Brazil Prosecutor-General rejects shutting of borders with Venezuela

The Office of Brazil’s Prosecutor-General has spoken out against the request filed by the state government of Roraima, north Brazil, to temporarily close the country’s borders with Venezuela.

The request to shut the borders or limit the number of refugees entering Brazil contravenes international commitments in human rights agreements signed by Brazil, the document signed by Deputy Prosecutor-General Luciano Mariz Maia reads.

The motion asking for the temporary closure of national borders between Brazil and Venezuela was submitted to the Supreme Court by Roraima’s state government on April 13. The document argues that federal authorities have been neglectful regarding the alarming inflow of immigrants from the neighboring country. The request also urges the federal government to implement istrative measures for the state’s police control, health care, and sanitation, transferring extra funds to cover the spending with the Venezuelans and limit the number of refugees coming into the country.

Despite acknowledging the significant increase in the number of Venezuelan refugees entering Brazil in the last few months, Maia notes that the protection of refugees in Brazil is a responsibility established by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The international treaty stipulates that every one has the right to seek and enjoy asylum in other countries without facing persecution.

Blocking the borders would also violate a number of other international deals signed by Brazil, like the American Human Rights Convention and the Geneva Convention.

“Closing frontiers would be a blatant offense both to the protection of refugees and to Brazil’s migration policy, and would lead to an increase in illegal arrivals and their clandestine permanence, aggravating the social situation in the region,” Maia wrote.

The request is also said to contravene Brazilian laws, like the Migration Law, which ruled that the Brazilian police should be governed by the principle of humanitarian shelter.

On Tuesday (17), Supreme Court Justice Rosa Weber gave the federal government 30 days to make a statement about the request lodged by Roraima Governor Suely Campos, so that the top court may order the temporary shutting of borders with Venezuela.

Justice Weber set the same deadline for the parties to reach a compromise with the help of the Federal istration Conciliation and Arbitration Chamber, an agency controlled by the country’s Attorney-General’s Office.