Emergencies & Humanitarian Action

Currently, more than 5 million Venezuelans have left their country due to the complex socio-political context. Of those, at least 4 million are in Latin American and Caribbean countries, according to data collected from governments by the Regional Interagency Coordination Platform for Refugees and Migrants from Venezuela (R4V).

Panama, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic: these are just some of the countries in the Central America, North America, and Caribbean region where, since the beginning of the pandemic, groups of migrants have been stranded due to mobility restrictions and the closing of borders. These measures, promulgated by national governments with the aim of containing the international spread of the disease, affected both cross-border migrations to a country of destination and those of return to the community of origin, since they were all interrupted or hindered.

This year, the consequences of the hurricane season that is advancing in Central America, North America and in particular in the Caribbean region, are more serious than usual, due to the pre-existing emergency of COVID-19.

According to the World Migration Report, it is estimated that 272 million people are migrants, which is equivalent to 3.5% of the world's population.

Countering episodes of xenophobia against migrants is a major objective, which transcends temporal and geographical limits. According to the ECLAC definition, xenophobia is an atavistic problem that derives from the feeling of fear towards foreigners, different ethnic groups or people whose identity is unknown.

According to IOM, people who move voluntarily within a country are called internal migrants and move for several reasons, both formally and informally. If their movement is forced, they are referred to as internally displaced persons (IDP).

Internal movements from rural areas to urban areas is called urbanization or urban transition.

When a community or country is going through a crisis situation, whether due to political, economic, social or natural factors, antimigrant discourses, discrimination, hostility and abuse of human rights may increase.