Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Trade; immigration
The Ministry of Refugees took advantage of the opportunities offered by the spirit of cooperation and cooperation with international organizations and bilateral relations in strengthening its technical capacity in the areas of Refugee Determination (RSD) and Country of Origin Information (COI) systems. support.
RSD is a legal and administrative process by which a government or UNHCR determines whether a person seeking international protection is eligible to be declared a refugee under international, regional, or national law.
The COI is a tool used to assess applications for refugee status or other international protection. The COI supports interview preparation, assists decision-makers in establishing the facts of an asylum claim, and informs an assessment of the applicant’s fear of persecution.
UNHCR Belize provided technical assistance and hosted refresher training courses for members of the Refugee Eligibility Committee on 28 and 29 July 2023. This session reviewed the methods used to move a person from asylum seeker status to recognized refugee status. This session was attended by people involved in all aspects of the refugee status determination process: staff from the Refugee Agency and members of the Refugee Eligibility Committee.
On August 25, 2023, a bilateral COI training session was held in collaboration with the Mexican government’s refugee agency, the Mexicana de Ayuda a Refugiados Commission (COMAR Mexico). This interactive exercise focused on providing up-to-date information on the social, political, and economic situation in Haiti. This exercise, conducted virtually with the valuable support of COMAR, provided Refugee Agency staff and members of the Refugee Status Committee with a much greater understanding and understanding of life in Haiti.
As a follow-up to the previous COI training on Haiti, UNHCR Belize also greatly supported the Refugee Agency by hosting a capacity building session for Haiti that combined both COI and RSD. The meeting was held on October 20, 2023, and once again targeted staff from the Refugee Agency and members of the Refugee Eligibility Committee.
The Refugee Agency requested technical assistance in providing country of origin information training to be used in adjudicating Nicaraguan asylum seekers’ cases. UNHCR Belize generously provided the necessary support in the form of the COI Nicaragua training course held on November 10, 2023.
Through these efforts, Belize continues to align with the MIRPS goals, which include: 1 – Improve reception and admission mechanisms. 2 – Address humanitarian protection needs. 3 – Expanding opportunities for durable solutions. Furthermore, they are consistent with our collective commitment to improve cooperation on international migration, set out in the Global Compact on Migration. The Refugee Agency is grateful for the technical assistance of our international partners and will ensure that we draw on this wealth of knowledge in our various processes.
