Caminando Fronteras

Caminando Fronteras is a non-governmental organization which defends the rights of migrants on the Euro-African Western Border.[1] Founded in 2002, it works from a transnational, transcultural, anti-racist, and feminist perspective, denouncing borders as spaces of impunity and supporting the rights of people on the move.[2]

Its founder,[3] and one of its most prominent members, is the human rights defender Helena Maleno.[4]

Work

Defense of the 'Right to Life'

The organization has a 24/7/365 alert line for migrants whose lives are in danger at sea.[5][6] After receiving calls from the people at risk themselves or, in many cases, from their family members or friends, Caminando Fronteras passes on the alert to rescue services in neighboring countries, verifying information, exerting media pressure, and ensuring the protection of the right to life at sea. This tool has managed to save the lives of "more than 100,000 people in fourteen years," as stated on its website.[7]

Identification of victims and identification of perpetrators

The Collective promotes actions to identify victims at the borders: visits to morgues, information gathering and cross-referencing, DNA testing, search campaigns for missing persons, and on-site investigations are some of the aspects of an identification and reparation process which are abandoned by States when it comes to migrants. That is why Caminando Fronteras covers this work as a civil society organization, while also carrying out political advocacy work to identify perpetrators: arms and immigration control companies, States, and criminal networks responsible for deaths and disappearances at the borders.[8]

Support for families of border victims

For the families of people killed and/or disappeared at the Euro-African Western Border, there is no institutional avenue available to address their loss: States deny the families of migrants the right to Truth, Justice, Reparation and Non-Repetition. To restore these rights, the organization provides comprehensive support to the families of victims at the borders, both in individual and collective cases, in a process called "transforming pain into Justice."[9] The reconstruction of the facts of the deaths, the opening of judicial proceedings, the provision of tools for grieving and psychosocial support are fundamental axes of this process.

State criminalization and international recognition

Caminando Fronteras has repeatedly denounced the personal violence suffered by its main spokesperson, Helena Maleno. Assassination attempts,[3] physical attacks, death threats, and police set-ups are some of the situations Maleno has faced as a human rights defender, a source of discomfort for states, arms companies, and criminal networks.

Awards

Together with its spokesperson, Helena Maleno, the Collective has been awarded the following prizes:[10]

  • 2014 Human Rights Award from the Progressive Union of Prosecutors[10]
  • 2015 Human Rights Award from the General Council of the Spanish Bar Association[10]
  • Distinction for the Defense of the Rights of Migrant Women from the Andalusian Women's Institute (2016)
  • Distinction for the Defense of the Rights of Women Victims of Trafficking from the Amaranta Foundation (2017).[10]
  • Premio Extremadura Global 2021 del Gobierno de la Junta de Extremadura (2021).[11]
  • Reconocimiento Internacional Derechos Humanos ACAMPA 2022.[12]
  • Premio Humanizar 2022 del Centro Español de Humanización de la Salud.[13]
  • Premio Desalambre de Eldiario.es (2023)[14]
  • Premios Blas Infante (2025)[15]

Publications

See also

References

  1. ^ "Rutas" [Routes]. Caminando Fronteras. 23 March 2020. Retrieved 8 January 2021.
  2. ^ Sánchez, Gabriela (4 December 2017). "Así es la labor de Helena Maleno, la activista que incomoda a España y cita a declarar Marruecos" [This is the work of Helena Maleno, the activist who has made Spain uncomfortable and summoned Morocco to testify.]. El diario.es. Retrieved 7 January 2019.
  3. ^ a b "Helena Maleno Garzón auroraluminaries". auroraluminaries.com. Retrieved 6 August 2025.
  4. ^ "Helena Maleno". Centro de Cultura Contemporánea de Barcelona (CCCB). Retrieved 22 January 2019.
  5. ^ "Right to life". Caminando Fronteras. Retrieved 6 August 2025.
  6. ^ Camiolo, Marcos (26 December 2024). ""The most lethal in the world": the route on which most migrants die trying to reach Spain". La Voz De Ibiza. Retrieved 6 August 2025.
  7. ^ "Derecho a la vida" [Right to Life]. Caminando Fronteras. 1 February 2020. Retrieved 8 January 2021.
  8. ^ "Víctimas y victimarios" [Victims and Perpetrators]. Caminando Fronteras. 1 February 2020. Retrieved 8 January 2021.
  9. ^ "Pain in Justice". Caminando Fronteras. 1 February 2020. Retrieved 8 January 2021.
  10. ^ a b c d "Helena Maleno Garzón Researcher, journalist and activist". www.tabakalera.eus. Retrieved 6 August 2025.
  11. ^ "Premios Extremadura Global 2021". El Periódico Extremadura (in Spanish). 26 December 2021. Retrieved 9 August 2025.
  12. ^ "II Reco Resultados Acampa 2022". Acampa - Pola paz e o dereito a refuxio (in European Spanish). Retrieved 9 August 2025.
  13. ^ "VII Edición Premios Humanizar 2022 - Humanizar". www.humanizar.es. Retrieved 8 August 2025.
  14. ^ Guilabert, Erika (17 February 2023). "Premio Desalambre de Eldiario.es al mejor trabajo de documentación para el informe "Monitoreo del derecho a la vida en la Frontera Occidental Euroafricana" de Ca-Minando Fronteras". Caminando Fronteras (in European Spanish). Retrieved 8 August 2025.
  15. ^ "Premios Blas Infante 2025 | Caminando Fronteras". Radio Casares (in Spanish). 23 May 2025. Retrieved 8 August 2025.
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