Under Pressure Brazil Replaces Word Refugee with Resident in National ID Card for Immigrants

Haitian refugee in BrazilThe Brazilian government has heeded the pleas of the refugee population in Brazil and removed the word “refugee” from the national identification cards of these foreigners. The term was replaced with “resident” and the document will also inform that they are authorized to work for wages in the country, according to information released on the United Nations Brazil website.

The refugees who own the old IDs may request the updated version, according to the Brazilian Federal Police, for which they are required to pay R$ 305.03 (US$ 140.79), the same amount as charged for the first copy of the document.

The change is being implemented by the Federal Police Department in partnership with the National Committee for Refugees (Conare), linked to the Ministry of Justice.

The removal of the word “refugee” from the document has always been requested by foreigners living in Brazil. According to them, the word was inaccurately interpreted, making it difficult for them to join the labor market and integrate socially and economically in the country.

As a result, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (Unhcr) submitted a request for the change to the federal government.

“This modification in refugees’ IDs is an achievement that will benefit the entire refugee population, because the very word still leads to dubious interpretations, from both the legal and semantic perspectives. We can consider this a historical achievement, and we hope it will facilitate the socioeconomic integration of refugees in Brazil,” said the Unhcr representative in the country, Andrés Ramirez.

There are approximately 4,400 foreigners living as refugees in Brazil. Refugee arrivals are increasing. Between 2010 and 2012, for instance, the number of refuge requests has tripled.

There were 566 requests placed in 2010, and 2,008 requests in 2012. So far this year, 3,500 requests have been placed, according to an estimate from the Ministry of Justice.

Anba

Tags:

You May Also Like

Will Brazilians Elect a Pro-Bolivarian Former Terrorist as President?

Bearing in mind that the dominant species of our planet consists of blemished human ...

Role Reversal: David (Goldman) versus Goliath (Brazil)

I doubt there is anyone, American or Brazilian, who isn’t relieved to see the ...

Lula on the cover of Veja magazine

Faced with the Options Brazilians Only Have a Choice: to Vote Blank

Earlier this month, Brazil’s ex-President Fernando Henrique Cardoso, leader of the PSDB (Party of ...

Brazil’s Lula Can’t Be Like All the Others

Brazilian President Lula da Silva should stop repeating partial projects and embody an alternative ...

Brazil and Sudan Sign Crops for Oil Deal

The Ministers of Foreign Relations of Brazil and Sudan signed, yesterday, a technical cooperation ...

Brazil’s Lula in Rare Victory Makes the Speaker of the House

The victory by the government’s candidate for the presidency of the Chamber of Deputies, ...

Morocco Wants Deeper Relationship with Brazil

“Our intention should not be to simply buy or sell, but to establish trustful ...

Ex-Im Bank Guarantees Loans to US Firms Selling to Brazil’s Petrobras

The Export-Import Bank of the United States (Ex-Im Bank) has approved a US$ 39 ...

Cars Lead Brazil’s 8.3% Annual Growth

The Brazilian industrial production increased 8.3% in 2004 in comparison to 2003. This was ...

New Auction for Brazil’s Varig Only Next Week If Airline Can Survive That Long

Around 200 foreign airlines are accepting tickets for flights on Varig, which also resumed ...