Canada will strengthen access to information on regular migration in Central America

 
Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama
29 April, 2019

 

The communication pillar of the Regional Migration Program (Mesoamerica Program) of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) will be enhanced by contributions from the Ministry of Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship of Canada. The objective of the collaboration is to expand the information people in northern Central American countries receive about regular migration pathways and the risks of irregular migration. 

The partnership between IOM and the Government of Canada for this program will begin this April and continue until March 2020. Specifically, it will contribute to the following three activities:  

1- Educational Toolkit on Migration: The contribution of the Government of Canada will help schools and communities in Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras to build capacities to undertake initiatives and campaigns on regular, safe migration using the resources stored in IOM’s Educational Toolkit on Migration.  

2- Migration Information Hubs: The municipal staff responsible for migrant information hubs will receive training modules on the different options for regular migration to Canada. This will improve the access of potential migrants to accurate and trustworthy information, thus combatting the fraudulent practices, deception, and abuses these people may suffer. 

3- MigApp: For those who use their phones to look for information, IOM has developed MigApp, an app designed to offer information about migration options to migrants. IOM will use Canada's contribution to incorporate information about the different Canadian migration programs to which Central Americans can apply.   

“It is essential for people to have accurate, up-to-date, and trustworthy information about the options they have for migrating regularly. This support is extremely important for making people aware of the ways to migrate to Canada regularly; having this information is vital for combatting crimes such as human trafficking and labor exploitation,” explained Marcelo Pisani, Regional Director of IOM.  

For more information, contact Alexandra Bonnie at abonnie@iom.int.