Published online by Cambridge University Press: 27 February 2017
* This text was reproduced and reformatted from the text available at the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees website (visited Apr. 4, 2011) http://www.unhcr.org/4cdd3fac6.html.
1 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, 189 U.N.T.S. 150 (entered into force Apr. 22, 1954), available at http://www1.umn.edu/humanrts/instree/v1crs.htm.
2 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness, Aug. 30, 1961, 989 U.N.T.S. 175, available at http://untreaty.un.org/ilc/texts/instruments/english/conventions/6_1_1961.pdf.
3 Mexico Declaration and Plan of Action to Strengthen the International Protection of Refugees in Latin America, Nov. 16, 2004, available at http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/docid/424bf6914.html.
4 Id. pmbl.
5 For example, the definition of ‘‘refugee’’ in the Cartagena Declaration is generally thought of as an expanded and more inclusive version than the definition found in the 1951 Refugee Convention. This is ‘‘highlighted’’ in the Declaration’s preamble, as well as the fact that the definition has been incorporated into some of the region’s domestic legal systems. Nevertheless, the usefulness and applicability of the definition in practice (excluding states where it has become a part of the domestic legal system) is counterbalanced by its non-binding nature. For background, see The Refugee Situation in Latin America: Protection and Solutions Based on the Pragmatic Approach of the Cartagena Declaration on Refugees of 1984, 18 Int’l J. Refugee L.252, 266-69 (2006).
6 See William Spindler, The Mexico Plan of Action: Protecting Refugees Through International Solidarity, 24 Forced Migration Rev. 64, 64-65 (2005).
7 United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees [UNHCR], UNHCR 2009 Global Trends: Refugees, Asylum-seekers, Returnees, Internally Displaced and Stateless Persons 18 (2010), available at http://www.unhcr.org/4c11f0be9.html [hereinafter UNHCR 2009 Global Trends].
8 See Internal Displacement in the Americas, Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre, http://www.internal-displacement.org/8025708F004CE90B/(httpRegionPages)/54F848FB94403472802570A6005595DA?OpenDocument (last visited Apr. 4, 2011) (provides information as of the end of 2009).
9 UNHCR 2009 Global Trends, supra note 7, at 4.
10 Latin America Nations Pledge More for Protection of the Displaced and Stateless, UNHCR, Nov. 12, 2010, http://www.unhcr.org/4cdd4dc09.html.
11 Latin America Makes Important Advance for World’s Displaced, UNHCR, Nov. 12, 2010, http://www.unhcr.org/4cdd3c159.html.
12 Brasilia Declaration pmbl., Nov. 11, 2010, available at http://oppenheimer.mcgill.ca/IMG/pdf/BrazilDeclaration.pdf.
13 Latin America Makes Important Advance for World’s Displaced, supra note 11.
14 Id.
15 International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families, G.A. Res. 45/158, U.N. Doc. A/RES/45/158 (Dec. 18, 1990), available at http://www2.ohchr.org/english/law/cmw.htm.
16 Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons Especially Women and Children, Supplementing the United Nations Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime, G.A. Res. 55/25, U.N. Doc. A/RES/55/25 (Nov. 15, 2000), available at http://www2.ohchr.org/english/law/protocoltraffic.htm.
17 Internal Displacement in the Americas, supra note 8.
18 Annual Rep. of the Inter-Am. Comm’n on Human Rights, Cartagena Declaration on Refugees, 3, OAS Doc. OEA/Ser.L/V/II.66/doc.10, rev. 1, at 190-93 (Nov. 22, 1984), available at http://www1.umn.edu/humanrts/instree/cartagena1984.html.
19 UNHCR, Guidance Note on Refugee Claims Relating to Victims of Organized Gangs (Mar. 31, 2010), available at http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/docid/4bb21fa02.html.
20 Id. 64-65.
21 International Meeting on Refugee Protection, Statelessness and Mixed Migration Movements in the Americas: Launch of the UNHCR Commemorations in the Americas, Brasilia, Braz., Nov. 11, 2010, Introductory Remarks by Mr. Volker Türk, Director of International Protection, UNHCR Headquarters (Nov. 11, 2010), available at http://www.unhcr.org/4cdbef6d9.html.
22 Prevention and Reduction of Statelessness and Protection of Stateless Persons in the Americas, AG/RES/2599 (XL-O/10) (June 8, 2010), available at. http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/pdfid/4d8c33812.pdf