Address by Minister Mauro Vieira at the annual briefing of the UN Security Council High Commissioner for Refugees

Distinguished Colleagues,

I thank the UN High Commissioner Filippo Grandi for his presentation. Brazil is pleased to host this annual briefing under its presidency. It provides an opportunity to receive updated information on the situation of displaced people around the different regions of the world. It also allows us to reflect on the drivers of displacement, among which conflict features in a tragic prominent role.

According to the last UNHCR’s Global Trends Report, 108.4 million people worldwide were displaced by the end of 2022. The figure is likely to have exceeded 114 million by the end of September and will likely continue to grow as the conflict in Gaza unfolds.

Displaced people have had their lives ruptured for various reasons, such as persecution, conflict, violence, human rights violations, and events seriously disturbing public order.

As we meet today to discuss displaced people, we cannot turn a blind eye to the fact that, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, 1.4 million of Gazans who had to flee their houses due to the ongoing conflict since October 7th. Also according to the United Nations, almost 700 thousand people are in 150 UNRWA facilities, over 200 thousand in hospitals, schools, churches, and other public buildings.

Low and middle income countries have generously kept their borders open and host around 90% of displaced people. Their efforts must be met with sustained and predictable support from the international community, based on shared responsibilities and due consideration for the fundamental role played by host countries.

Forcibly displaced people should not be treated as a threat to international peace and security. Rather, they are the ones paying a high price for geopolitical rivalries and for the inability of the international community, especially the Security Council, to ensure peace.

States must ensure that border governance measures are in accordance with international humanitarian law, international refugee law, and human rights law. These include, inter alia, the prohibition of collective expulsions; the principle of equality and non-discrimination; the principle of non-refoulement; the right to seek asylum; the right to life; the prohibition of torture and other cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment; the promotion of gender equality; and the rights and best interests of the child.

Distinguished Colleagues,

Brazil refugee protection system is based on the respect of human dignity and the primacy of human rights. In the spirit of the 1984 Cartagena Declaration, we adopted legislation that applies an extended refugee definition in relation to the 1951 Convention, and allows broad and generous protection for asylum seekers.

Brazil has been granting humanitarian visas to people affected by the crises in Afghanistan, Syria, Haiti, and Ukraine. This policy provides regular and safe access to our territory.

We have set up "Operation Welcome" to receive and integrate Venezuelans who have arrived in our territory through the northern border since 2017.

Many of them have already returned, but those who decided to stay in Brazil have full access to all public services, including education, healthcare and social benefits, on an equal footing with our nationals. Under the "Interiorization Strategy" of the operation, around 115 thousand people have had the opportunity to opt for relocation to almost one thousand different cities in Brazil.

Distinguished Colleagues,

The Global Compact for Refugees testifies to the fact that there is no sustainable solution for refugees without international cooperation. It provides an inclusive and manifold framework for our collective action.

The Second Global Forum on Refugees, to be held in Geneva next December, will hopefully raise awareness and encourage ambitious commitments commensurate with the challenge presented by the record levels of displacement we are witnessing.

The Global Forum will be an opportunity to assess the situation of displacement worldwide and the most immediate and dramatic situation in Gaza.

It will also be an opportunity for the world leadership to reiterate the need to revoke measures related to any forced movement of civilian population or individual civilians that are not fully consistent with international law, including international humanitarian law and human rights law.

Brazil commends the UNHCR hard work and encourages an active engagement of the international community, at the highest possible level, the civil society, and the academia, in light of the necessity to alleviate the suffering of those in most need.

Thank you.