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- Also available in French
Argentina: Refugee law approved by Congress
Briefing Notes, 10 November 2006
This is a summary of what was said by UNHCR spokesperson William Spindler – to whom quoted text may be attributed – at the press briefing, on 10 November 2006, at the Palais des Nations in Geneva.
We welcome the approval of a refugee law by Argentina's Congress last Wednesday. The law provides a very solid framework for the full exercise of refugees' rights. It guarantees the processing of asylum claims in a reasonable timeframe, facilitates access to documentation, education, health and employment. It has special provisions for refugee women, children and victims of violence.
Argentina has been making steady progress in its handling of refugee issues over the past few years, including an expanded refugee committee, more efficient procedures and the initiation of a resettlement programme in 2005. The adoption of a refugee law is a necessary and welcome step in the same direction.
It is the result of the current government's demonstrated interest in human rights and refugee issues, as well as of a concerted effort by refugees, legislators, civil society and of UNHCR's Office in Argentina.
Argentina ratified the 1951 Refugee Convention in 1961. It has been a member of UNHCR's Executive Committee since 1979. There are more than 3,000 refugees in Argentina from some 60 countries.
- 1 Convention and Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees
- 2 UNHCR Lebanon Update: Situation in North Lebanon, 4 February-10 February 2012
- 3 UNHCR seeks US$145 million to help tens of thousands of Sudanese refugees
- 4 UNHCR aid to countries receiving people fleeing clashes in northern Mali
- 5 The 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol
