In Brazil, positive developments were achieved under the multi-year multi-partner strategy.
Progress was reported on access to territory at land and air borders. UNHCR has been present in the border city of Pacaraima at the Operação Acolhida’s reception and documentation centre since its inauguration in 2018 and at a similar documentation centre in Boa Vista. UNHCR’s activities there focused on pre-registration activities and support for the submission of asylum claims, including through the SISCONARE system. As part of the expansion of Operacao Acolhida to the State of Amazonas, a new documentation centre opened in Manaus in July 2019. UNHCR also supported asylum processing in the Federal Police’s offices in Manaus. Furthermore, UNHCR coordinated two reference centres for refugees and migrants in Boa Vista and Manaus.
At South America’s largest international airport, Guarulhos Airport in Sao Paolo, UNHCR coordinated bi-monthly meetings of the working group on protection of non-admitted foreigners, ensuring that those detained in the restricted area had access to asylum procedures. In 2019, of the 1,491 people non-admitted by the Federal Police, 90% (1,339) successfully filed an asylum claim; no case of refoulement were reported. As for Rio’s Galeão Airport, the second largest in Brazil, UNHCR’s advocacy work resulted in the decision to inaugurate a new a help desk, though which those in need of international protection could file an asylum claim.
The refugee status determination process and the Qualitive Asylum Initiative (QAI), also saw significant results achieved. Following UNHCR advocacy, Brazil’s National Committee for Refugees (CONARE) took the unprecedented decision to apply the Cartagena extended refugee definition and a prima facie recognition procedures for Venezuelan cases. This resulted in the recognition of 20,500 Venezuelan refugees by the end of 2019. UNHCR’s technical advice that supported the development of expedited case processing modalities, as well as supported the expansion of the eligibility team, will be important tools in continuing to decrease the backlog of pending cases.
In 2019, UNHCR supported the Government’s largest local integration initiative in the context of the emergency response. The voluntary relocation programme, known as the Interiorization Programme, relocated a total of 27,200 individuals to 409 municipalities across Brazil.
UNHCR achieved two key livelihood programming milestones, as outlined in the multi-year multi-partner strategy: socioeconomic inclusion and market assessments. Research on the inclusion of refugees and asylum-seekers in the formal labour market and on their access to social safety nets, including conditional cash transfers was also produced.
The first-ever State-funded resettlement programme for North of Central America nationals was launched, initially benefitting 24 refugees from El Salvador and Honduras. Following discussions in 2019, a pilot project for privately-sponsored resettlement is expected to be launched in 2020.
Regarding statelessness, seven individuals were recognized as stateless and four others had pending cases by the end of 2019, as a result of a fully operational new statelessness determination procedure.