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| 05BRASILIA1396 | |
| BRAZIL DECLINES GUANTANAMO MIGRANTS | |
| Tue May 24 00:00:00 +0200 2005 | |
| CONFIDENTIAL | |
| Embassy Brasilia | |
| This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.C O N F I D E N T I A L BRASILIA 001396 | |
| SIPDIS | |
| E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/24/2015 | |
| TAGS: PREF SMIG BR US | |
| SUBJECT: BRAZIL DECLINES GUANTANAMO MIGRANTS | |
| REF: A. 04 STATE 305348 | |
| ¶B. 04 STATE 139422 | |
| ¶C. 04 BRASILIA 633 | |
| ¶D. STATE 86436 | |
| Classified By: POLOFF BISOLA OJIKUTU FOR REASONS 1.4 B AND D | |
| ¶1. (U) On May 20, PolOff delivered reftel and talking points | |
| to Brazil's Ministry of External Relations (MRE) | |
| International Organizations Division (DOI) and the Human | |
| Rights Divisions (DDH). PolOff also delivered reftel talking | |
| points to UNHCR representative in Brasilia Luis Varese. | |
| PolOff's requests for a meeting with the Brazilian National | |
| Committee for Refugees (CONARE) were refused because CONARE's | |
| position has not changed since reftels A through D. | |
| ¶2. (C) Officials from DDH, DOI, and UNHCR confirmed that the | |
| GOB's position regarding this issue has not changed since | |
| 2003 and will likely not change in the foreseeable future. | |
| The GOB still contends that it cannot accept Guantanamo | |
| migrants because it is illegal to designate someone not on | |
| Brazilian soil a refugee. Despite multiple requests, PolOff | |
| did not receive a response regarding the USG's offer to pay | |
| for transportation for GOB resettlement officials to travel | |
| to Guantanamo. (Comment: Based upon Brazilian legislation | |
| and CONARE's strong stance against the USG's proposal, PolOff | |
| does not believe that the GOB will accept this arrangement. | |
| End Comment) | |
| ¶3. (C) DDH Office Director Marcia Ramos told PolOff that the | |
| GOB's close relationship with the Cuban government would make | |
| it impossible for the GOB to accept Cuban refugees. When | |
| PolOff asked if the GOB would consider accepting Haitian | |
| migrants only, Ramos said that due to Brazilian legislation, | |
| the GOB could not accept any migrants from Guantanamo Bay. | |
| ¶4. (C) UNHCR representative Luis Varese was more forthcoming | |
| in providing concrete answers to explain the GOB's position. | |
| (Note: Varese is a CONARE member and has one vote on the | |
| board. End note.) Varese told PolOff that refugee status in | |
| Brazil is usually granted after the refugee has been | |
| recognized by the host country (in this case, the U.S.). | |
| According to Varese, the GOB and CONARE believe that the | |
| migrants at Guantanamo Bay do not fit into this category | |
| because the USG has not "formally recognized" them as | |
| refugees. If they were formally recognized, CONARE believes, | |
| the USG would allow them to resettle in the U.S. so | |
| resettlement would not be an issue. Varese told PolOff that | |
| the "formal recognition" issue caused the GOB to reject the | |
| USG's proposal in 2003. He also told PolOff that CONARE's | |
| position would "probably not change" in the future. | |
| Comment | |
| ------- | |
| ¶5. (C) All attempts to discuss this issue with GOB and CONARE | |
| officials were flatly refused or accepted begrudgingly. In | |
| addition, this issue has been raised on numerous occasions | |
| and at a variety of levels, including U/S Grossman, since | |
| ¶2003. Given Brazilian legislation and Varese's comments, it | |
| does not appear that CONARE or the GOB will change their | |
| position on this issue. | |
| DANILOVICH |