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• Assistant Secretary, Mr. Eric Schwartz, from the U.S. State Department's Bureau for Population, Refugees, and Migration (BPRM) visited Ecuador from 26
to 28 of February . He met UNHCR staff in Quito and in Lago Agrio to discuss UNHCR´s operations in the country. He also met with refugee families and local
leaders in Lago Agrio's disadvantaged San Valentín neighborhood. These visits and briefings highlighted UNHCR´s programs in Ecuador and the magnitude
of the refugee caseload and the challenges posed to the government's limited resources and reduced UNHCR´s budget. He expressed BPRM's commitment
to continue supporting refugee operations in the region, stating that his visit would help design such support "in a smarter way".
• UNHCR Tulcán met with representatives of the Human Rights department of the Catholic University of Ibarra in order to discuss possible solutions for
children of refugees who can not be registered in the Civil Registry. They offered to follow up the cases and to initiate protection actions with the Civil
Judge in Carchi.
• In Cuenca, the shelter for victims of GBV, Casa Maria Amor, finished a project funded by UNHCR, to strengthen the Municipal shelter for refugee families.
It led a participatory process to establish standard procedures for people staying in the shelter, for staff and organizations that work with the shelter. The
process has taken several months and enabled Casa Maria Amor to share the good practices.
• In Esmeraldas, the youth organization "Parada la J" recently inaugurated recreational courses for children, women and adolescents in order to promote
safe environments. FOES will support these activities in order to strengthen the integration of young refugees and to extend UNHCR’s presence in urban
areas.
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UNHCR Ecuador Newsletter The largest Refugee operation in Latin America
Year II. Issue No. 6
From left to right:) the Brazilian Ambassador in Ecuador, Fernando Simas; Luis Varese, UNHCR Deputy Representative
in Ecuador; Jofre Poma, mayor of the Lago Agrio Municipality and Jeanethe Encarnación, on behalf of the Refugee
Directorate of the Ecuadorian Foreign Affairs Ministry, in Lago Agrio, cutting the ribbon to inaugurate a new classroom
in "16 de Febrero" primary school, in La Pista, a densely populated neighbourhood of Lago Agrio.
S. Aguilar/UNHCR
LAGO AGRIO (Sucumbíos), Ecuador, February 2011 (UNHCR) – When the lightning struck, the ambassador had already moved on. The bolt hit the power
cables right at the school door and the music ground to a halt. Fernando Simas, Brazilian Ambassador to Ecuador, had just gone into the sports hall of “16
de Febrero” primary school in Lago Agrio and, like the rest of those attending the event, jumped at the deafening thunder clap in the midst of the
torrential downpour.
However, neither the water nor the sudden silence could quell the exuberance at the opening of the new classroom, decked with the Brazilian flag
colours. “There are many refugee children at this school. It is sad to see how families come, leaving everything behind and bringing their children. But here
in Ecuador we still have a peaceful life and all the children are welcome. So we are very glad today because, with this new classroom, as professionals in
education, we will be able to give our best to the children, their parents and the community,” vouches Casalongo, Vice-Head of the school.
On an intensive two-day tour of the Amazon province of Sucumbíos, bordering with Colombia, where there are roughly 15,000 refugees, the Brazilian
Ambassador Fernando Simas could see at first hand the fruit of the cooperation agreement signed by Brazil and Ecuador to support the integration of this
population group. This pioneering initiative in the region has been materialized through various projects implemented by UNHCR for the benefit of the
refugee population and the Ecuadorians who receive them in their neighbourhoods and communities.
“These are flagship projects, the first made by Brazilian cooperation in such remote communities, which benefit both Ecuadorian families and those of
Colombian refugees living in this country. This support is given in recognition of Ecuador’s commitment to receive these displaced people coming from
Colombia”, says Ambassador Simas.
Directed at supporting primary education, protecting women victims of domestic violence or improving infrastructure for water and sanitation, the
Brazilian funding in Sucumbíos has also meant that El Aeropuerto neighbourhood now has public bathrooms. And a playground for children has been
rehabilitated, as Leonardo Maldonado, president of the neighbourhood, acknowledges, “benefiting all of us who live in the area”.
Ambassador Simas’ itinerary in Lago Agrio also included the Games Room of the Sucumbíos Women’s Federation, a play area for the sons and daughters
of women victims of violence. This first UNHCR field mission with the Brazilian delegation reached the 80 families distant community of El Palmar on the
banks of the Putumayo River, where 60% of the population are refugees.
“So far some of the school children haven’t had a classroom of their own; they were in a little hut. This new room means they can be educated in dignified
conditions,” explains the head mistress of “La Paz” Primary School.
As Luis Varese, UNHCR Deputy Representative remarks, “It is unprecedented that a supportive country such as Brazil, in the same continent, helped us
seek solutions for a situation with tragic humanitarian fall-out in the region. This is the first primary school to be opened by UNHCR with Brazilian funds in
Latin America within a South-South cooperation framework".
To which Ambassador Simas himself adds: “Within the concept of regional integration, it is very important for these bonds of cooperation among our
nations to take root and for us to make contributions that bring home the message that continental solidarity is indeed possible”.
“La Paz” primary school, attended by 91 children, now has a new classroom. And its toilets have been greatly improved. It is a step in the right direction,
even though, in this part of the Ecuador communities bordering Colombia, there is still no safe drinking water or sewage system. And despite the name of
the school, peace can by no means be taken for granted. Sonia Aguilar in El Palmar and Lago Agrio
March 2011
Brazil supports the integration of refugees in northern
Ecuador
Relevant Events
For more info please contact
Daniel Criado Cortázar [email protected] // Andrea Durango [email protected]
Population of Concern
Total
as at December 2010 Type of Population
Total
UNHCR-assisted
Recognized Refugees 53,342 53,342
UNHCR Ecuador Total Needs 2011
Year 2011
Total Needs (USD) 21,795,273 USD
• UNHCR Presence: Branch Office (Quito), Sub-Office (Lago Agrio), Field
Offices (Esmeraldas, Ibarra, Tulcan and Quito) and presence in Santo
Domingo and Cuenca. UNHCR activities are carried out by 85 staff
members (70 nationals and 15 internationals).
• Main Government Counterparts: Directorate for Refugees (GR) –
Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Integration
• UNHCR’s Implementing Partners: Ecuadorian Red Cross, Federación de
Artesanos Recolectores de Productos Bioacuaticos del Manglar
(FEDARPOM), Fondo Ecuatoriano Populorum Progressio, (FEPP)
Fundación Ambiente y Sociedad, (FAS) Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society
(HIAS), Jesuit Refugee Service (SJRM), Consejo Gubernativo de Bienes
Diocesanos de la Diócesis de Tulcán, Unidad de Cooperación para el
desarrollo de los pueblos (UCODEP), Comité Pro Refugiados, Federación
de Mujeres de Sucumbíos, Fundación Solidaridad Humana.
For more info please contact
Daniel Criado Cortázar [email protected] // Andrea Durango [email protected]
• In Lago Agrio, the Director of Directorate for Refugees highlighted the need for accelerated individual case processing, and advocated a series of
measures aimed to prevent abuses of the system, such as more effective revocation, cancellation and cessation procedures, the newly-instated admission
procedure, as well as additional regularization options for migrants not in need of international protection currently examined by the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs. He made these statements during a meeting with various local authorities, UNHCR and implementing partners.
• Junta de Andalucía pledged for a 900,000 EUR contribution towards 2011 UNCHR operation in Ecuador. The southern Spanish province of Andalucia
pledges for its second time for UNHCR Ecuador, giving sustainability and increasing their contribution by 200,000 EUR in comparison with 2010. The
objective of the contribution is to strengthen the international protection regime, provide humanitarian assistance and improve the reception conditions
for refugees and asylum seekers in Ecuador.
• In the framework of the “Living Together in Solidarity Campaign”, UNHCR organized in Quito a meeting with all Public Information Officers from UN
agencies in order to coordinate the 2011 activities concerning this campaign. Additionally, it was agreed to meet with the communications persons from
some governmental entities in order to coordinate activities for the International Year of Afro descendants.
• Several international journalists visited the border provinces. A BBC reporter working on rural refugees in Ecuador joined SOLA in a mission to border
communities. The expected communication materials (video and article) will be published in the coming weeks. A Norwegian reporter of the Afterposten
(biggest diary in Norway) joined SOLA in another mission to three border communities and also met refugee families living in urban neighbourhoods.
UNHCR Ecuador Newsletter The largest Refugee operation in Latin America
Year II. Issue No. 6
Relevant Events
March 2011
Special attention
to CHILDREN and
ADOLESCENTS
Fighting GENDER
violence
Focusing on
DIVERSITY – Indigenous
Communities and Afro-population
1. ENHANCING THE QUALITY OF THE ASYLUM PROCEDURE IN ECUADOR
2. SEARCH FOR DURABLE SOLUTIONS EFFECTIVE ACCESS TO RIGHTS
3. INITIAL HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE –
BASIC NEEDS
4. CAMPAING AGAINST XENOPHOBIA AND DISCRIMINATION
• Improving access to documentation to refugees and asylum
seekers.
• Guarantee access of refugees and asylum seekers to RSD
procedure (Refugee Status Determination)
• Focusing all efforts on local integration activities
• Enhancing the resettlement programme, in particular
Solidarity resettlement South-South.
• Voluntary repatriation
• Introduction of a voucher system which allows refugees the
access to basic products.
• Strengthening UNHCR protection networks.
• Strengthening links with local media, information platforms
and journalists.
• Consolidating the campaign against xenophobia and
discrimination launched by the civil society, Government and
UNHCR.
UNHCR Ecuador – Main Fields of
Action 2011