As leaders and civil society representatives from across the Western Hemisphere meet in Los Angeles for the Ninth Summit of the Americas, the International Rescue Committee (IRC) presents a set of recommendations to address the humanitarian crises in Latin America.

According to the IRC, international and regional cooperation and sustained funding are necessary to ensure protection for the more than 7 million refugees under the protection of the UNHCR in Latin America, internally displaced people, Venezuelans displaced abroad, and asylum seekers.

These groups are just a fraction of the people in need of humanitarian assistance in the region, who have been displaced internally or are trying to resettle in communities where asylum and protection systems are overstretched or non-existent.

To promote a comprehensive humanitarian and refugee response, the IRC recommended that donors and host states agree to concrete commitments on financing, as well as responsibility sharing, and a framework for the harmonization of policies.

Also, the IRC recommended that international financial institutions incorporate lessons learned from multilaterally-supported and funded compact initiatives in humanitarian and protection emergencies around the world into the responses in Latin America.

This is important as migration within, through and out of Latin America is highly global in nature and, as such, requires a coordinated global response to meet the needs of people on the move in this region, the IRC Stated. The international community has agreed upon regional initiatives in other contexts, including the Global Compact on Migration and the Global Compact for Refugees, that are directly applicable to the Latin American context.

Meghan Lopez, Regional Vice President for Latin America at the International Rescue Committee (IRC), said migration and displacement from and throughout Latin America is not a new phenomenon.

“Rather, what we are now seeing is that the scale of the humanitarian and displacement crises affecting the region is unprecedented. Despite this history, the current tools are not meeting the magnitude and complexity of the challenge as national systems are overstretched and international funding has not kept pace with the scale of need in the region”.
Meghan Lopez

Underfunded regional humanitarian response plans

Despite soaring needs that Latin Americans face, the seven UNOCHA humanitarian and regional response plans that do exist have been largely underfunded, Meghan Lopez said.

For instance, in 2021, out of the seven Humanitarian and Regional Response Plans, five received less than 50% of the required funding, affecting people in and from Venezuela, Honduras, Haiti and Colombia. On the other hand, Mexico, which received the third highest number of asylum requests of any country globally last year and hosts more than 285,000 people of concern—including refugees, asylum seekers and internally displaced people—does not even have an active HRP.

“The broader international community has largely failed to respond to the crises in Latin America comprehensively and holistically, leaving the responsibility in the hands of host countries. These communities have shouldered the response despite dealing with pre-existing challenges and receiving insufficient support from a small group of donor countries (primarily the U.S.) and institutions.

“In the months following the Summit of the Americas in Los Angeles, we call on world leaders participating in it to work together, develop a harmonized regional response and provide durable solutions to the humanitarian crises that are affecting millions of people in and from Venezuela, Northern Central America, Haiti, or Mexico”.
Meghan Lopez

Diverse factors— from conflict to economic instability, climate change and the effects of COVID-19— continue to be primary driving factors behind the increasing mixed and onward displacement and migration all over Latin America.

The IRC published a policy brief that incorporates context on the funding for the current crises, as well as the role that host countries play, the status of existing tools, and recommendations to foster international and regional cooperation and funding for a comprehensive humanitarian and refugee response.