Mercosul countries signed commitment to common policies for refugees in the region
Source: United Nations Radio
(sent by Erika Pires Ramos)
Member Countries of MERCOSUL (Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay and Venezuela) and two associated countries (Bolivia, Chile) signed in Fortaleza (CE), a commitment to adopt common policies for the protection of asylum seekers and strengthen the humanitarian space in the region.
Contrary to what has happened elsewhere in the world, the "Declaration of Principles of Mercosul on International Protection of Refugees" proposes that the Mercosul countries not only prevent the adoption of restrictive migration policies, but also enables migratory regularization alternatives, avoiding thus the submission of requests that are unrelated to refugee situations.
The signing of the document comes at the time of preparation of the region to commemoration of the 30th anniversary of the Cartagena Declaration on Refugees, which occurs in 2014. The document, from 1974, is considered a milestone in the protection of refugees and other forced displaced in Latin America and the Caribbean - an estimated population of approximately 4.5 million people.
Among other commitments made by signatories of the Declaration are ensuring that refugees can exercise the same rights as other foreigners in a regular situation, adopting a favorable approach to family reunification of refugees and the establishment of cooperation mechanisms between institutions that deal with refuge in each country.
Furthermore, the document highlights the importance of giving special attention to gender and age (particularly in cases of unaccompanied or separated children from their families) and not returning refugees and asylum seekers to their countries of origin or areas where their lives are in danger.
"The Declaration is a great example of the political will of the member countries of Mercosul and associates to keep the flag of solidarity with refugees, in an international context of restrictive policies in both the theme of migrants in general, as with the issue of refugees in particular, "said the representative of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Brazil, Andres Ramirez.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Note: The material contained in this communication comes to you from the
Forced Migration Discussion List which is moderated by Forced Migration
Online, Refugee Studies Centre (RSC), Oxford Department of International
Development, University of Oxford. It does not necessarily reflect the
views of the RSC or the University. If you re-print, copy, archive or
re-post this message please retain this disclaimer. Quotations or
extracts should include attribution to the original sources.
E-mail: [log in to unmask]
Posting guidelines: http://www.forcedmigration.org/research-resources/discussion/forced-migration-discussion-list-posting-guidelines
Subscribe/unsubscribe: http://tinyurl.com/fmlist-join-leave
List Archives: http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/forced-migration.html
RSS: https://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/cgi-bin/webadmin?RSS&L=forced-migration
Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/refugeestudies
|