Newsletter -February 2011
Refugees
With a view to increasing
awareness of international refugee law and its
application, the Office of the United Nations High
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) organized the
“Eighth Regional Latin American Course on
International Refugee Law” in Panama City, September
7-9, 2010.
Participating in the course were representatives
from Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Costa Rica,
Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala,
Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru, and
Uruguay. Also represented at the course were
participants and presenters of the UNHCR, the United
Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), the
Mexican Commission of Aid to Refugees (COMAR), the
Office of the United Nations High Commissioner of
Human Rights (OHCHR), the United Nations Children’s
Fund (UNICEF), the OAS Executive Secretariat for
Integral Development (SEDI), the OAS Department of
International Law, and the Inter-American Commission
on Human Rights (IACHR).
The different course components emphasized the
protection of refugees within the framework of mixed
migration, taking into account immigration flows
which include people who likewise need protection,
such as the victims of human trafficking, domestic
violence, and unaccompanied children, as well as
other current forms of persecution, including the
victims of gang violence and kidnapping. Also
considered were the challenges inherent in the
international protection of refugees within the
context of extracontinental immigrants.
The course followed an interactive workshop format,
in which national authorities, international
organizations, and experts shared experiences and
best practices observed in different countries of
the Americas and the wider world. Accordingly,
participants studied public policies and mechanisms
designed to identify people in need. This approach
was successful in terms of updating participants’
knowledge and provided guidelines for better
application of international refugee law.
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