The United Nations Office at Geneva
Multimedia Newsroom
The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) welcomed today Brazil’s decision to recognize thousands of Venezuelans asylum-seekers as refugees on a prima facie basis, meaning that they will be assumed to be refugees.
The decision, announced yesterday by Brazil’s National Committee for Refugees (CONARE), means that Venezuelans claiming asylum in Brazil will be processed through an accelerated procedure without the need for an interview, assuming they fulfill the necessary criteria.
“This move constitutes a milestone in refugee protection in the region and follows a decision in June this year by CONARE to recognize that the situation in Venezuela amounted to serious and generalized human rights violations, as described under the 1984 Cartagena Declaration on Refugees, ” Babar Baloch, a spokesperson of the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) told the media in Geneva.
According to the new provision, Venezuelan asylum seekers must be living in Brazil, not hold any other residence permit in the country, be over 18 years, possess a Venezuelan identity document, and have no criminal record in Brazil. Some 21,000 Venezuelan refugees already in the country benefited immediately from this decision.
“The Brazilian authorities estimate that some 224,000 Venezuelans are currently living in the country. An average of 500 Venezuelans continue to cross into Brazil every day, mostly into the northern and isolated state of Roraima,” Baloch said. “The Brazilian government continues to lead the humanitarian response for the most vulnerable Venezuelans arriving in the country, while also promoting innovative, open and generous ways to support their socio-economic inclusion”, he added.
To date, over 750,000 asylum claims have been filed by Venezuelans worldwide, the majority in Latin America and the Caribbean. According to the last official data, Brazil has registered over 120,000 asylum seekers.
1. Wide shot, exterior, Palais des Nations
2. Wide shot, journalists and podium
3. Close up, hands writing on laptops
4. SOUNDBITE (English) Babar Baloch, Spokesperson of the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR):
“This move constitutes a milestone in refugee protection in the region and follows a decision in June this year by CONARE to recognize that the situation in Venezuela amounted to serious and generalized human rights violations as described under the 1984 Cartagena Declaration on Refugees.”
5. Med shot, journalists
6. SOUNDBITE (English) Babar Baloch, Spokesperson of the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR):
“The Brazilian authorities estimate that some 224,000 Venezuelans are currently living in the country. An average of 500 Venezuelans continue to cross into Brazil every day, mostly into the northern and isolated state of Roraima.”
7. Med shot, journalists
8. SOUNDBITE (English) Babar Baloch, Spokesperson of the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR):
“The Brazilian government continues to lead the humanitarian response for the most vulnerable Venezuelans arriving in the country, while also promoting innovative, open and generous ways to support their socio-economic inclusion.”
9. Wide shot, journalists writing on their laptops
10. Wide shot, journalists and podium with speakers
11. Med shot, journalists on their laptops
Similar Stories
1
1
1
Edited News | UNOG , OHCHR
This Sunday marks five years of crisis in Myanmar. Jeremy Laurence, spokesperson for the UN Human Rights, and James Rodehaver, chief of the Myanmar team, today spoke on the conduct of recent military-imposed elections, deploring the failure to respect the fundamental human rights of the country’s citizens. The process served only to exacerbate violence and societal polarization.
1
1
1
Edited News | UNICEF
Brutal Gaza war erased years of progress on education, in an “assault on the future itself” – UNICEF
Restoring Gaza’s shattered education system is “lifesaving” and getting children back into schools must be an immediate priority, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said on Tuesday.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , HRC
Volker Türk, the UN Human Rights High Commissioner, made the following remarks during a briefing to a Special Session on Iran at the Human Rights Council.
1
1
1
Edited News | UNRWA , UNOPS , UNIS
Amid the launch of President Trump's Board of Peace and reconstruction talks on Gaza, UN aid agencies insisted on Friday that what Gazans need most is immediate relief from the ongoing humanitarian catastrophe there.
2
6
1
2
Edited News , Press Conferences , Images | HRC
At UN, war crimes probe pledges to continue to work for all impacted by Hamas-Israel conflict
As President Trump launched the international Board of Peace plan for Gaza on Thursday, top independent rights experts tasked by the UN Human Rights Council with investigating grave abuses linked to the Hamas-Israel war pledged to continue their work seeking justice and accountability for all.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR
UN Human Rights Office Spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani said Tuesday UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk was outraged by the repeated large-scale attacks by the Russian Federation on energy infrastructure in Ukraine.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR
UN warns against repeating abuses in South Kordofan that occurred in El Fasher.
1
1
1
Edited News | OCHA , UNICEF
Mozambique floods heighten disease, malnutrition risks – UN agencies
Catastrophic flooding in Mozambique is causing massive disruption to lives and livelihoods across the country, increasing the risk of disease and exposing urban areas to crocodiles, UN humanitarians warned on Tuesday.
2
1
2
Press Conferences , Edited News | OCHA
Yemen: Children are dying and it’s going to get worse, aid veteran warns
In Yemen, renewed political instability threatens and economic woes linked to the war to complicate the already difficult task of helping vulnerable people suffering from deepening hunger, illness and displacement, the UN's top aid official there said on Monday.
1
1
1
Edited News | UNICEF , IFRC
Ukraine: Families in ‘survival mode’ amid Russian strikes and -18°C cold
Families across Ukraine are in “constant survival mode” amid ongoing waves of Russian missile and drone strikes that have left blocks without power for days at a time, while temperatures plunge to a deadly -18°C (-0.4°F), the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) said on Friday.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
At the bi-weekly press conference in Geneva, UN Human Rights Spokesperson Jeremy Laurence urges Iranian authorities to end violent repression and calls for accountability.
1
1
1
Edited News | UNICEF
Gaza: A ceasefire that ‘still buries children’ is not enough, says UNICEF
Airstrikes, drone strikes and hypothermia are among the lethal conditions prevailing in Gaza despite the ceasefire, with more than 100 children killed since early October, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said on Tuesday.