Attachments
Regional Context
In June, countries under the UNHCR Multi-Country Office in Panama received considerable attention at the political and international levels.
Aruba, Curaçao, and St. Maarten do not allow same-sex marriage in their territories and the State Secretary for Kingdom Relations of the Netherlands clarified that due to the island’s autonomy, the Netherlands has no authority to intercede on this point. The European Court of Human Rights has ruled that parties to the European Convention on Human Rights that do not allow same-sex marriage must offer an alternative.
Trinidad and Tobago’s Permanent Representative to the UN was elected president of the seventy-eighth Session of the UN General Assembly (UNGA). This marks the first time a nominee from this country has been elected for this position. Following World Refugee Day (WRD), the Minister of National Security stated that the 2014 national refugee policy needs review. It is difficult to give a specific timeframe for when it will be implemented though.
At a WRD press conference, authorities stated that Belize has 220 recognized refugees, 18 are waiting on the decision of their claim, and most of the asylum-seekers in the country applied to the amnesty exercise. Recently, the Senate approved BZ$69 million for a supplementary budget, including BZ$500,000 for the amnesty’s verification phase.
During the Summit for a New Global Financing Pact, the Cuban President highlighted that the country has been facing an economic blockade for over 60 years and he advocated for an inclusive international cooperation mechanism with market access for the Caribbean and South American countries.
The Organization of American States (OAS) approved a resolution urging Nicaragua to cease human rights violations and respect the rule of law and freedom of expression. The OAS’s Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) requested to extend protection for political prisoners and granted precautionary measures in favour of some indigenous groups.
Suriname's Permanent Representative to the UN was elected as one of the Vice Presidents of the Seventy-Eighth Session of the UNGA. After thirteen years of applying, a Suriname representative has been elected to this position for the first time. Suriname was also elected as a member of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) for 2024-2026.
Guyana was elected as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council for 2024-2025 with 191 votes. The World Bank predicts that Guyana’s Gross Domestic Product will increase by 25.2 per cent in 2023, making it the only country in the region that might register a double-digit growth. During WRD, the Minister of Parliamentary Affairs and Governance stated that Guyana is committed to providing security and safeguarding the rights of displaced populations.
Panama’s Permanent Representative to the UN met with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and the Regional Group of Latin America and Caribbean Countries (GRULAC). Panama, as the Pro-Tempore chair of the Regional Integrated Framework for Protection and Solutions (MIRPS), held this meeting to discuss the dynamics of human mobility in the region. The High Commissioner thanked Panama for its good work in assisting people with international protection needs.