Original: Spanish CHAPTER TWO The International Protection of Refugees and Asylum‐Seekers The subregional consultations analysed achievements since the adoption of the 2004 Mexico Plan of Action to Strengthen the International Protection of Refugees in Latin America (“Mexico Plan of Action”). They recognized that most of the countries have incorporated in their legislation high international protection standards and have established refugee status determination bodies and procedures within a solid legal framework relating to refugees. The consultations underlined the importance of further developing the legal and institutional frameworks in order to consolidate high‐ quality international protection systems in the course of the next decade. The Caribbean, in general, has subscribed the international refugee instruments. The current priorities in the subregion are the establishment or strengthening of refugee status determination procedures, the enactment of legislation and the adoption of specific policies in this area. Mention was also made of: the progressive development of normative and institutional frameworks in this area; enshrining the right to asylum in national constitution; the adoption of legislation incorporating high protection standards based on international refugee law and human rights law; the strengthening of national bodies for refugee status determination; the mainstreaming of a differentiated approach to gender, age and diversity; and greater involvement of asylum authorities in the adoption of public policies on refugees. The consultations also acknowledged the situation in border zones, as complex areas, sometimes with limited socio‐economic conditions or insufficient presence of State social institutions. The Mexico Plan of Action designed a series of measures to address the specific conditions in these areas through the “Borders of Solidarity” programme. During the subregional consultations it was noted that additional efforts were needed to strengthen border and transit areas through actions aimed at the timely identification of asylum‐seekers and other persons in need of protection, respect for the principle of non‐refoulement, their timely attention through immediate referral to national protection institutions and the fulfilment of their differentiated protection needs. The consultations also recommended that practical methods should be developed and implemented to strike a balance between States’ legitimate security concerns and a rights‐based approach. The “Quality Asylum” Programme In the framework of renewed regional cooperation and coordination, and in order to progressively achieve harmonized asylum systems at regional level, the “Quality Asylum” programme, facilitated by UNHCR in the region, aims to improve the quality of status determination procedures, strengthen the capacity and knowledge of asylum authorities and introduce efficient management concepts and procedures. The programme is a useful tool, which is available to States. Should they decide to take part in the programme, a joint evaluation and assessment diagnostic of the asylum system of the country will be carried out to establish needs and specific priorities. Depending on the findings, the programme will include all or some of the following actions: (a) Establish a permanent internal mechanism to audit the functioning of the asylum system and improvement in quality, to detect gaps in the legal framework and in refugee status determination procedures, from the filing of an asylum claim to its final resolution. (b) Adopt or amend internal regulations to incorporate high standards of protection under international refugee law and human rights law, and to include provisions on specific protection needs based on age, gender and diversity. (c) Continue making progress in applying the regional extended refugee definition recommended in the Cartagena Declaration and its incorporation in the national legislation of the countries in the region. 9