Each year this day arrives, we find fewer reasons to celebrate. World Refugee Day has become a euphemism\u2014not because fewer people are forced to flee, but because fewer and fewer are being recognized as refugees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
While the drivers of forced displacement continue to rise\u2014conflict, widespread violence, social and economic instability, and the impacts of climate change\u2014the legal instruments created to protect these people are being questioned, weakened, or simply ignored. By the end of 2024, the number of forcibly displaced people reached 123.2 million, a 6% increase from 2023. However, only 42.7 million were recognized as refugees. In Latin America and the Caribbean, the past year has seen an increase in asylum applications from countries like Colombia and Venezuela, but also from Haiti, Mexico, and Honduras<\/a>, along with a rise in internally displaced persons in Ecuador and Haiti.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Worse still, eroding these legal frameworks seems to pay off electorally. The idea of a strong nation-state has resurfaced with force, as a desperate\u2014and profoundly ineffective\u2014response to phenomena that are transnational by nature. Those of us who work in the field of displacement and refuge know that solutions are not unilateral. They require agreements and multilateral efforts, such as the Global Compact on Refugees<\/a>, the Quito Process, and the Comprehensive Regional Framework for Protection and Durable Solutions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Fortunately, Latin America and the Caribbean have a pioneering instrument: the Cartagena Declaration<\/a>, which 40 years ago expanded the definition of \u201crefugee\u201d to include people affected by widespread violence, foreign aggression, internal conflict, massive human rights violations, and other circumstances that seriously disturb public order. This allowed states to protect a larger number of displaced persons in the region. Though not legally binding, it is in effect in 14 countries. In December of last year, Chile adopted the 2024\u20132034 Action Plan, incorporating key issues such as disaster-related displacement and the impacts of climate change. A monitoring mechanism will soon be launched thanks to the joint efforts of civil society.<\/p>\n\n\n\n