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UNHCR helps Nicaragua interview 49 asylum seekers

News Stories, 23 January 2008

The migration centre in Managua where the asylum seekers have been held.

MEXICO CITY, Mexico, January 23 (UNHCR) – UNHCR officials flew to Nicaragua from Mexico this week to help the government interview 49 people, including three unaccompanied minors, who have asked for asylum after recently arriving in the country.

Many of the asylum seekers, originating from Angola, Cuba, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Pakistan, Somalia and South Africa, arrived in Nicaragua by sea. UNHCR officials said it was unusual for such a large group of asylum seekers to arrive in Nicaragua at about the same time.

Many of the new arrivals are believed to have stowed away on ocean-going ships in Africa and were apparently forced off the vessels when they arrived near the coast of Central America.

Initial reports indicate that a number of other stowaways perished during the sea journey. Some of the petitioners are ill and have alleged that they are the victims of torture.

UNHCR officials flew to Nicaragua on Monday and have interviewed the asylum seekers, who are being held at a migration holding centre in the capital, Managua. Arrangements are being made to allow the asylum seekers to leave the centre while their applications are studied.

The group of 49 includes three unaccompanied minors. They are expected to be transferred later this week to a shelter run by a local non-governmental organization.

The arrival of the asylum seekers comes at a time when Nicaragua is close to finalizing national refugee legislation. "Nicaragua has a long tradition of providing international protection to asylum seekers, and has worked very closely with UNHCR over the years," noted Kevin Allen, senior regional protection officer with the refugee agency.

"UNHCR is pleased to provide technical support to the government of Nicaragua during the adjudication of these 49 asylum petitions, and we look forward to working with legislators who aim to pass a refugee law which will further strengthen the asylum system in Nicaragua," Allen added.

The broad migration routes from South America and the Caribbean to North America. Refugees and asylum seekers are found travelling these routes alongside irregular migrants.

Nicaragua is one of several countries that lie on a major migration route from South America to the United States and Canada. UNHCR has noted that increasing numbers of refugees and asylum seekers are included in mixed migration flows.

Those following this south-north migration route include people from Central and South America as well as people from beyond the region – notably Africa and Asia – who arrive in Central America, South America and the Caribbean, sometimes by boat.

The UN refugee agency regularly calls on ship captains to treat stowaways humanely and has also expressed concern that people coming from Africa and Asia are taking such long and dangerous routes to find protection.

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Asylum-Seekers

UNHCR advocates fair and efficient procedures for asylum-seekers

Irregular Migration by Sea: Frequently Asked Questions

Asylum and Migration

All in the same boat: The challenges of mixed migration around the world.

Implementation of the 10-Point Plan in Different Regions

Regional Stakeholder Conferences

Regional Conference on Refugee Protection and International Migration in Central Asia
(Almaty, Kazakhstan, 15-16 March 2011)
Regional Conference on Mixed Movements and Irregular Migration from the East and Horn of Africa and the Great Lakes Region to Southern Africa
(Dar es Salaam, United Republic of Tanzania, 6-7 September 2010)
Regional Conference on Refugee Protection and International Migration in the Americas: Protection Considerations in the Context of Mixed Migration
(San José, Costa Rica, 19-20 November 2009)
Regional Conference on "Refugee Protection and International Migration in the Gulf of Aden"
(Sana'a, Yemen, 19-20 May 2008)
Regional Conference on Refugee Protection and International Migration in West Africa
(Dakar, Senegal, 13-14 November 2008)

Expert Roundtables

10-Point Plan Expert Roundtable No.1: Controlling Borders while Ensuring Protection
(Geneva, Switzerland, 20-21 November 2008)
10-Point Plan Expert Roundtable No.2: Different People, Different Needs
(Tunis, Tunisia, 6-8 July 2009)
10-Point Plan Expert Roundtable No.3: The Return of Non-Refugees and Alternative Migration Options
(Geneva, Switzerland, November 30-December 1, 2009)

Stocking of the 10-Point Plan Project

Achievements, Challenges and Lessons Learned from UNHCR's 10-Point Plan project

Refugee Protection and Mixed Migration: A 10-Point Plan of Action

A UNHCR strategy setting out key areas in which action is required to address the phenomenon of mixed and irregular movements of people. See also: Schematic representation of a profiling and referral mechanism in the context of addressing mixed migratory movements.

International Migration

The link between movements of refugees and broader migration attracts growing attention.

Mixed Migration

Migrants are different from refugees but the two sometimes travel alongside each other.

The makeshift camp at Patras

Thousands of irregular migrants, some of whom are asylum-seekers and refugees, have sought shelter in a squalid, makeshift camp close to the Greek port of Patras since it opened 13 years ago. The camp consisted of shelters constructed from cardboard and wood and housed hundreds of people when it was closed by the Greek government in July 2009. UNHCR had long maintained that it did not provide appropriate accommodation for asylum-seekers and refugees. The agency had been urging the government to find an alternative and put a stronger asylum system in place to provide appropriate asylum reception facilities for the stream of irregular migrants arriving in Greece each year.The government used bulldozers to clear the camp, which was destroyed by a fire shortly afterwards. All the camp residents had earlier been moved and there were no casualties. Photographer Zalmaï, a former refugee from Afghanistan, visited the camp earlier in the year.

The makeshift camp at Patras

Drifting Towards Italy

Every year, Europe's favourite summer playground - the Mediterranean Sea - turns into a graveyard as hundreds of men, women and children drown in a desperate bid to reach European Union (EU) countries.

The Italian island of Lampedusa is just 290 kilometres off the coast of Libya. In 2006, some 18,000 people crossed this perilous stretch of sea - mostly on inflatable dinghies fitted with an outboard engine. Some were seeking employment, others wanted to reunite with family members and still others were fleeing persecution, conflict or indiscriminate violence and had no choice but to leave through irregular routes in their search for safety.

Of those who made it to Lampedusa, some 6,000 claimed asylum. And nearly half of these were recognized as refugees or granted some form of protection by the Italian authorities.

In August 2007, the authorities in Lampedusa opened a new reception centre to ensure that people arriving by boat or rescued at sea are received in a dignified way and are provided with adequate accommodation and medical facilities.

Drifting Towards Italy

New Arrivals in Yemen

During one six-day period at the end of March, more than 1,100 Somalis and Ethiopians arrived on the shores of Yemen after crossing the Gulf of Aden on smuggler's boats from Bosaso, Somalia. At least 28 people died during these recent voyages – from asphyxiation, beating or drowning – and many were badly injured by the smugglers. Others suffered skin problems as a result of prolonged contact with sea water, human waste, diesel oil and other chemicals.

During a recent visit to Yemen, UNHCR Assistant High Commissioner for Protection Erika Feller pledged to further raise the profile of the situation, to appeal for additional funding and international action to help Yemen, and to develop projects that will improve the living conditions and self sufficiency of the refugees in Yemen.

Since January 2006, Yemen has received nearly 30,000 people from Somalia, Ethiopia and other places, while more than 500 people have died during the sea crossing and at least 300 remain missing. UNHCR provides assistance, care and housing to more than 100,000 refugees already in Yemen.