Catalonia wants to be part of decision-making regarding refugees. This is how Pere Aragonès spoke yesterday in Geneva during the meeting organized by the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR). For the president of the Generalitat, this “is one of the great challenges faced by local governments and the governments of stateless nations like Catalonia.”
The head of the Government presented Catalonia as a welcoming land. He gave a recent example: that of Ukrainian refugees who fled the Russian invasion. All of these people, as Aragonès explained, have been guaranteed basic rights such as education, healthcare or social services “from the first moment and free of charge.” These are areas, as the president recalled, that do fall under the jurisdiction of the Generalitat. However, he regretted that an action plan cannot be agreed upon with the State. “Although it is the States that grant refugee status and control the migratory flow, very often it is the sub-state institutions that are responsible for the reception and care of immigrants,” he stressed.
Even so, Aragonès made it clear that in Catalonia new care services for refugees have been added, such as paying special attention to anti-racism or “adopting an essential feminist perspective to prevent the vulnerability of refugees from worsening due to the problems structural structures that exist in our society.
“With the reception of refugees from Ukraine, we implemented specific measures at reception points to prevent the recruitment and trafficking of women, and in parallel we enabled care points, spaces where women could feel comfortable taking care of their children,” said Aragonès.
He wanted to further highlight the Generalitat’s commitment to refugees and recalled that the Government recently granted 700,000 euros to the UN to face the humanitarian emergencies of 2024. Of this amount, 200,000 euros are destined exclusively for Palestine.
The president spoke about the Israeli invasion of Gaza before his appearance at the UNHCR. He again demanded an immediate ceasefire to put an end to “humanitarian barbarism.” At the same time, he stated that the Hamas attack of October 7 “does not entitle” Israel’s response “in the terms in which it is being carried out.” A response that he believes is “absolutely reprehensible.”
