A/HRC/59/49/Add.2 establishing a mechanism within the criminal justice system to address complaints of sexual and gender-based violence against migrant and refugee women and girls, recognizing all types of sexual and gender-based violence, in accordance with the Penal Code. 60. The Attorney General and public prosecutors should, as a matter of priority, address the issue of impunity for crimes committed in the jungle, and ensure that suspected perpetrators are brought to justice. In doing so, they should work with the relevant authorities and Indigenous community leaders. Awareness-raising campaigns should be conducted in local communities to enhance understanding of the seriousness of these crimes. In the meantime, measures should be taken within the local communities to ensure the safety of migrants and refugees and the non-recurrence of crimes, especially sexual and gender-based violence. In this regard, the National Border Service could enhance patrols in areas where reported incidents have occurred. The Special Rapporteur encourages Panama to adopt and implement a protocol on access to justice for migrants and refugee victims of all types of crimes in the jungle and in the migration corridor, integrating technical cooperation with OHCHR for its implementation. 61. Given the challenges in providing effective protection and ensuring the safety of women and girls on the move, Panama should consider increasing the presence of female officers in the National Border Service, the National Migration Service and the Public Prosecutor’s Office, especially in outposts in the communities. 62. Panama should strengthen technical capacities with regard to gender, particularly the prevention of gender-based violence against women, girls and LGBTIQ+ individuals, within the National Border Service and the National Migration Service, and promote the establishment of a unit specialized in the prevention and management of gender-based violence that coordinates action with the Ministry for Women. It is also imperative to enhance cross-border collaboration among neighbouring and other States in the region. In this regard, the Special Rapporteur invites Panama to consult the OHCHR Recommended Principles and Guidelines on Human Rights at International Borders. 63. In the context of biometric screening processes, the Special Rapporteur recommends that Panama uphold the rights to privacy and data protection and guarantee rigorous safeguards in the collection, processing and storing of data at borders, particularly biometric data, ensuring that such action is necessary and proportionate to a legitimate aim and that the data are obtained lawfully, are accurate and up to date, are stored for a limited period of time and are disposed of safely and securely. 64. Considering that the context of mixed movement in Panama is more complex than ever – in addition to the continuation of mixed movement from south to north, Panama is now receiving returning migrant and refugee populations, and deportation flights under the memorandum of understanding with the United States – it is crucial that Panama adjust its asylum system and migration policies to the new realities and reinforce protection mechanisms, in accordance with its human rights obligations, including the principle of non-refoulement. 65. Many individuals in mixed movements need international refugee and human rights protection and/or humanitarian assistance. To fulfil its obligations under international human rights and refugee laws and to show solidarity with countries in the region facing similar challenges, Panama should address the protection needs of such individuals. Measures to be taken include enhancing the efficiency of its asylum system and screening individuals with vulnerabilities to assess whether to extend humanitarian visas or other legal stay arrangements or arrange humanitarian returns on the basis of fully informed consent and on a voluntary basis, without any form of coercion. GE.2506871 11