport for weeks, sleeping on the floor in a bid to enter Brazil, according to the public defender’s office and documents seen by Reuters on Friday.
The 39-year-old migrant from Ghana died two weeks ago of unknown causes, a spokesman for the office said. It was not clear whether he died at the airport or while being taken to hospital.
At least 666 migrants without visas are waiting to enter Brazil at Guarulhos airport, the official said, amid uncertainty over whether the government plans to tighten entry rules on Monday to stem the flow of foreigners using Brazil as a stopover to the United States and Canada.
The migrants are kept in a restricted area with no bathing facilities and restricted movements, making it difficult for them to get food and water, while children and teenagers are braving the cold without blankets, the official said.
The Public Defender’s Office found that migrants’ human rights were being violated and their health was deteriorating.
The agency said the migrants’ conditions needed to be urgently improved while their situation was being addressed, and in a statement urged authorities to comply with Brazilian law based on the humanitarian principle of accepting refugees and not sending them back to their country of origin.
From Monday, foreign travellers without a Brazilian visa who are travelling to another country will have to travel directly to their destination or return to their country, Brazil’s Public Security Ministry told Reuters on Wednesday.
Brazil has seen an increase in the number of foreign travellers, particularly from Asia who stopover here on their way to North America, the ministry said in a statement.
They seek refugee status to enter Brazil, alleging persecution and threats in their home country, but most travel north whenever possible, according to two reports from authorities seen by Reuters and a senior police source.
The ministry said travellers arriving in Sao Paulo without a visa will no longer be allowed to stay in Brazil.
It is unclear whether the new rules will apply to migrants already at Sao Paulo airport or only those who arrive after the rules come into force.
Immigration experts worry that the proposed rules contradict the 1951 U.N. Refugee Convention, to which Brazil is a party and which calls on countries to accept at-risk people into their country, even if they are undocumented.
Jean Uema, head of Brazil’s refugee committee, told Reuters the rules would apply specifically at Sao Paulo airport and would not change Brazil’s policy towards refugees.
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