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COSTA RICA |
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San
José
Site Of Regional Conference On Protection On
Human Rights
A two-day regional conference on refugee
protection and international migration in
the Americas, hosted by the Ministry of
Foreign Affairs, and organized by IOM, UNHCR
and the OAS, with support from the Office of
the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR),
opens on Thursday in San José.
The conference, which will be officially
opened by ministro de Relaciones Exteriores
de Costa Rica (Foreign Minister) Bruno
Stagno and ministra de Seguridad (Security
minister) Janina Del Vecchio, will bring
together some officials from 20 countries as
well as IOM, UNHCR, OAS, OHCHR, national and
international NGOs, civil society and
academia.
Keynote speakers include IOM Deputy Director
General Laura Thompson, and UNHCR Assistant
High Commissioner Erika Feller.
Participants will look at how the free
movement of citizens within the region and a
common approach on migration could provide
tangible responses to the challenges faced
by refugees and migrants.
Regional and international migration flows
within and outside of West African region
will also be discussed with a special
emphasis on finding ways to promote regular
and safe migration flows in order to reduce
irregular migration flows.
The San José conference follows a similar
event organized by IOM and UNHCR last
November in Dakar, Senegal, which looked at
refugee protection and international
migration in West Africa.
Migratory movements in the Americas have
become more complex and mixed in recent
years. People may travel together, use the
same modes of transport, employ the services
of the same smugglers and are exposed to the
same risks and abuses, but their motivations
for moving differ. For some, the reasons may
include protection concerns forcing people
to flee their home countries for their own
security or to protect the integrity and
dignity of themselves and their families.
Global migration movements from, to and
within Latin America and the Caribbean
amounts to some 25 million people, which is
equivalent to more than 13 per cent of the
world's migrants. These movements are mainly
intra-regional, with the United States
hosting the highest number of migrants and
refugees, but also take place to countries
outside the region, mainly to Europe.
The main themes to be discussed include:
- Protecting human rights of people on the
move irrespective of status;
- Identification, profiling and referral
mechanisms;
- Victims of human trafficking;
- Asylum seekers and refugees;
- Unaccompanied minors; and
- Intra-regional cooperation
This conference is funded by the United
States Department of State Bureau for
Population, Refugees and Migration (PRM) and
European Commission.
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