CI Side Event “The forgotten refugees in Latin America”
Venue: Palais des Nations, Room XIX, Geneva
Title/theme: “The forgotten refugees in Latin America”
The side event will look deeper into the current situation of refugees from Colombia and into the need for all actors to strengthen cooperation as set out in the Mexico Plan of Action.
The purpose of the meeting is also to raise awareness on the issue of refugees from Colombia; to present the Caritas and Church activities and engagement in working with the refugee population.
The participants will elaborate recommendations on ways of strengthening cooperation with UNHCR and other actors for better responses and to find ways to better address the humanitarian crisis; to UNHCR; to the High Commissioner Dialogue on persons of concern for UNHCR in urban settings.
The discussion will be on refugees and asylum seekers from Colombia in Latin America, with a focus on refugees in urban settings; the context of the Colombia conflict (the situation in Colombia and the impact of the conflict on other Latin American countries, namely Ecuador, Costa Rica, Panama and Venezuela); the responses by Caritas, the Church, UNHCR and governments in Latin America; and the Mexico Plan of Action.
Interpretation: English -Spanish
Moderator: Martina Liebsch
Introduction: Msgr Héctor Fabio Henao, Director of the National Social Pastoral Secretariat of the Colombian Conference of Catholic Bishops – Caritas Colombia (the context of the Colombia conflict)
Three speakers (7 minutes each):
1) Janete Ferreira
Director of Pastoral Department for Human Mobility, Episcopal Conference of Ecuador and Latin America/Caribbean – Caritas Ecuador and Coordinator of Migration and Trafficking in Human Beings for SELACC (the impact of the conflict in other Latin American countries, in particular Ecuador; Caritas activities to respond to the humanitarian crisis and support to refugees; concern with the implementation of the Mexico Plan of Action)
2) Mérida Morales-O’Donnel
Director of the UNHCR Bureau of Americas (Spectrum UNHCR activities; resettlement and Mexico Plan of Action)
3) Carlos Santos Repetto
Permanent Mission of Ecuador (responses by the governments; examples of cooperation; challenges)
