In 2015, the Foreign Ministry’s consulates provided consular protection to Mexicans abroad in 160,000 cases ranging from international child custody and issues involving farmworkers in Canada and the United States to responding to emergencies such as the attack on Mexican tourists in Egypt and helping the victims of the terrorist attacks in Paris and their families.
As part of its policy of protecting migrant children and adolescents, a protocol for the consular care of unaccompanied migrant children was developed with UNICEF and put in place to identify and promote the best interests of the child.
This year, there were about 13,000 cases of consular protection for migrant children and the protocol and its innovative electronic registration platform helped improve monitoring and coordination with Mexican authorities such as the National Migration Institute and the National DIF.
Thirty memorandums of understanding were signed with U.S. child welfare services, through which our consulates are notified when a Mexican child is placed in the custody of Child Protective Services.
In 2015, Mexico took steps to help improve living conditions for Mexicans abroad. The Foreign Ministry helped organize Labor Rights Week in the United States, during which more than 40,000 people received advise on fair working conditions.
More than 300 people were trained to improve the quality of consular protection given to Mexican citizens and their families. Over 7,000 events on preventive protection were organized inside and outside of Mexico to empower the migrant community.
Legal advice and support was given to youths to help them renew or apply for the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. Steps are being taken to issue the necessary identification documents so that no eligible Mexican citizen is excluded from the DACA program.
Special programs such as the external legal consultant (PALE) program or the defense of Mexicans involved in death penalty cases (MCLAP) demonstrate the innovative steps taken by Mexico to help its citizens abroad and improve the consular protection it provides.
For victims of gender-based violence, a protocol is being developed with UN-Women to incorporate international practices into the daily work of consular protection staffers beginning in 2016.
At the multilateral level, Mexico was pro tempore of the 20th Regional Conference on Migration (CRM) in 2015, where emphasis was given to finding solutions to the needs of people in countries of origin, transit, destination and return of migrants, and to providing the CRM with the experiences and tools developed in recent months, especially for children and teens.
Mexico hosted the second global consular forum in Xochitepec, Morelos that established networks to expand consular assistance and protection by exchanging information and best practices with experts from 25 countries to strengthen services for Mexican citizens in remote areas where there are no resident Mexican embassies or consulates.
The assistance and protection provided for Mexicans abroad was not immune to the complex international scenario in 2015. The Foreign Ministry strengthened its capabilities while promoting useful tools for Mexican citizens such as the Traveler's Guide, the Registration System for Mexicans Abroad ( SIRME) and the "MiConsulmex" app.
Mexican consular diplomacy in 2015 improved its ability to serve vulnerable communities that are part of the migratory phenomenon; expanded its channels of cooperation with authorities in other countries, international organizations, strategic partners and civil society to benefit our citizens; and created national networks to ensure better attention to transnational families.