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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.

May 9-10, 2019. Willemstad, Curaçao. The Social Economic Councils of Aruba, Curaçao, and Sint Maarten held a Symposium on Migration and Socioeconomic Development, Challenges, and Policy Options on May 9 and 10, 2019, in Curaçao, in which representatives from the International Organization for Migration (IOM) presented on topics related to maximizing the benefits of migration, formal participation in the workforce, and opportunities for regional cooperation in the Caribbean.

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.   

The human mobility dimension of crises is growing more and more relevant as crisis produce more complex and larger-scale migration flows. However, the response of States and the international community to a migration crisis is often reactive. One of the challenges is to increase the capacities of decision makers to plan and develop contingency plans for large-scale human movements.

The meeting included over 50 participants from Caribbean countries, the European Union, and senior representatives of regional and international organizations to discuss and identify effective ways to combat these phenomena in the Caribbean region, through coordinated regional actions.

The Secretariat against Sexual Violence, Exploitation, and Human Trafficking of Guatemala and the International Organization for Migration (IOM), with support from Lawyers Without Borders, held the first Regional Congress on human trafficking March 5-6 in Guatemala City, addressing the removal and trafficking of human organs and tissues. Experts and prosecutors from Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, the Dominican Republic, Mexico, and Belize participated.

Since 2016, the Regional Migration Program: Mesoamerica- The Caribbean has used “Informarte en Movimiento” [Inform Yourself on the Move], a virtual community on Facebook, as a platform for informing and raising awareness among migrants in the region about the risks of irregular migration (such as human trafficking), regular migration pathways, the integration of migrants, and more.  In order to improve its informational work and the versatility of its brand, the Informarte en Movimiento community will become “Somos Colmena” [We Are a Hive].

Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. The Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Dominican Republic, with support from the International Organization for Migration (IOM), held two meetings with around 30 of the country’s consuls in various cities in Latin America, the Caribbean, and Europe, with the objective of introducing the initial consultation process for the creation of the National Action Plan for Migration - PLANAMI.