By Beyza Binnur Donmez
GENEVA (AA) - The UN on Tuesday said that it is worried about the risks and vulnerabilities faced by an unprecedented number of migrants and refugees who are crossing the Darien Gap – the dense tropical jungle that separates Colombia and Panama – on their journey towards North America.
"Migrants and refugees are exposed to multiple human rights violations and abuses during their journey, including sexual violence, which is a particular risk for children, women, LGBTI people, and people with disabilities," UN High Commissioner for Human Rights spokeswoman Marta Hurtado told a UN press briefing.
"There are also murders, disappearances, trafficking, robbery, and intimidation by organized crime groups," she continued.
So far in 2023, more than 330,000 people – the highest annual figure ever recorded – have crossed the Darien Gap, she said, stressing further that one in five were children.
She added that some 248,000 people are estimated to have passed through this region during the last year.
Scant humanitarian aid in both Panama and Costa Rica exacerbates the precarious living conditions and heightens individuals' vulnerabilities, she said.
The risks are even greater due to the perils of traversing the 575,000-hectare Darien jungle, Hurtado said, adding that typically, people traverse the Darien Gap on foot for four to seven days during the dry season, while it can take up to 10 days during the nine-month rainy season.
"We understand the challenges and recognize the efforts of Costa Rica and Panama to meet the humanitarian needs of people in the context of large mixed movements at borders," she said.
She urged all states to promote human rights-based solutions to migration governance challenges and ensure border governance in line with international law and standards.
She also stressed the need to avoid discriminatory, anti-migrant rhetoric.
The Darien Gap is a transit point for migrants who are escaping poverty and widespread violence in the hope of finding better opportunities in North America. They frequently, however, find death in the mountains, swamps, rivers, and precipitous ravines of the lawless jungle.
Panama receives travelers at migration stations located near its southern border with Colombia and the northern border with Costa Rica, where they are offered health care and food.