VZCZCXYZ0000
PP RUEHWEB

DE RUEHBU #1972/01 2761351
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 031351Z OCT 07
FM AMEMBASSY BUENOS AIRES
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 9405
INFO RUEHAC/AMEMBASSY ASUNCION PRIORITY 6614
RUEHBR/AMEMBASSY BRASILIA PRIORITY 6489
RUEHLP/AMEMBASSY LA PAZ OCT 4956
RUEHMN/AMEMBASSY MONTEVIDEO PRIORITY 6817
RUEHSG/AMEMBASSY SANTIAGO PRIORITY 0821
RUEHGV/USMISSION GENEVA PRIORITY 0673

C O N F I D E N T I A L BUENOS AIRES 001972 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
PRM FOR KATHRYN PONGONIS 
WHA/AND FOR SHELBY SMITH-WILSON 
GENEVA FOR KATHERINE PERKINS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/09/2017 
TAGS: PREF AR BR CI UY BL PE
SUBJECT: AMBASSADOR WAYNE'S MEETING WITH UNHCR REGIONAL 
REPRESENTATIVE 
 
REF: 9/12-14/07 GOMEZ-PONGONIS E-MAILS 
 
Classified By: AMBASSADOR E. ANTHONY WAYNE FOR REASONS 
1.4 (B) AND (D) 
 
¶1.  (C)  Summary.  Cristian Koch-Castro, UN High Commissioner 
for Refugees (UNHCR) Regional Representative for Southern 
Latin America, called on the Ambassador to discuss UNHCR's 
activities in Argentina and the region.  Koch-Castro 
explained that UNHCR has made it a priority to strengthen the 
capacity of "emerging resettlement countries" like Argentina 
and others in the region to accept refugees.  He said 
Colombians now represent the single largest group of refugees 
granted asylum in Argentina, and that a small, but growing 
number of Africans from Sierra Leone, Senegal and Eritrea is 
beginning to request refugee status. 
 
¶2.  (C)  Summary Continued:  Koch-Castro noted that the 
Bolivian government has expressed a willingness to resettle 
refugees, and that UNHCR has submitted a proposal to the 
Department's Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration 
(PRM) for a technical assistance program that would develop 
GOB institutional capacity to resettle refugees.  The 
Ambassador offered to look into the status of the proposal, 
and poloff queried the Department via e-mail (ref A) to 
determine the proposal's status.  Per ref A's instructions, 
Poloff informed Koch-Castro on September 28 that PRM funds 
for FY08 have already been allocated, but encouraged UNHCR to 
resubmit the proposal through formal channels for 
consideration in FY09.  Koch-Castro expressed appreciation 
for the information and said that he would pass this 
information on to UNHCR headquarters.  End Summary. 
 
--------------------------------------------- ----- 
UNHCR: Cultivating Emerging Resettlement Countries 
--------------------------------------------- ----- 
 
¶3.  (C)  On September 12, Ambassador Wayne met with UNHCR 
Regional Representative for Southern Latin America Cristian 
Koch-Castro to discuss UNHCR's activities in Argentina and 
the region.  Koch-Castro began by thanking the USG for its 
financial support of UNHCR programs.  He noted that 
traditional refugee resettlement countries like the United 
States, while generously accepting tens of thousands of 
refugees each year, can not take in all of the world's 
refugees.  As a result, UNHCR has made it a priority to 
cultivate "emerging resettlement countries", like Argentina, 
Brazil, Chile, Uruguay, Paraguay, and Bolivia.  Since the 
1990s, Argentina, Brazil and Chile have increased their 
efforts to resettle refugees, Koch-Castro explained, adding 
that he hopes that Argentina will accept 200 refugees for 
resettlement by the end of 2007.  The Ambassador noted recent 
press articles announcing Brazil's and Chile's decision to 
each accept 100 Palestinian refugees.  Koch-Castro said that 
the decision is a welcome development which will push the 
number of refugees accepted by Brazil and Chile to 300 by 
year's end. 
 
--------------------------------------------- ----------- 
Colombian refugees are the largest group in Argentina... 
--------------------------------------------- ----------- 
 
¶4.  (C)  The Ambassador asked which nationality represented 
the largest group of refugees in Argentina.  Koch-Castro said 
Colombians now represent the single largest group of refugees 
granted asylum in Argentina due to a four-decades-long 
internal armed conflict in Colombia.  He noted that in the 
early 2000s, Peruvians and Bolivians represented the largest 
groups of people requesting asylum in Argentina, but that 
there has been a steep drop-off in the number of applications 
from these countries now that Argentina has implemented its 
national plan to regularize the status of undocumented 
immigrants.  As a result, Peruvians and Bolivians are now 
able to receive temporary residence in the country by virtue 
of their nationality, he explained. 
 
--------------------------------------------- --- 
...but the number of African refugees is growing 
--------------------------------------------- --- 
 
¶5.  (C)  Africans are requesting refugee status in Argentina 
in small but growing numbers.  The asylum seekers are from 
Sierra Leone, Senegal and Eritrea, Koch-Castro continued. 
While some have legitimate claims to political asylum, others 
are more likely to have been smuggled into the country. 
Koch-Castro recounted that he recently received news from his 
ex-chauffeur in Eritrea alerting him to the detention of the 
chauffeur's daughter and husband in an Argentine prison close 
to the Bolivian border.  Koch-Castro traveled to the prison 
and successfully secured their release after interviewing the 
Eritreans.  The couple managed to escape Eritrea and entered 
Argentina via Khartoum, Cuba, and Bolivia, using a fake South 
African passport.  UNHCR is currently in the process of 
developing an assistance program for African refugee 
applicants; however, given Argentina's largely homogenous 
population of European descendents, insertion and adaptation 
to this new environment will likely prove difficult, he 
indicated. 
 
--------------------------------------------- ------ 
UNHCR Building Regional Capacity to Accept Refugees 
--------------------------------------------- ------ 
 
¶6.  (C)  UNHCR has also been actively working with the 
National Refugee Committees in the region to help build the 
institutional capacity necessary to process asylum requests 
efficiently, Koch-Castro stated.  UNHCR worked very closely 
with the GOA to pass legislation in November 2006 which made 
it easier for federal authorities to grant asylum or refugee 
status and for national, provincial, and municipal 
authorities to begin including refugees in their assistance 
programs.  As a result of these efforts, UNHCR recently 
designated the Argentine cities Buenos Aires, Mendoza, and 
Rosario as "refugee-friendly", Koch-Castro stated. 
 
--------------------------------------------- 
UNHCR Requests Status of Proposal Sent to PRM 
--------------------------------------------- 
 
¶7.  (C)  When asked about other activities in the region, 
Koch-Castro said UNHCR is also working closely with the 
governments of Paraguay, Uruguay, and Bolivia to develop 
their institutional capacity to accept refugees.  Uruguay and 
Paraguay have committed to accepting a small number of 
refugees this year, he indicated, and the Bolivian government 
has demonstrated a willingness to resettle refugees.  To 
capitalize on the GOB's interest, Koch-Castro relayed that 
UNHCR had submitted a proposal via the U.S. Mission in Geneva 
to the Department's Bureau of Population, Refugees, and 
Migration (PRM) requesting funding for a technical assistance 
program focused on developing GOB institutional capacity to 
resettle refugees.  When asked whether the Embassy could 
query the Department to determine the proposal's status, the 
Ambassador agreed to look into the matter. 
 
--------------------------------------------- ----------- 
Post Informs UNHCR that FY08 Funds are already allocated and 
Encourages FY09 Application 
--------------------------------------------- ----------- 
 
¶8.  (C)  Post relayed Koch-Castro's request to the Department 
(ref A).  Per ref instructions, Poloff informed Koch-Castro 
on September 28 that the U.S. Mission in Geneva received the 
proposal informally, but never formally through UNHCR's Donor 
Relations Office in Geneva.  She also informed Koch-Castro 
that PRM funds for FY08 have already been allocated, but 
encouraged UNHCR to resubmit the proposal through formal 
channels for consideration in FY09.  Koch-Castro expressed 
appreciation for the information and stated that he would 
pass this information on to UNHCR headquarters. 
 
WAYNE