The president’s government Javier Miley changed the law on refugee status in Argentina and from now on, it will not grant this benefit to foreigners reported or convicted in their countries, according to a decree released this Tuesday 22.
“Foreign people will not be recognized as refugees (…) when, before being admitted as refugees in the Argentine Republic, they have been denounced and/or convicted outside the country of a serious crime”, states the text, which amends the Law General Recognition and Protection of Refugees.
On the other hand, in the 2006 law, refugee status was already denied to those who had committed “serious crimes” or “acts contrary to the principles of the United Nations”, while Milei’s decree details what these crimes and principles are about.
Among other things, refuge will be denied to anyone who has participated in “terrorist activities, serious human rights violations or any action that compromises international peace and security“, according to a statement shared by the Ministry of Security.
Milei’s decree is released a week after the Federal Supreme Court (STF) asked Argentina to extradition of at least 37 people investigated for the invasion of the headquarters of the Three Powers, in Brasília, in January 8 of 2023.
The request will cover 63 people being investigated for what the Executive considered an attempted “coup d’état” against the recently sworn-in president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
On the other hand, at the beginning of October, the Argentine government had also withdrawn the refugee status of former Bolivian president Evo Morales, which he had enjoyed since December 2019.
Morales had arrived in Argentina after running for president in his country that year and after resigning amid allegations of fraud made by the opposition.
Currently, he is in an open dispute with the Bolivian president, Luis Arce, his ally in the past and today’s opponent for nomination for the current presidential candidacy for the 2025 elections.
In another case that could be influenced by the decree, Argentina declared, last July, the Islamist movement Hamas as a “terrorist organization”.
Argentina is home to the largest Jewish community in Latin America, with around 250,000 members, and was the target of two attacks, against the Israeli embassy, in 1992, and the Associação Mutual Israelita (AMIA), in 1994, which left more than 100 dead.
