Attachments
25 years of the Brazilian Refugee Protection Law
On 22 July, the Brazilian Refugee Protection Law (N° 9474 of 1997) celebrated its 25th year of existence since it came into force. The legislation is well-known for its progressive character, which goes beyond the classic definition of who a refugee is, adopting not only grounds for well-founded fears of persecution due to race, religion, nationality, social group, or political opinions, but also including a broader refugee definition based on the Cartagena Declaration, which encompasses severe and widespread violations of human rights.
In this context, the UNHCR Brazil Representative a.i., Federico Martinez, participated in a seminar promoted by the Commission on Human Rights and Minorities of the Chamber of Deputies in Brasília to highlight Law N° 9474 as an essential pillar of Brazil’s humanitarian commitment within the international community. Part of the reflections shared by the Representative in this remarkable commemoration can be read in his article “On the 25th anniversary of the refugee protection law, UNHCR commends Brazil’s solidarity”, in addition to the Podcast “Refúgio em Pauta”, where Sister Rosita Milesi, director of the Migrations and Human Rights Institute (IMDH), Liliana Jubilut, professor of International Law and Human Rights at UniSantos, João Amorim, professor of International Law at UNIFESP, and João Carlos Jarochinski, professor of International Relations at UFRR, debated about the subject.