Migrations Programme - [07/04/2008]

Agni Castro-Pita: “The situation of refugees around the world is a dramatic one”

On 19 June, and on the occasion of the commemoration of World Refugee Day, the Catalan Committee of UNHCR, the ACSAR Foundation and the CIDOB Foundation organised a round table discussion that featured participation from representatives of the main Catalan political groups: Pablo Aguiar (ICV), Dolors Montserrat (PPC), Àngel Miret (CDC), Lídia Santos (PSC) and Joan Tardà (ERC). In their addresses, the MPs gave their views on refugees in a globalised world such as the present one, and presented their ideas – from a political standpoint − on how best to combat the situation in which refugees find themselves.

The round table was chaired by Mr Agni Castro-Pita, the UNHCR representative in Spain, and who sent out a call for help for the millions of refugees all around the world who are enduring situations of extreme instability, in terms of both legality and their everyday survival. Furthermore, he called for greater collaboration with UNHCR, the United Nations organisation dedicated to protecting refugees.

One essential point that was touched on during the discussion was the fragile borderline that distinguishes a refugee from an immigrant and which has led to a tightening of channels offering access for the former group to the systems of asylum and protection in many European countries.