President Javier Milei’s government has amended the law on the status of refugees in Argentina, henceforth not conceding that benefit to foreigners indicted or convicted in other countries.
According to a decree published on Tuesday, “refugee status of foreigners will not be recognised ... when, prior to being admitted as refugees into the Argentine Republic, they have been indicted and/or convicted outside this country for a serious crime."
The rule change applies to the ‘ Ley General de Reconocimiento y Protección al Refugiado’ (“General Law for the Recognition and Protection of Refugees”).
This law had already denied refugee status to those who had committed "serious crimes" or "actions contrary to the principles of the United Nations" while Milei’s decree details these crimes and principles.
Among other things, refugee status will be denied to those who have participated in "terrorist activities, grave violations of human rights or any action compromising international peace and security," according to a communiqué shared by the Security Ministry.
For example, in July, Argentina declared the Islamist movement Hamas to be a "terrorist organisation," following in the footsteps of the United States and several other nations.
Argentina has the largest Jewish community in Latin America, with some 250,000 people, and suffered two attacks, on the Israeli Embassy in 1992 and on the Asociación Mutual Israelita (AMIA) in 1994, which left more than 100 people dead.
The change to the law removes the possibility for any Hamas operatives to seek refugee status in Argentina.
Milei’s measure comes a week after Brazilian courts asked Argentina for the extradition of at least 37 people being investigated for the assault on the main public buildings in Brasília early in 2023.
The Brazilian press estimates that request will extend to 63 people being investigated for what that country’s government considers to be an attempted "coup d’état" against President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
At the beginning of October, Argentina’s government had also revoked the refugee status of former Bolivian President Evo Morales, which he had enjoyed since December 2019.
Morales had arrived in Argentina after running for re-election that year and later resigning amid denunciations of fraud on the part of the opposition.
Morales is currently engaged in a thorny open dispute with Bolivian President Luis Arce, a former ally and now adversary in the fight for the ruling party's presidential candidacy in 2025.
– TIMES/AFP
