With a view to working towards regional integration for the benefit of the citizens of MERCOSUR, the 23rd Meeting of the Work Group on Consular and Legal Affairs of the MERCOSUR Political Agreement and Consultation Forum was held at the Palacio San Martín. The meeting was attended by delegations from Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana and Peru.
The meeting was chaired by the General Director for Consular Affairs, Héctor María Monacci, exercising the Presidency Pro Tempore of MERCOSUR, who underscored the importance of the Group’s work as to the progress made on new cooperation and integration perspectives from a consular point of view.
The delegations reviewed the issues of the Group’s interest, and underscored the importance of diversifying the consular agenda, paying close attention to issues such as domestic violence among migrants, gender-based violence, prevention of human trafficking, illegal migrant smuggling and assistance to victims. All this requires consular officials to have special training and sensitivity to deal with these cases.
The participants acknowledged that, in a complex global context characterized by natural and man-made disasters, violence, political crises and emergency situations that put our citizens in situations of vulnerability and defencelessness, it is vital to work on the expansion of institutional mechanisms for consular cooperation.
Furthermore, they exchanged good practices of liaison between Foreign Ministries and citizens abroad, underscoring the progress made in their respective domestic legislation on consular administration.
The delegations also agreed to continue working on courses of action that guarantee the protection of and assistance to nationals of the Member and Associate States of Mercosur, and enable the strengthening of cooperation and mutual support on consular affairs.