Argentina - IOM Deputy Director General Laura Thompson is today attending the Cartagena +30 Conference on Refugees in the Brazilian capital, Brasilia. IOM´s Regional Director for South America and the IOM’s Senior Regional Advisor for the Americas are part of the IOM delegation at the two-day event, which began yesterday (1/12).

Cartagena +30 is a ministerial conference convened to review the Cartagena Declaration of 1984, which addressed the legal and humanitarian problems affecting refugees.  This year’s event is hosted by UNHCR, the Government of Brazil and the Norwegian Refugee Council, and includes participants from civil society organizations and academia.

The conference is taking place following a consultative process organized by UNHCR, which analyzed new challenges in the protection of refugees, internally displaced and stateless people in the region. Participants will consider the adoption of a new Declaration and Plan of Action.

In her statement, Ambassador Thompson stressed IOM’s commitment to joining the implementation of the Brazil Plan of Action as defined by member governments, and praised the work thus far in the drafting of the Brazil Declaration: “A Framework of Regional Cooperation and Solidarity to Strengthen the International Protection of Refugees, Internally Displaced and Stateless Persons in Latin America and the Caribbean.”

Noting that IOM’s primary objective is to encourage the humane and orderly management of migration and the effective respect of the human rights of migrants, in conformity with the international law, Thompson listed possible IOM contributions to the implementation of the Cartagena +30 agreements, taking into account its active involvement in many of the issues associated with the Declaration.

“These include the resettlement of refugees, mixed migration flows and migrant groups in vulnerable situations, such as boys, girls and adolescents who are victims of trafficking; and victims of violations of human rights, especially in the context of migrant smuggling, labor, environmental and irregular migrants,” she said.

The Deputy Director General’s intervention also highlighted the need to support States, migrants and communities facing irregular migration challenges and IOM’s role in advocating for the respect of migrants’ rights in an international human rights framework.

IOM’s experience and cooperation, both with the UNHCR and the countries of the region in countless initiatives, showed how joint work is not only necessary, but also desirable, in order to achieve more for migrants, displaced people and refugees in Latin America and the Caribbean, she noted.

For more information, please contact

Magdalena Mactas

IOM Regional Office for South America in Buenos Aires

Tel. +5411-5219-2033/34/35,

Email: mmactas@iom.int