San Salvador - In order to discuss the cross-cutting role of communication in migration processes and generate recommendations for communication on human mobility, more than 70 officials from the governments that make up the Regional Conference on Migration (RCM), and representatives of civil society, academia and international organizations, met for the First Forum on Communication and Migration. The event took place in San Salvador on August 24, 2022.  

The central topic of the Forum was to address the strategic and cross-cutting role that communication processes should have for the fulfillment of the Global Compact on Migration, especially in its objectives 3, 16 and 17.Among the topics discussed were the facilitation of information on migration procedures and the role of communication efforts in the integration of migrants and the prevention of xenophobia, misinformation, irregular migration and human trafficking, among others. 

Direct testimonies from migrants and communities served as input for the discussion: "The first time I tried, I didn't look for anything and paid a coyote", "we were asking about the route to a cousin who went up last year", "they tell you different things in each office and you have to take forms from different web pages, it is very complicated". These are some excerpts from testimonies of migrants and civil society that exemplify some of the challenges faced in accessing information on migration. 
 
"There are such large and diverse migration flows in the region and, at the same time, so many scattered or unreliable sources of information, that reliable, clear and context-specific information becomes an indispensable protection tool for comprehensive migration management," said Michele Klein-Solomon, IOM Regional Director for Central America, North America and the Caribbean, in her opening remarks.  

"The Pro Tempore Presidency of the RCM recognizes that communication on human mobility is a challenge, but also a great opportunity. This First Regional Forum on Communication and Migration represents an innovative space that generates a precedent at a global level, so we hope it will be the first step to build a joint path on the subject," said Cindy Mariella Portal, Vice Minister of Diaspora and Human Mobility of El Salvador. 

The conclusions of the event stressed the need to structure efforts to guarantee the right of people to access information on migration which implies identifying the most effective ways for information to reach all people in a timely manner (considering needs, contexts, all diversities and vulnerabilities) and facilitating a two-way process that allows for consultation, clarification, expansion and discussion, and promoting participation and empowerment. To guide this process, work will be done to finalize a guide of regional recommendations on communication that systematizes the lessons learned and experiences presented at the Forum.  The guide will serve to build communication processes that are both respectful of human rights and effective in their mission to assist migrants.

This event was led by the Pro-Tempore Presidency of the RCM, exercised this year by the government of El Salvador, with the support of the IOM Western Hemisphere Program funded by the U.S. Department of State Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration.

For more information contact Tatiana Chacón (tchacon@iom.int).