High Level Meeting to address forced displacement in Central America

MEDIA ADVISORY: High Level Meeting to address forced displacement in Central America

WHAT:

Third Annual Meeting of the Comprehensive Regional Protection and Solutions Framework (MIRPS) for forced displacement in Central America.

Media are invited to attend the adoption of final declaration and remarks by high-level participants.

Note: The event will be held in Spanish. Simultaneous translation to English available.

WHO:

Ms. Alexandra Hill Tinoco, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Government of El Salvador

Mr. Filippo Grandi, UN High Commissioner for Refugees

Mr. Luis Almagro, Secretary General of the Organization of American States

WHEN: Tuesday 8 December 1600-1630 GMT

WHERE: Access the meeting through this link.   

At the Third Annual Meeting of the MIRPS, six Central American nations and Mexico will review progress and set new priorities to address forced displacement in the region.

The MIRPS, which includes, Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico and Panama, was created in 2017, as a pioneering application of the Global Compact on Refugees and brings together humanitarian and development approaches to address the needs of the hundreds of thousands of Central Americans who have fled violence and persecution.

Under the framework, with the support of the technical secretariat comprised of UNHCR and the OAS, each of these countries has committed to national action plans and have established strategic alliances with local governments, multilateral organizations, other countries, civil society and the private sector, to meet the needs of displaced persons and the communities that host them. Through a rotating presidency - currently held by El Salvador and which will pass to Guatemala for 2021 - MIRPS seeks to provide solutions and address forced displacement in the region in a cooperative manner.

CONTEXT: By end 2020 the number of people forced to flee from and within Central America is expected to reach the grim milestone of one million. This includes more than 800,000 people who have fled brutal gang violence and persecution, and 108,000 fleeing the socio-political crisis in Nicaragua.

Four Central American countries were among the top 10 countries of origin worldwide of asylum seekers in 2019. This includes Honduras (78,100), Guatemala (56,100), El Salvador (54,300) and Nicaragua (52,000). Costa Rica and Mexico are among the top 10 countries where new asylum claims were made in 2019, with 59,200 and 70,400 respectively. In addition, Panama is among the top ten countries hosting the highest number of displaced people abroad per 1,000 inhabitants.

For the latest figures on forced displacement in Central America and Mexico, see UNHCR’s data portal.

CONTACTS:

In El Salvador, Samali Dinarte, [email protected], +503 7070 1153

In El Salvador, Oscar Ramirez, [email protected], +503 2209 3585

In Panama, William Spindler, [email protected], +507 6382 7815

In Panama, Diana Díaz Rodríguez, [email protected], +507 6646 3469

In Mexico, Sibylla Brodzinsky, [email protected], +52 1 55 8048 5054

In Washington, Maria Isabel Rivero, [email protected], +1 202 340 3217