Paper short abstract:

Brazilian legislation states that refugees ID card shall not refer to such a person as a refugee, aiming to avoid discrimination. Through the conceptual basis of Bare Life and Biopolitics, the article analyzes the effect of these measures in Refugees' integration in Brazil.

Paper long abstract:

Recent Brazilian legislation states that refugees' official documentation (ID) shall no longer refer that such a person is a refugee. It states that reference is to be made only to Federal Act 9474/97. Such legislation aimed to facilitate Refugees social integration by not making it explicit the refugee status, on the grounds that the lack of knowledge by Brazilian population about the concept of refugees would generate discrimination and could harm the integration process. Initially, this legislation could seem coherent with international refugees law by preventing discrimination. But some might say that avoiding discrimination has more to do with public education than hiding refugees status. The article analyzes whether or not refugees should have the right to be considered as such or their circumstances should be hidden. It reviews the most recent developments in Brazilian Refugee protection, starting on recent implementation of regional committees, such as COMIRAT/RS and statutes. The article also develops a critical analysis of Giorgio Agamben´s concepts of "bare life" and "State of Exception". The article conceives bare life as "specific production of power and not a natural fact", following Agamben´s and Foucault´s ideas, such as biopolitics, which is associated with the modes of government and exercise of power over life and a dimension in which life can be emptied of meaning. Examples of "bare life", in this sense, are human extermination, refugees, victims of ethnic cleansing, victims of human rights violations, in need of humanitarian assistance.