A/HRC/59/49/Add.2 4. Biometric testing and racial profiling 39. When migrants arrive in Bajo Chiquito and Lajas Blancas, they are subject to racial profiling and selected to undergo biometric testing on the basis of their nationality, ethnicity, appearance and other physical features. Data collected is shared with the Government of the United States. At the time of the visit, owing to the significant decrease in the number of migrants crossing the Darién region, biometric testing was conducted on all migrants. 5. Disappearance of migrants 40. Migrants and refugees risk death and disappearance in the Darién region and on the various maritime routes between Colombia and Panama. Most migrants who have traversed the Darién region have encountered lifeless bodies, some already at advanced stages of decomposition. According to the International Organization for Migration, at least 537 persons died or disappeared in the Darién region between 2015 and 2024. Information on the disappearance of migrants is heavily underreported. Since 2021, the Institute of Forensic Medicine and Science has documented the disappearance of 2,151 migrants and the retrieval of 313 bodies, postmortem examinations have been conducted on the remains of 237 persons, and the remains of 187 persons have been buried, all individually. Based on the Institute’s analysis, while the cause of death in some cases has seemed to be related to drowning or sickness, forensic evidence in others has indicated that the cause of death was a gunshot wound or stabbing. 41. In the absence of a unified database on missing migrants, there are discrepancies in the numbers and forensic evidence gathered by different institutions. While identity information might be recorded and stored at first, the identification of remains becomes impossible as a result of miscommunication or lack of proper protocols for the sharing and storage of information. 6. Asylum system 42. While most migrants travelling north would prefer to continue their journey once they have traversed the Darién region, some, in need of international protection, submit asylum applications at the migrant reception centre in Lajas Blancas and find themselves confined to the centre. Only in extremely exceptional cases are asylum-seekers allowed to leave the centre while awaiting a decision on the admissibility of their applications. This practice contradicts Executive Decree No. 5 of 16 January 2018, on refugees, under which freedom of movement while awaiting such a decision is guaranteed. 43. In the absence of a legally established maximum period for the consideration of an application, asylum applicants may be deprived of liberty and kept in migrant reception centres for months until they receive any decision on the admissibility of their applications. In case of rejection, applicants have five days to submit an appeal. The combination of restriction of movement, lengthy and indefinite waiting times, insufficient conditions in the migrant reception centres and the lack of alternative placement has the effect of turning asylum-seekers away. 44. Recognizing the lack of efficiency in the process, the Government is committed to accelerating the process. According to the information received, waiting times for the decision on admissibility have improved. Recent asylum applicants in the Darién region have received a decision on admissibility within approximately two weeks. The National Office for Refugee Affairs reports that it has one social worker in the Darién region, and that there are plans to hire an attorney. Nationally, most asylum applications are not submitted from the Darién region. In 2024, the National Office for Refugee Affairs received 461 applications in total, of which 58 were from the Darién region. Among the 22 recognized refugees, seven were from the Darién region. There remains one admissible case pending consideration by the National Commission for the Protection of Refugees, which meets every two months. 8 GE.25-06871