Wednesday 10 de october de 2018

Information for the Press N°: 408/18

Foreign Minister Jorge Faurie and Mr. Filippo Grandi, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, held a meeting at the Argentine Foreign Ministry, in order to discuss issues of mutual interest.

The High Commissioner praised the high human rights standards set by the Argentine Republic for the protection of and search for long-lasting solutions for refugees and asylum-seekers and its commitment to the principle of shared responsibility, within the framework of the future adoption of the Global Compact on Refugees and the regional agenda set by the Brazil Plan of Action.

Foreign Minister Faurie reaffirmed Argentina's commitment to the protection of refugees and refugee status applicants, and to the full respect for the principle of non-refoulement in accordance with the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees and the General Law on Recognition and Protection of Refugees in force.

Foreign Minister Faurie and the High Commissioner agreed on the fact that the displacement of refugees and migrants from Venezuela is an unprecedented situation for the region, especially for countries receiving a significant number of Venezuelans. They underscored that, although individual circumstances and displacement reasons are different, a significant share of refugees and migrants needs international protection.

In this regard, the High Commissioner especially highlighted the actions undertaken by the Argentine Republic to provide housing to approximately 130,000 Venezuelans since 2012, as an alternative form of protection, and to process applications for refugee status submitted by Venezuelans over the last few years.

Within this context, they stressed the importance of applying the regional definition of refugee set forth in the Declaration of Cartagena, included in the legislation of 15 countries from the region, to applications for refugee status submitted by Venezuelan nationals.

At the meeting, the High Commissioner thanked the Argentine Republic for its commitment to the "Syria Programme", which is based on a community sponsorship model for the resettlement of refugees. The Foreign Minister underscored the support provided by the "Emerging Resettlement Countries Joint Support Mechanism" and recent similar projects funded by the European Union and implemented by the UNHCR and the IOM, and the Global Refugee Sponsorship Initiative.

Furthermore, Mr. Grandi highlighted the recent presentation of the Statelessness Bill before the Argentine House of Deputies which, if approved, would consolidate Argentina's commitment to ending statelessness in the region, in line with the Brazil Plan of Action.

Foreign Minister Faurie and High Commissioner Grandi ended the meeting by reaffirming the importance of continuing to make progress in the close joint work carried out by Argentina and the UNHCR Office to help refugees.