Agreement between the Ministry of the Interior and UNHCR

The Official State Gazette (BOE) today publishes the International administrative agreement between the Ministry of the Interior and the Office in Spain of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), held in Madrid on 22-25 September 2023, of which we highlight:

First.

That the Ministry of the Interior is responsible for the asylum, refuge, stateless persons and protection of displaced persons, in particular the investigation, processing and resolution of international protection procedures leading to the recognition of refugee status under the terms laid down in Law 12/2009 of 30 October 2009 on the right to asylum and subsidiary protection and in the Geneva Convention relating to the Status of Refugees, done at Geneva on 28 July 1951, and the Protocol thereto, signed in New York on 31 January 1967, which it carries out through the Directorate-General for Internal Policy, to which the Subdirectorate-General for International Protection/Office of Asylum and Refuge depends, as laid down in Royal Decree 734/2020 of 4 August 2020 laying down the basic organisational structure of the Ministry of the Interior.

Second.

That UNHCR is a specialized agency of the United Nations, established by General Assembly resolution 428 (V) of 14 December 1950, whose functions include promoting agreements with Governments for the implementation of measures to improve the situation of refugees;. All this in accordance with the 1951 Geneva Convention and its 1967 New York Protocol relating to the Status of Refugees, both ratified by Spain by means of an instrument of 22 July 1978 (Official State Gazette of 21 October 1978).

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Fourth.

That the cited Law 12/2009 of 30 October 2009 gives UNHCR an important role in the procedure for the recognition of international protection. UNHCR involvement is one of the guarantees of the Spanish asylum system. In particular, Chapter IV of the Law called Intervention of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), where it is planned to intervene in the procedure.

Consequently, under the aforementioned Framework Cooperation Agreement between Spain and the UNHCR, it is agreed to sign this International Administrative Agreement, which will be governed by the following

CLAUSES

First. Object.

Without prejudice to the general framework for action established for UNHCR by Law 12/2009 of 30 October 2009 on the right to asylum and subsidiary protection, the purpose of this International Administrative Agreement is to ensure, through cooperation between the two institutions, the participation of UNHCR in the procedure for the recognition of international protection as provided for in Chapter IV Intervention of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

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This International Administrative Agreement entered into force on 25 September 2023, the date of the last of its signatures, as set out in its Clause Eight.