Panama and Costa Rica walk together against human trafficking
Trafficking in persons is a crime that globally affects millions of people and it is important everybody is aware of it. That’s why, for the fifth consecutive year, the Binational Walk against Human Trafficking took place between Costa Rica and Panama. The activity is organized by the Permanent Commission for the Protection and Assistance to Vulnerable Migrants (COPPAMI in Spanish) with support from the International Organization for Migration (IOM) as part of the World Day against Trafficking in Persons which is held every year on July 30.
Panama prepare to assume the Pro-Tempore Chair of the Regional Conference on Migration, with IOM support
On November 29, 2017, Panama will assume the Pro-Tempore Presidency of the Regional Conference on Migration (RCM) with the responsibility of contributing to the UN Global Compact in regards to safe, regular and orderly migration.
Guatemala and Mexico organize cross-border diploma on migration
Migration is a human phenomenon and so goes beyond than just numbers and statistics. To understand the issue, one must study the many faces of mobility and the spaces in which it happens. This imperative underlines this second diploma course on professional training: "Human Rights in the Interactions of Old and New Mobilities".
Documentary Shows Risks of Irregular Migration in Mesoamerica
IOM, The UN Migration Agency has released the documentary, The Fable of the Lion and the Coyote, directed by Costa Rican filmmaker and producer, Miguel Gómez.
OIM launches a new online course on the rights and risk faced by LGBTI migrants
The new course Migration and LGBTI People on the Learning Platform of the International Organization for Migrations will allow officers of governmental institutions and NGOs linked to the topics of migration and human rights that work with lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and intersexual (LGBTI) migrants, to acquire the necessary knowledge related to the rights and risk faced by this population during their migratory journeys.
Information Hubs Expand their Reach to Border Zone Schools and Institutions
There are now 10 information hubs operating in the Mesoamerican region with the support of the IOM, with one opening last month in Chinandega, Nicaragua. The Mesoamerica Program, together with the national and local authorities of each country, has established these posts in the border areas of Panama, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala, Nicaragua and Mexico. They provided personalized information to about 2,000 vulnerable migrants in 2016 alone.
Completion of the 2017 Specialized Course on Migrant Children in the Region
More than 300 government officials (from migration services, institutes for children and adolescents, consulates, the police and elsewhere) and civil society organizations in Mesoamerica successfully completed the Specialized Course on Migrant Children, developed by IOM, between April and June 2017.
Experts in Emergencies are trained on Assistance to Migrants in Crisis Situations
Five national workshops on assisting migrants as part of emergency preparedness, response and recovery systems trained more than 100 officials from state organizations, civil society organizations, local governments and migrant community leaders in Mexico, Nicaragua and Costa Rica.
Panama Bolsters Preparedness for Migration Crisis with the Support of IOM
The Mesoamerican region experienced a migration crisis in 2016 with the arrival of more than 25 thousand migrant people from the Caribbean, Asia and Africa.
In view of that experience, and to strengthen national responses to migratory crises such as this, meetings were held in June and July between Panama’s Ministry of Public Security and IOM. These meetings were conducted under the Mesoamerica Program, with the participation of the Inter-Institutional Technical Committee, with the goal of developing a training manual which sets out a contingency plan and standard operating procedures (SOP) applicable to mixed migratory flows in transit through Panama.
Panama Drafts its National Plan against Human Trafficking
Panama City, Republic of Panama. On the 28th and 29th of June, the National Commission against Human Trafficking held a technical meeting to prepare a National Plan against Human Trafficking for 2017-2022, and to review the Action Protocol for the Unit for the Identification of and Assistance to Victims of Human Trafficking and the Model for the Identification of and Assistance to Victims of Human Trafficking.