Multi-stakeholder pledges - Regional

Multistakeholder Pledge: MIRPS - Local Governance

Key outcome

Commitments that form part of this multi-stakeholder pledge will support policies, programmes, or other initiatives led by or in coordination with local governments and institutions, which will improve de-facto inclusion of forcibly displaced and stateless persons to essential services, systems and programmes, such as employment and livelihoods, health, education, and other socio-economic services, by removing or mitigating existing legal, bureaucratic and social barriers. Additionally, these initiatives may result in improved coordination at the local level, and information-provision and referral pathways to ensure access to protection and assistance.

Background

The MIRPS is a concrete application of the Global Compact on Refugees in the Americas, which encourages regional cooperation among countries of origin, transit, and destination for greater responsibility sharing in matters of prevention, protection and durable solutions. MIRPS States include Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, and Panama. 

The MIRPS Support Platform was launched in December 2019 on the occasion of the first Global Refugee Forum. It supports the efforts of the MIRPS countries in offering protection and solutions to forced displacement in Central America and Mexico, and serves as a mechanism for greater responsibility sharing, as called for in the Global Compact on Refugees. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the Organization of American States (OAS) jointly form the Secretariat for the MIRPS and the MIRPS Support Platform.

The MIRPS Working Group on Local Governance is led by Panama and includes Municipalities from Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico and Panama. The Working Group provides a platform for local governments to share their experiences, good practices, and knowledge concerning the inclusion of internally displaced persons, asylum-seekers, refugees, returnees, and displaced persons with international protection needs.

Pledge description

In support of the “Multistakeholder Pledge: Call to Action for Refugees and Migrants,” and in the framework of the MIRPS Working Group on Local Governance, the municipalities that form the Group commit to promoting the leadership of local governments and strengthen coordination with relevant institutions to facilitate the integration at the local level of displaced persons, together with their host communities.

Leadership

Developed within the MIRPS Working Group on Local Governance and the Government of Panama as the lead of the Working Group and the 2023 MIRPS Pro-tempore Presidency.