Regional Migration Program: Mesoamerica - The Caribbean begins its tenth phase
San José, Costa Rica. The Regional Migration Program: Mesoamerica-The Caribbean held its annual regional planning meeting on October 21-25. Participants in the meeting included the Program's regional and national teams, Chiefs of Mission of IOM, Donor Representatives, and representatives of the Governments of the countries that make up the Program: Panama, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala, Belize, Mexico, the Dominican Republic, Haiti, and other Caribbean states.
“We are very excited to begin the tenth phase of the Program, which will continue to work in coordination with the governments of the region and other partners to improve migration management practices, support the development and implementation of migration laws and policies and engage with communities to consider alternatives to irregular migration” explained Alexandra Bonnie, IOM Regional Coordinator of the Program.
During the meeting, the main regional and national results of the ninth phase of the Program were presented, participants exchanged best practices, and joint planning sessions were held with government representatives regarding actions to be taken during the tenth phase. Additionally, representatives participated from the Technical Secretariat of the Regional Conference on Migration (RCM) and from the International Labor Organization.
The activities of the Regional Program will be focused around 4 strategic pillars: migration management, dialogue & partnerships, migration emergencies and crises, and communication for development.
Marco Antonio Fraire, Director for the Southern Border and Regional Migration in Mexico, emphasized that, “IOM is a strategic partner for Mexico on migration issues, it supports us and enables us to strengthen the national policies we are implementing and to participate actively in the exchange of best practices and in the analysis of the structural causes of migration.”
“All regional spaces are very important because we can see the best practices of other countries in migration management, and can form strategic bilateral alliances,” commented Marcela Carranza, Human Rights and Migrant Assistance Manager of the National Migration Institute of Honduras.
The efforts of the Regional Migration Program: Mesoamerica-The Caribbean are possible thanks to financing from the Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration (PRM) of the Department of State of the United States.
If you would like to learn more about the pillars of work of the program, you can check out the Program information sheet or go to programamesoamerica.iom.int/en