The majority of asylum seekers in Spain during 2023 came from five Latin American countries, among which Cuba is in fifth place, according to the report presented by the Spanish Commission for Refugee Assistance (CEAR).
In an analysis by nationality, the first three countries of origin of asylum seekers were Venezuela, Colombia and Peru, which account for 78.7% of the total registered applications.
In the case of Cuba, which is preceded by Honduras, CEAR counted 3,082 formalized applications in 2023, which compared to the 1,392 submitted a year earlier reflects a “notable increase” of 54%.
Analizamos la situación de las personas refugiadas en España y Europa, en un año de graves conflictos y emergencias humanitarias que incrementaron aún más las necesidades de protección.
⭕️Acompáñanos en directo en la presentación del #InformeCEAR: https://t.co/r7kkRqnhxd
— CEAR (@CEARefugio) June 17, 2024
Thus the island went from tenth to fifth place in this report, which is “a reflection of the political and humanitarian crisis that this country is going through,” the document noted.
The report is based on data from the Spanish Ministry of the Interior, which concludes that compared to the European average, Spain is very restrictive when granting asylum and asks the government to relax the requirements.
According to CEAR, Spain was the third country in the European Union that received the most asylum requests in 2023 (163,220), only surpassed by Germany (351,510) and France (166,880).
It is also the nation that granted the least international protection to these people, with 12% of applications accepted (the European average reaches 42%).
Applications increased by 37.3% last year, reaching the highest figure in history in Spain.
CEAR warns of a 56% increase in applications in 2023 pending resolution, with 191,095 people left waiting for “a decision on which their lives depend.”
Of the top ten countries of origin of asylum seekers in Spain in 2023, seven were from Latin America.
2023 began with great challenges in terms of migration and asylum, the report pointed out, recalling that conflicts such as those in Ukraine, Syria, and other forgotten ones such as those in the Democratic Republic of the Congo or Sudan, “have forced the flight of millions of people. in search of safety and protection.”
“This global exodus has been aggravated by human rights violations, the impact of climate change and environmental degradation, the economic crisis or food shortages, among other threats that especially affect women and children,” it pointed out.
With information from EFE and CEAR.
