Brazil and 14 Latin American countries mobilize to withdraw their citizens from Ukraine

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Argentina and Peru are coordinating a Latin American Consular Cooperation Network, which will set up a temporary Consulate on the Polish side of the border with Ukraine to issue passports and provide legal assistance to Latin American citizens.

Through a letter from Colombia to Ukraine, the governments of 15 Latin American and Caribbean countries asked the Ukrainian government to facilitate the withdrawal of their citizens in an “orderly and safe” manner while Argentina and Peru coordinate a consular cooperation network to assist these citizens as they cross the border with Poland.

“Our governments must act to protect the safety and personal integrity of Latin American and Caribbean citizens who are in Ukraine. We, therefore, call on your government to allow our compatriots and their families to leave Ukrainian territory,” says the letter from Colombia’s Vice President and Chancellor, Marta Lucía Ramírez, to Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba.

The request adds that “the exit will be through the precise instructions of the Ukrainian regional, local and migratory authorities located in the border areas, where Latin American citizens arrive to cross to neighboring countries.”

“The understanding and valuable collaboration of your government will help us coordinate an orderly and safe exit of a large number of Latin Americans and Caribbeans who have found in Ukraine welcome and opportunities for themselves and their families,” said the foreign ministers of Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Guatemala, Jamaica, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Dominican Republic, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, and Uruguay.

Brazilian Chancellor Carlos Alberto Franco France and 14 other ministers express their “great solidarity with the people and government of Ukraine.”

“Our governments are permanently following recent events with great concern and trust that very soon dialogue and diplomatic negotiation will make it possible to reach a solution,” trust the 15 countries, which nowhere in the letter mention Russia or the words “invasion,” “attack,” or “war.”

ARGENTINA AND PERU COORDINATE EVACUATION PLAN

On Saturday, February 26, Buenos Aires reported nine Latin American countries are preparing a plan to remove their citizens from Ukraine through a mechanism of “consular cooperation” coordinated by the four Embassies of Latin American countries represented in Ukraine: Brazil, Argentina, Cuba, and Mexico.

“After a technical meeting with the Latin American chancelleries, it was established the joint work of assistance through a mechanism of consular cooperation between Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Peru, Uruguay, Paraguay, Mexico, Colombia, Bolivia, and Ecuador, articulating actions and exchange of information to provide, in the current circumstances, the necessary consular assistance,” the Argentine chancellery said in a statement, stressing that “the implementation of the evacuation plan will be when security conditions are guaranteed on the ground through safe corridors.”

Argentina is preparing to send a humanitarian assistance mission to Ukraine next week to assist in the evacuation of Latin American citizens. The mission will transport volunteers who will issue passports and provide legal assistance in a mobile Consulate to be temporarily set up on the Polish border with Ukraine.

The deployment of this humanitarian aid delegation was discussed on Sunday, February 27, during a meeting between the Argentine Chancellor, Santiago Cafiero, and the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, former Chilean President Michelle Bachelet.

The meeting took place in Geneva, where, on Monday, February 28, begins the 49th Session of the UN Human Rights Council. Argentina chairs this Council and the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC).

CELAC issued a note in which it reports that Argentina and Peru are coordinating the Latin American Consular Cooperation Network to assist citizens of member countries in Ukraine and neighboring countries.

With information from RFI