Closing milestone in the Cartagena Process 2024

Forty years after the adoption of the 1984 Cartagena Declaration on Refugees, OBMICA and other civil society and academic entities in the region celebrate the efforts of States, regional bodies, and civil society organizations committed to comprehensively addressing the situation faced by millions of refugees, internally displaced persons, and stateless people in Latin America and the Caribbean, as reflected in the recently adopted Chile Declaration and the 2024-2034 Plan of Action.

The Cartagena Declaration broadened the concept of who is considered a refugee in Latin America and the Caribbean, extending the definition beyond the situations covered by the 1951 Refugee Convention to also include all people forced to flee because their lives, safety, or freedom are threatened by a context of generalized violence, foreign aggression, internal conflicts, massive human rights violations, or other circumstances that have seriously disturbed public order. The Declaration marked a milestone in the regional tradition of solidarity, asylum, protection of refugees, and cooperation in Latin America and the Caribbean.

In the decades that followed, the bodies of the Inter-American Human Rights System adopted the expanded refugee definition established in the Cartagena Declaration, which has been incorporated into the domestic legislation of 15 countries in the region, supporting and devoting efforts to its effective implementation.

The recently approved Chile Declaration and 2024-2034 Plan of Action recognize the new humanitarian challenges affecting the region and propose effective protection responses and solutions, highlighting the convergence and complementarity between international human rights law, international refugee law, and international humanitarian law.

In this context, it is notable that the 2024 Chile Declaration reaffirms the commitment of Latin America and the Caribbean to guarantee the rights of refugees, internally displaced persons, and stateless people. Among the advances highlighted in the new Chile Declaration are integration programs, inclusive public policies, and anti-statelessness measures, as well as the need to address the structural causes of forced displacement and the effects of climate change.

In this regard, the Chile Declaration underscores the importance of the meaningful participation of refugees, internally displaced persons, and stateless people, including provisions on specific protection needs based on age, gender, and diversity, and collaboration with international actors, the private sector, academia, and civil society to implement the Chile Plan of Action 2024-2034.

It is worth mentioning that the position paper by civil society organizations, prepared jointly by the secretariats of the different platforms that participated in the C+40 process, Red Clamor, Jesuit Network with Migrants, LAC RMD Coalition, GAR PAB, and FASIC representing Chilean civil society organizations, was read during the intervention that took place at the ministerial event on December 12. We recognize that the adoption of a comprehensive approach must strengthen protection mechanisms in countries of origin, transit, destination, and return, and address the broad spectrum of rights of people throughout their entire journey, requiring a joint effort from all countries in the region. To that end, the principles and commitments of the Cartagena Declaration are more relevant today than ever. Finally, we value the transfer from CEJIL to Alberto Hurtado University of coordination of Red ANA, the Americas Network on Nationality and Statelessness, which was made visible in Santiago de Chile in December 2024.