With the growth of situations that force the displacement of people in the world, Brazil has been the destination of a large number of asylum seekers in recent years.
The increase in requests, however, has not translated into more efficiency in its processing of requests for recognition of refugee status, which has caused the growth of the waiting list, called liabilities. A few years ago, this queue exceeded 100,000 people, a worrying figure since it directly impacts on the protection of these people.
Although Brazilian law guarantees a series of rights from the moment of application, there are other rights accessible only after recognition of refugee status. This delay in the queue is beyond acceptable for a country that positions itself as a leader in the subject, even more so when the problem is not the law or the protective institute itself, but the lack of structure to deal with requests.
This year, the Refuge Law completes 25 years and Brazil must take advantage of the moment to reassess the structure it makes available for actions related to the theme, because, if this does not happen, the numbers that matter most will be those of people waiting your request to be reviewed and the time for this to occur.
refuge in numbers
The most important report on the subject in Brazil is the report produced by the Observatory of International Migration (OBMigra) called Refúgio em Números, which brings data on refuge in the country. It is from it that society can get to know this public, researchers can look into the information and those responsible for public policies can get subsidies to build and implement the necessary measures.
The first version of the report was launched in 2016, with data from 2015, a time when Brazil was experiencing changes in reality regarding refuge, such as an increase in the number of requests, an element that began to strain the analysis system. In July 2015, the National Committee for Refugees (Conare) exposed the need to reduce liabilities in its minutes of the 103rd meeting.
Since then, the picture has worsened, with more requests being made, in a scenario that tends to remain, mainly because there has been an increase in the number of refugees and applicants in the world, in addition to the persistence of factors that generate refuge around the globe. Due to this context, Brazil occupies the third position among the countries in the Americas with the highest number of requests waiting to be analyzed, behind only the United States and Peru.
The first measure that reduced this queue was the recognition of the serious and generalized violation of human rights in Venezuela, which allowed the simplification of the process of recognition of refugee status for these people. This meant that decision-making was done in large blocks, which were expressive from the end of 2019, to the point that Brazil declared more than 51,000 Venezuelans as refugees.
However, even with this initiative, Venezuelans are still the nationality with the highest number of applications awaiting analysis, with a figure of more than 90,000 people, almost twice the number recognized. Therefore, even the nationality to which Brazil has devoted most efforts in recent years, such as the entire structure set up from the border between Venezuela and Brazil, the liability is still very large and affects the effectiveness of responses.
Situations that increase the queue
Another action that impacted liabilities were the various ordinances closing borders in 2020 and 2021 as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, as they prevented the regular entry of refugees and other migrants into Brazil, making it impossible for both groups to regularize, stanching , thus the number of requesters while they were in effect.
The ordinances meant that even if the person managed to enter Brazilian territory, it was not possible to request refuge, in an affront to the legal text. The result of these measures was the emergence of a topic that until then was little present in the Brazilian reality: the significant increase in irregular migrants and refugees, translated into an increase of more than 5,000% in deportations in 2020. In the case of refugees, actions like this represent a enormous risk due to disrespect for the basic principle of non-return to the place where their life and safety are threatened.
In addition, on November 20, 2020, a Conare action judged and rejected 17 asylum requests without conducting interviews, with the justification that the requests were unfounded. This decision goes against the provisions of Law 9,474/97, the Shelter Law, and the Normative Resolution issued by Conare itself. The allegation is that abusive requests bring difficulties for the very maintenance of the analysis system. However, this type of decision represents the reduction of rights, weakening the right to refuge and allowing the commission of injustices.
Abusive requests have already been the subject of debates for a long time, so much so that in 1983, recommendation n. possibility of carrying out her request or not being interviewed, which would justify the maintenance of measures such as the right to a personal interview in all cases, a right expressly provided for in Law 9.474/97, the Refuge Law, in its article 9.
This is not to deny that there are abusive or unfounded requests, so much so that most requests are not recognized by Brazil. But not recognizing it without going through all the stages established by law is an affront to due process of law. As the objective is to protect, it is more appropriate to guarantee listening, as the interview can be a unique opportunity to share information that is not evident in the form submitted to the Federal Police with the request for recognition of refugee status.
The best way to resolve issues like this is not restriction, but expansion, which in the Brazilian case should happen within the scope of Conare itself, as it is observed that, however much the number of people linked to the body has increased in recent years , the agency proves to be insufficient to meet the growth in demand.
When observing the rhythm of analysis of the requests, it is noticed that the liability will hardly be overcome, which harms the requesters, the analysis body itself and makes it difficult to plan improvements in relation to the theme. This context makes room for responses such as rejection without an interview, which are at odds with the law and with the protective spirit of the entire refuge logic.
*The article results from a study requested by Conectas Human Rights, conducted by the authors from August 2021 to June 2022.
With a wealth of experience honed over 4+ years in journalism, I bring a seasoned voice to the world of news. Currently, I work as a freelance writer and editor, always seeking new opportunities to tell compelling stories in the field of world news.
