Argentina changes refugee status rules for indicted, convicted

President Javier Milei’s government has modified existing legislation defining refugee status in Argentina so the nation will no longer grant the benefit to foreigners who have been indicted or sentenced in other countries.

According to a decree published on Tuesday, “foreigners will no longer be granted refugee status ... when, before being admitted as refugees in the Argentine Republic, they have been indicted and/or sentenced outside this country for a serious crime.

The rule change applies to the ‘ Ley General de Reconocimiento y Protección al Refugiado’ (“General Refugee Protection and Recognition Law”).

In the law, passed in 2006, the status of refugee was already denied to those who had committed “serious crimes” or had committed “acts contrary to the principles of the United Nations.”

Milei’s decree specifies what those crimes and principles are. Among other things, refugee status will be denied to those who have taken part in “terrorist activities, serious human rights violations or any action compromising international peace and security,” according to a press statement 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 the Brazilian Judiciary requested that Argentina extradite at least 37 people investigated for the assault on the headquarters of public powers in Brasilia in January 2023. 

The Brazilian press estimates that the request will cover a total of 63 people investigated for the uprising that the executive of that country considers 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 sought refuge in Argentina after running a presidential candidate for re-election that year in his country and then resigning amid allegations of fraud by 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