Costa Rica

In following with the Regional Conference on Migration (RCM) and the Central American Policy for Comprehensive Disaster Risk Reduction (PCGIR), authorities representing said conference and other international organizations participated last August 26th on a regional workshop: “The key role of information coordination and management for tending to migrants in disaster situations”. The activity was designed to strengthen the inclusion and attention to migrants in such cases.

Municipal migration information hubs, located in over 20 Mesoamerican communities with a migrant presence, operate in coordination with IOM as spaces that facilitate migrants’ direct access to information on migration procedures and migration related issues.

In this context, Costa Rica opened the first Transactional Hub in the region, thanks to collaboration between the Migrant Information Hub in Upala and the General Directorate of Migration  (DGME).

IOM’s migration learning platform, E-Campus, has released a new English-language course addressing the fundamentals of trafficking in persons. The 3-hour course, “Trafficking in Persons: protection and assistance to victims”, provides a certification for English-speaking users.  

"Talawa" is the name of a Costa Rican reggae band made up of six musicians, who in 2016 were deceived by a "coyote" who promised them money, fame, and success in the United States. 

Marcelo Pisani (left), IOM’s regional director for Central America, North America and the Caribbean, and Santiago Rivas (right), Secretary Executive of FOPREL, during the signing of the agreement. Co-signs as honor witness Carlos Ricardo Benavides, current president of the Legislative Assembly of the Republic of Costa Rica.

Mexico City. Representatives of the Regional Conference on Migration (RCM), composed of the governments of Belize, Canada, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama and the United States of America, met on 4 and 5 June for a follow-up workshop to the 2019-2025 Work Plan on  Migrant Smuggling, prepared jointly and approved by vice ministers in 2018.   

At the LIII Ordinary Meeting of Heads of State of the Central American Integration System (SICA), held on 4 and 5 June in Guatemala, the General Secretariat of SICA presented the executive summary of a regional study on the causes and consequences of migration, developed by IOM with the support of UNHCR. 

Creativity and participatory work are the primary focuses in the communication for development (C4D) processes being implemented in Tapachula, México, Salcajá, Guatemala, San Pedro Sula, Honduras, and Ahuachapán, El Salvador as part of the joint efforts of IOM, local governments, and various actors to improve communities’ access to information about safe migration and local alternatives to irregular migration.

A series of video testimonials will allow you to hear the stories of people who participated in migrant caravans and voluntarily decided, for various reasons, to return to their countries of origin. In October 2018, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) created a special temporary program to assist the voluntary return of migrants stranded in Mexico or Guatemala who lack the necessary resources to return to their homes.