Cooperation between states in the Americas vital to protect refugees in migration
flows
20 Nov 2009 16:57:13 GMT Source: UNHCR
SAN JOSE, Costa Rica, November 20 (UNHCR) – Cooperation between states is essential to address the joint challenge of refugee protection and migration in the Americas, the UN
refugee agency's top protection official told delegates at the opening here of a regional conference on the issue.UNHCR Assistant High Commissioner for Protection Erika Feller, addressing
representatives of 20 countries in North and South America on Thursday, stressed that migrants and refugees were not the responsibility of just one organization, one country or one region, but the
shared concern of all those seeking to protect the human rights of people on the move.The two-day conference, which follows regional meetings in Yemen and Senegal over the past 18 months, was
convened to address the issue of mixed migration flows in the Americas, principally from south to north.The delegates are also looking at ways to implement UNHCR's 10-Point Plan of Action,
which was developed to help governments protect refugees within increasingly complex population flows.Millions of people are on the move around the world. Some seek better economic
opportunities or to be reunited with family. Refugees have no choice, they flee their homelands to escape violence or persecution. But, increasingly, migrants and refugees travel together, sometimes
resorting to the services of traffickers and smugglers.The issue is of special relevance in the Americas, where there is a long tradition of migration and asylum. The American continent is
home to some 800,000 refugees, or about one in 12 of the world's total refugee population.Most migration in the region is intra-continental – from South America to the United States and
Canada – although there has also been an increase in the number of people coming from other continents. Nations in the Caribbean and Central America, including Mexico, now face huge challenges
as countries of transit. The numbers are difficult to ascertain: an estimated 500,000 people try to make their way every year to the United States via Mexico.Not everybody on the move is
vulnerable or in need of international protection, but all have fundamental human rights. Refugees have specific rights under international law and one of the biggest challenges for receiving
countries is to be able to quickly identify refugees within mixed migration flows.After Thursday's opening, delegates at the Costa Rica conference discussed ways of identifying and providing
appropriate support to the most vulnerable people caught in mixed migration flows, such as unaccompanied minors, victims of human trafficking and pregnant women. They also debated the establishment of
reception facilities, including shelter and health.Feller said the main concerns for UNHCR were a lack of basic reception facilities, denial of entry to a country and the automatic and
sometimes prolonged detention of people in migration flows, including refugees. She encouraged countries in North and South America to build on their national laws and good practices and pledged
UNHCR's continued support.The two-day conference is being hosted by the government of Costa Rica and jointly organized by UNHCR, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the
Organization for American States (OAS), with the support of several other international organizations, including the office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.By Marie-Helene
Verney in San Jose, Costa Rica
Mexico's President Felipe Calderon arrives for a celebration commemorating the 99th anniversary of the Mexican Revolution at the presidential residence Los Pinos in Mexico City November 20, 2009. REUTERS/Daniel Aguilar (MEXICO ...
