In Zambia, the Office of the Commissioner for Refugees (COR), within the Ministry of Home Affairs and Internal Security, is the mandated government agency to deal with refugee matters. COR registers and documents asylum-seekers and refugees in its territory on arrival and maintains refugee data in Zambia.
To ensure continuity of refugee status determination (RSD) procedures in Brazil during the COVID-19 pandemic, the General-Coordination of the National Committee for Refugees (CG-Conare) implemented measures to strengthen the use of remote eligibility interviews, via the Microsoft Teams app, which CG-Conare had already been using since 2015.
El Sistema del Comité Nacional para os Refugiados (Sisconare) es la plataforma digital en línea utilizada por el Conare para registrar y procesar las solicitudes de reconocimiento de la condición de refugiado en Brasil.
Also available in English: Improving electronic registration and case management through Sisconare
Según la legislación brasileña, la Defensoría Pública de la Unión (DPU) es la institución creada para, entre otras responsabilidades, promover la más amplia defensa de los derechos fundamentales de las personas necesitadas, cubriendo sus derechos individuales, colectivos, sociales, económicos, culturales y ambientales, siendo admisible todo tipo de actuaciones capaces de brindar su adecuada y efectiva tutela.
Also available in English: Legal advice and representation
According to the Brazilian legislation, the Federal Public Defender´s Office (DPU) is the institution created to, among other responsibilities, promote the broadest defense of the fundamental rights of people in need, including their individual, collective, social, economic, cultural and environmental rights, and to support all kinds of actions capable of providing adequate and effective protection.
Sisconare is an online digital platform used by Brazil’s National Committee for Refugees (Conare), as a registration and case management system. It is used by Conare and the Federal Police, to enable asylum-seekers to register their information, receive notifications, monitor the progress of their applications, and keep their personal data updated.
Debido a la pandemia de COVID-19, con el fin de mantener activos los procedimientos de reconocimiento de la condición de refugiado en Brasil, el Comité Nacional para los Refugiados (Conare) fortaleció la realización de entrevistas de elegibilidad a distancia, a través de la aplicación Microsoft Teams.
Also available in English: Remote interviews
In December 2020, Conare recognized that the situation in Afghanistan amounted to one of serious and generalized human rights violations, a finding permitted under the broader refugee definition contained in the 1997 Brazilian Refugee Protection Act (Law Nº 9.474, of July 22, 1997) which incorporates elements of the regional 1984 Cartagena Declaration on Refugees.
The Mexican Commission for Refugee Aid (COMAR), in coordination with local authorities and UNHCR support, has strengthened its response capacity in recent years to register and process cases of people in need of international protection, given the gradual increase in the number of asylum applications in the country since 2014.
La Comisión Mexicana de Ayuda a Refugiados (COMAR) en coordinación con autoridades locales y apoyo de ACNUR, incrementó en los últimos años su capacidad de respuesta para brindar atención a personas en necesidad de protección internacional, que aumentó progresivamente desde 2014.
Also available in English: Mexico: Registration Centre in Tapachula, Chiapas
Costa Rica experimentó en los últimos años un incremento significativo en el número de solicitudes de estatuto de refugiado. En el 2020, Costa Rica acogió a 121.983 personas de interés, de las cuales 9.613 son refugiados y 89.770 son solicitantes de refugio pendientes de resolución.
Also available in English: Improvements in the registration and documentation process
In recent years, Costa Rica has experienced a significant increase in the number of asylum applications. In 2020, Costa Rica welcomed 121,983 persons of concern, of which 9,613 received refugee status while 89,770 are applicants awaiting decision on their asylum applications.
La Comisión de Inmigración y Refugiados del Canadá (IRB, por sus siglas en inglés) ha establecido un Grupo de Trabajo relacionado con el Género (GRTF, por las siglas en inglés de Gender Related Task Force) para mejorar aún más la calidad de la toma de decisiones en la División de Protección al Refugiado (RPD), órgano de determinación del estatuto de refugiado de primera instancia.
Tras el inicio de la pandemia, la Comisión de Inmigración y Refugiados (IRB, por sus siglas en inglés) adoptó una estrategia para reanudar sus actividades basada tanto en la protección de la salud de sus empleados como en las personas que asisten ante la Comisión, al tiempo que proporcionó acceso a la justicia. La estrategia incluye el uso de audiencias remotas.
La Comisión de Inmigración y Refugiados de Canadá (IRB, por sus siglas en inglés) tiene el compromiso de resolver los casos de manera simple, rápida y justa. Al hacerlo, busca asignar el nivel apropiado de recursos al asunto que se decide.
Also available in English: The short-hearing and file-review processes
Con el objeto de establecer procedimientos más eficientes que ayuden a mejorar el proceso de toma de decisiones, la Dirección de Protección Internacional (DPIN) del Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores y Movilidad Humana con el Alto Comisionada de Naciones Unidas para los Refugiados han venido desarrollando el proyecto de…
Also available in English: Improving Electronic Case Management through ProGres v4 system
La Ley sobre Refugio Nº 18.076 creó la Comisión de Refugiados (CORE), el organismo estatal encargado de determinar la condición de refugiado en Uruguay.
En Uruguay, la Comisión de Refugiados (CORE) es el órgano estatal encargado de resolver las solicitudes de estatuto de refugiado conforme la Ley 18.076.
Also available in English: Provisional document for asylum-seekers
In Nigeria, the Eligibility Committee is responsible for matters relating to the determination of refugee status in the first instance under the National Commission for Refugee Act, 2004 (NCFR Act). In addition, the NCFR Act established the Refugee Appeal Board which acts as the second instance quasi-judicial body and hears appeals against the decisions of the Eligibility Committee.
La Comisión Mexicana de Ayuda a Refugiados (COMAR), órgano encargado de la determinación de la condición de persona refugiada, implementa procedimientos aplicando la definición ampliada propuesta por la Declaración con miras a un procedimiento más ágil, eficiente y de calidad….
La legislación mexicana contempla el otorgamiento de protección complementaria. Esta forma de protección internacional se otorga al extranjero que no ha sido reconocido como refugiado conforme la ley (la legislación mexicana contempla tanto la definición universal del término refugiado como la definición ampliada) cuando se considera que su devolución podría poner en riesgo su vida o se dejarlo en peligro de ser sometido a tortura u otros tratos o penas crueles, inhumanos o degradantes.
Also available in English: Granting complementary protection
En el año 2019, México recibió 70.431 solicitudes de reconocimiento de la condición de persona refugiada. Las tres principales nacionalidades de solicitantes eran Honduras (30.283), El Salvador (9.079) y Cuba (8.732).
En julio de 2020 se creó la Unidad COI (en adelante U-COI) perteneciente a la Dirección de Protección y Retorno de la Comisión Mexicana de Ayuda a Refugiados (COMAR) con el objetivo de apoyar a los oficiales de protección en el procedimiento de reconocimiento de la condición de persona refugiada (RSD) y facilitar la decisión de las solicitudes.
La Comisión Mexicana de Ayuda a Refugiados (COMAR) implementa procedimientos fusionados aplicando la definición ampliada propuesta por la Declaración de Cartagena, con miras a un procedimiento más ágil, eficiente y de calidad…
Also available in English: Merged procedures and application of the broader refugee definition
Established in 1998, the Refugee Consortium of Kenya (RCK) is a legal aid organisation whose mission is to safeguard and protect the rights and dignity of asylum-seekers, refugees, and host-communities through provision of legal aid, psychosocial support, advocacy, capacity strengthening and promotion of inclusive governance.
Desde el año 2018, Costa Rica ha experimentado un aumento en el número de solicitudes de asilo provenientes de personas que llegan de países vecinos en la región. Para atender este incremento de solicitudes y gestionar su capacidad de procesamiento, en el año 2019…
Also available in English: Development of the asylum procedure in border areas
Since 2018, Costa Rica has experienced an increase in the number of asylum applications from neighboring countries in the region. To address this increase and manage its asylum processing capacity, in 2019 Costa Rica’s General Directorate of Migration and Foreigners (DGME) began the process of decentralizing its refugee services…
In Austria, the Federal Office for Immigration and Asylum (Bundesamt für Fremdenwesen und Asyl, BFA) is the first instance asylum authority responsible for adjudicating applications for international protection. In March 2020, the Austrian government announced a series of measures…
En Argentina existe desde el año 2012 un mecanismo de asesoría y representación legal público y gratuito para las personas solicitantes de asilo, refugiadas y apátridas …
In Argentina, since 2012, there has been a mechanism within the framework of the Federal Public Defenders’ Office of Argentina (MPD) to ensure free public legal advice and representation for asylum-seekers, refugees and stateless persons who wish to have legal assistance in the procedure for determining their status.
Conforme la Constitución de la República, la Defensoría Pública del Ecuador es un órgano autónomo de la Función Judicial cuyo fin es garantizar el pleno e igual…
In accordance with the 2008 Constitution of the Republic, the Public Defender’s Office of Ecuador (PDO) is an independent body of the judiciary whose purpose is to guarantee full
In Kenya, the responsibility for implementing the Refugees Act, 2006 (Refugees Act) and its Refugees (Reception, Registration and Adjudications) Regulations, 2009 lies with the Refugee Affairs Secretariat (RAS) in the Ministry of Interior and Co-ordination of National Government.
The Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada (IRB) established a Gender Related Task Force (GRTF) to further enhance the quality of decision-making at the Refugee Protection Division (RPD), the first-instance refugee status determination (RSD) body in Canada. The creation of the GRTF is in keeping with the IRB’s proud history of being a global leader in developing guidelines on how best to conduct hearings for asylum-seekers raising gender-related issues.
Following the onset of the pandemic, the Immigration and Refugee Board (IRB) adopted a business resumption strategy based on both protecting the health of its employees and those who appeared before the Board, while providing access to justice to the extent possible. The strategy included the use of remote hearings.
Asylum claims in Brazil are assessed by the National Committee for Refugees (Comitê Nacional para os Refugiados – Conare), within the Ministry of Justice and Public Security.
In March 2020, the Government of Philippine declared a public health emergency to prevent and respond to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Refugee Appeals Authority of South Africa (RAASA), established by section 8A of the Refugees Act 130 of 1998 (as Amended) in 2020, functions as an independent administrative tribunal.
In the Philippines, the Public Attorney’s Office (PAO), is the attached agency of the Department of Justice (DOJ) that provides indigent litigants free legal assistance, counselling and representation.
The Migration Service of the Ministry of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure (hereafter the ‘Migration Service’) is the mandated body responsible for carrying out Refugee Status Determination (RSD) in Armenia in accordance with the Law on Refugees and Asylum.
The Philippine Government has assumed full responsibility over the protection of asylum-seekers, refugees and stateless persons, through the refugee status determination procedure established in 1998 and later expanding to include the stateless status determination procedure in 2012, under the Department of Justice (DOJ).
In order to establish efficient procedures and improve its decision-making process, the Directorate of International Protection (DPIN) of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Human Mobility together with UNHCR developed a project “Strengthening Administrative Processes for refugee status determination (RSD) in Ecuador”. One of the immediate aspects to be strengthened as part of this project was Ecuador’s electronic case registration and case management system.
The Ghana Refugee Board (GRB), established under the Ghana Refugee Law of 1992, is the mandated agency for coordinating activities relating to the management and care of asylum-seekers and refugees in Ghana.
Uruguay’s 2006 Law No. 18.076 on refugees led to the establishment of the Refugee Commission (CORE), the state body in charge of refugee status determination (RSD) in Uruguay. The Permanent Secretariat of CORE is the body in charge of receiving and analyzing asylum applications in the country.
In Uruguay, the Permanent Secretariat of the Refugee Commission (CORE) is the state body in charge of processing applications for refugee status in accordance with the 2006 Law No. 18.076 on refugees. Since 2015, it is required that when individuals request for recognition of refugee status with CORE, they file for a provisional identity card with the National Civil Identification Directorate (DNIC)
The Mexican Commission for Refugee Assistance (COMAR), the body responsible for refugee status determination (RSD), implements procedures applying the broader definition proposed by the Cartagena Declaration with a view to a more agile, efficient, and quality procedure.
The Mexican Commission for Refugee Assistance (COMAR) implements merged procedures applying the expanded definition proposed by the Cartagena Declaration, with a view to implementing a more agile, efficient and quality refugee status determination (RSD) procedures. These procedures speed up the registration and eligibility stages for certain profiles of applicants in vulnerable conditions and with a high inclusion rate.
In 2019, Mexico received 70,431 applications for recognition of refugee status. The top three nationalities of applicants were Honduras (30,283), El Salvador (9,079) and Cuba (8,732). In mid-2019, Mexico began to receive an unusual number of Haitians who made a request for recognition of refugee status with the Mexican Commission for Refugee Assistance (COMAR).
In July 2020, a Country of Origin Information Unit (hereinafter U-COI) within the Protection and Return Directorate of the Mexican Commission for Refugee Assistance (COMAR) was created with the aim of supporting protection officers in the refugee status determination (RSD) procedure and facilitate decision making.
Mexican legislation provides for the granting of complementary protection. This form of international protection is granted to a foreigner who has not been recognized as a refugee according to the law (Mexican law provides for both the universal definition of the term refugee and the expanded definition) but it is considered that their return could put their life at risk or could leave them in danger of being subjected to torture or other cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment.
The Immigration and Refugee board of Canada (IRB) is committed to resolving cases simply, efficiently, and fairly. In doing so, it seeks to allocate the appropriate level of resources to the matter being decided. The IRB’s Refugee Protection Division (RPD), the first-instance refugee status determination (RSD) body in Canada has two separate processes for finalizing less complex claims..