San Jose Declaration on Refugees and
Displaced Persons under
the Auspices of the Costa Rican Government
International Colloquium in Commemoration of
the Tenth Anniversary of The Cartagena
Declaration on Refugees
CO-ORGANIZED BY: UNITED NATIONS HIGH
COMMISSIONER FOR REFUGEES
INTER-AMERICAN INSTITUTE OF HUMAN RIGHTS
San José, 5-7 December 1994
The participants in the Colloquium therefore,
Recommend:
- That the foregoing Conclusions be duly taken
into account in the search for solutions to pending problems related to
refugees, returnees and displaced persons, and in addressing new challenges
currently being faced throughout the continent;
- That the present document be proclaimed as the
San José Declaration on Refugees and Displaced Persons;
- That the working documents, presentations and
reports, as well as the Conclusions and Recommendations adopted and other
documents of the Colloquium, be published, and that the Inter-American
Institute of Human Rights, the United Nations High
Commissioner for
Refugees, academic institutions and non-governmental organizations adopt the
necessary measures for the widest distribution of this publication;
- That UNHCR and the Inter-American Institute of
Human Rights, with the support of other pertinent organizations, be requested
to sponsor a study of the scope of Article 22 (7) of the American Convention on
Human Rights, as it relates the right to asylum, as integrating the right to
seek and be granted asylum (Refugio) on the basis of those causes set forth in
the refugee definition contained in the Cartagena Declaration, and that this
study be subsequently submitted to the consideration of States;
- That the co-organizers be entrusted with
officially forwarding the contents of the present Declaration to the Secretary
General of the United Nations, to the Secretary General of the Organization of
American States and to the Heads of State and Government of the American
Continent, so that they in turn submit them to the competent organs;
- That the participants be requested to forward
the contents of the present Declaration to their respective governments, so as
to contribute to the application of its contents, to its dissemination as well
as to its presentation to the Executive Committee of the UNHCR's Programme;
- That an extension of the mandate of the
Representative of the Secretary General for Internally Displaced Persons be
promoted, and that he considers incorporating the relevant Conclusions of this
Colloquium in the reports he presents to the United Nations Human Rights
Commission and the United Nations General Assembly;
- That the co-organizers and the Government of
Costa Rica, with the support of UNDP, intercede before the World Bank, the
International Monetary Fund and the Inter-American Development Bank, as well as
before bilateral aid agencies, in order for them to include the specific needs
of displaced populations within programmes aimed at the alleviation and
eradication of extreme poverty;
- That the message sent to the Colloquium by the
United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights be acknowledged with thanks,
and that the contents of the present Declaration be forwarded to him.
Finally, the participants in the Colloquium
express their deep appreciation to the United Nations High Commissioner for
Refugees and to the Inter-American Institute of Human Rights and, in addition,
to the Government of Costa Rica for initiating and carrying out this important
event. The participants express their gratitude for the personal interest shown
by the President of Costa Rica, Mr. José María Figueres Olsen,
and took the liberty to ask him, as he deems appropriate, to inform the
participants of the Summit of the Americas, to be held in Miami from 9 to 11
December 1994, about the celebration of this Colloquium.
San José, 7 December 1994
back to top |
