Costa Rica – IOM partnered over the month of June with different entities (GIZ, PDD, UNHCR) under the leadership of the Commission of the OECS and CARICOM IMPACS to train border officials of the Eastern Caribbean on different aspects of disaster displacement.

The objective of the training was to assist border officials in improving their response to disaster displacement flows that could happen should persons from one country be forced to move across borders in the event of hurricanes. Delivered virtually over three mornings in June 2020, the training included the participation of 160 representatives from nine Caribbean countries and territories, namely Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, the British Virgin Islands, Dominica, Grenada, Montserrat, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.

According to scientific previsions, due to several climatic factors, the 2020 Atlantic Hurricane Season may witness 13 to 19 named storms, 6 to 10 hurricanes and 3 to 6 major hurricanes. By mid-June 2020, three tropical storms have already been named – Arthur, Bertha and Cristobal – which represents an unusual fast start for strong activity.

These projections draw similarities to the recent 2017 hurricane season, which was the strongest since 2005 with six storms of category 3 and above. Notably hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria broke havoc across the Caribbean, producing over 3 million displacements. This required a coordinated response from Caribbean governments as populations moved both within and outside their countries.

The training was divided in three separate units covering different topics:

• Experiences and practices in disaster displacement in the Caribbean;
• Border management tools and mechanisms;
• Protection needs for disaster displaced persons.

The training was organized as a contribution to the Caribbean Migration Consultations (CMC) Plan of Action on Human Mobility in Contexts of Disasters and Climate Change. While it was initially delivered in the CBSI platform, the plan is to replicate the training modules on IOM’s ECampus system to ensure their availability to a wider audience.

For more information please contact Pablo Escribano: pescribano@iom.int