IOM Fosters Cross-Border Network and Strengthens Institutions in the Northern Triangle of Central America

 
6 July, 2018

La Unión, June 26, 2018.- The International Organization for Migration (IOM) of the United Nations System supported the creation of the Network for Guatemala-Honduras Cross-border Cooperation, which will ensure enhanced coordination for migration management at the Integrated Border Post in Corinto.

The act of creation of the Network for Guatemala-Honduras Cross-border Cooperation indicates that the dynamics of human movement in Corinto require improvement in humanitarian assistance, legal services, medical and psychosocial assistance, professionalization of the responsible personnel, and the production of statistical data that support decision-making by the authorities of both countries.

For that reason, the participating institutions created a Technical Committee and developed an annual work plan which will consider activities like documentation efforts for Honduran citizens residing in communities on the Guatemalan border, creating an inter-institutional coordination protocol between countries and databases, and training public servants, among others.

This was achieved during the final cross-border meeting, recently organized by the IOM and the Departmental Panel on Migration of Izabal, which reviewed progress in the area of migration, available international tools, and the state of human rights of migrant groups, who are particularly vulnerable.

Meanwhile, the space called The Network for the Protection of Vulnerable Migrants in the Southern Region of Honduras and the Department of La Unión, El Salvador was the platform where 32 institutions from both countries met to establish mechanisms to prevent and combat human trafficking.  One of the most significant actions taken was the approval of a flowchart protocol for recording possible cases, both local and binational. Additionally, the participants evaluated and mapped the situation in the El Amatillo border area.

These meetings contribute to the fulfillment of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), especially SDG 8, which seeks to end modern forms of slavery and human trafficking, and SDG 17, which aims to establish effective partnerships with concrete objectives in developing countries, with the goal of supporting national plans for the realization of all the SDG through south-south cooperation.

These activities occurred as part of the IOM's Mesoamerica Program, financed by the Office of Population, Refugees, and Migration of the Department of State of the United States of America.

For more information, please contact IOM Honduras: Ismael Crosspiece - icruceta@iom.int;  IOM Guatemala: Melissa Vega - mevega@iom.int; or IOM El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras, Alba Amaya - aamaya@iom.int