Requests for refuge in Brazil up 2,868% in five years

A report released today (May 10) by the National Committee for Refugees (CONARE) from the Ministry of Justice reports that in the last five years the number of asylum-seekers in Brazil rose from 966 cases in 2010 to 28,670 in 2015, up 2,868%. The country has already resettled 8,863 refugees of 79 nationalities.

According to the ministry, over 80,000 applications for asylum have been filed in Brazil. The absolute majority (64,941) of applications is made by men, equivalent to 80.8% of the total. The age groups who most sought refuge in the country are those who are economically active. There were 40,369 requests (48.7% of the total) from people ranging from 18 to 29 years; and 39,081 requests from people ranging from 30 to 59 years (47.1% of the total). Asylum-seekers are mainly from Haiti, Senegal, Syria, Bangladesh and Nigeria.

From 2010 to 2016, the total of refugees resettled in Brazil increased 127%. Justice Minister Eugênio Aragão said that if Brazil wants to become one of the world's protagonists on the refugees issue, it needs to develop initiatives to receive more refugees. "We expect to reinforce [this tendency] as a state policy, opening Brazil to the world's refugees. We expect it to move forward. If Brazil wants to become protagonist of strategic issues, it needs to fully contribute to the fight against this problem. For that reason, in the midst of the worst humanitarian crisis of the past few years, we have adopted this stance on showing our willingness to receive refugees," added the minister.

According to the report, Syrian refugees were the most resettled in Brazil, totaling 2,298 resettled refugees. Angolan refugees rank second, totaling 1,420 applications granted, followed by Colombian (1,100), Congolese (968), and Palestinian (376) refugees. Syria reached the first place in this ranking due to the war that made nearly 5 million people in the country seek refuge in other regions of the world.

Translated by Amarílis Anchieta