Latin American Region, European Union Region · 19 March, 2019

EUROsociAL+ organises a meeting of global development actors in Latin America to find collective responses to migration flows in the region

The event on "human mobility in Latin America" reveals the need to find solutions to keep up with burgeoning intraregional migration

The 2030 Agenda and the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration (Morocco, 2018) highlight the need to work from a multilateral perspective to face the challenges posed by internal and transnational human displacement to ensure the protection of rights, the provision of services and the national and international coexistence framework.

EUROsociAL+ has provide this space for reflection and debate among international cooperation organisations to offer common responses to migration flows in Latin America. FIIAPP director Anna Terrón, stressed the fact that “human mobility is a phenomenon that requires a regional and multilateral approach”, pointing to the “Global Compact for Migration as the compass for national agendas”. Alejandro Guidi, IOM adviser for the Americas agreed, saying: “The Global Compact ensures that migration is governed holistically and comprehensively”.

Aina Calvo, director of the AECID, made an appeal for multilateralism: “The response to migratory challenges is only possible by networking and through coordinated work with Latin America and the international community”.

IDB representative Joaquim Tres, special advisor for the migration initiative. warned that “sudden migration flows are the greatest challenge to development in Latin America and to the international community”. Andrew Jacobs, from the European Commission’s Directorate-General for International Cooperation and Development proposed “comprehensive regional responses to these migrations in Latin America”.

Practical examples of cooperation to address migratory flows were also presented. One example is the Integral Development Programme for Central America-Mexico, presented by Maximiliano Reyes Zúñiga, undersecretary for Latin America and the Caribbean of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Mexico.

The international and multilateral nature of human mobility makes joint management and cooperation between the actors involved in the different processes essential to achieve a high level of effectiveness.

This day of reflection and debate continued in the forum on “Migration and Cities” organised by IDB and the Government of Spain in association with the Multilateral Development Banks’ Platform on Migration and Forced Displacement, where the conclusions of the EUROsociAL+ event were shared with attendees.

EUROsociAL+

Country: Latin American Region, European Union Region
SDG: Reduced inequalities, Peace, justice and strong institutions
Policy area: Democratic governance policies