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Press Advisory

Spain Assumes Leadership of Platform to Mobilize support for Displaced People in Central America and Mexico

Through this high-level virtual event, the government of Spain will officially take the leadership of the Support Platform for the MIRPS -- the Comprehensive Regional Framework for Protection and Solutions to forced displacement in Central America and Mexico.

The Platform, made up of Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, France, Italy, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the United States and the European Union, will seek to give greater visibility from the international community and the private sector, to the complex situation that has forced hundreds of thousands of people from Central America to flee their homes.

Through the coordination of technical, financial and material support, the Support Platform will mobilize new alliances to seek tangible solutions for displaced people and increase protection activities in the countries that are part of the MIRPS.

The MIRPS, which includes Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico and Panama, was created in 2017, as a pioneering application of the Global Compact on Refugees and brings together humanitarian and development approaches to address the needs of a growing number of Central Americans fleeing violence and persecution.

Under the framework, each country has committed to a national action plans and has established strategic alliances with local governments, multilateral organizations, other countries, civil society and the private sector, to meet the needs of displaced persons and the communities that host them. Through a Pro-tempore Presidency - currently led by El Salvador - and its regional plan, MIRPS seeks to provide solutions and address forced displacement in the region in a cooperative manner.

The MIRPS Technical Secretariat, composed of UNHCR and the OAS is available to States to provide technical and political assistance that enables them to respond effectively to the current challenges regarding forced displacement in the subregion.

CONTEXT: Four Central American countries are among the top 10 countries of origin worldwide of asylum seekers. This includes Honduras (78,100), Guatemala (56,100), El Salvador (54,300) and Nicaragua (52,000). By the end of 2019, around 890,000 people in these countries had sought protection from violence and persecution, including 318,000 internally displaced persons (in Honduras and El Salvador), and 570,000 refugees and asylum seekers (470,000 from northern Central America and 100,000 from Nicaragua).

Costa Rica and Mexico are among the top 10 countries where new asylum claims were made in 2019, with 59,200 and 70,400 respectively. In addition, Panama is among the top ten countries hosting the highest number of displaced people abroad per 1,000 inhabitants.

Globally, the number of uprooted people reached a new record at the end of 2019. With 79.5M refugees, asylum seekers, internally displaced persons, stateless persons and other displaced persons abroad, 1% of the world population has fled their home as a result of persecution, violence or conflict.

For the latest figures on forced displacement in Central America and Mexico, see UNHCR’s data portal.

For UNHCR’s latest report on Global Trends in Forced Displacement, see here.

In Spain, María Jesús Vega, [email protected], +34 670 66 12 63

In Spain, Reyes Fernández, [email protected], + 34 648 73 56 31

In El Salvador, Samali Dinarte, [email protected] +503 7070 1153

In Panama, William Spindler, [email protected], +507 6382-7815

In Panama, Diana Díaz Rodríguez, [email protected] +50766463469

In Mexico, Sibylla Brodzinsky, [email protected], +52 1 55 8048 5054

In Washington, Mónica Reyes, [email protected], +1 202 370 4929

WHAT: High Level Meeting in which Spain will take the leadership of the framework that mobilizes support for displaced people in Central America and Mexico.

Open to the media. Question and answer session at the end.

WHO:

Ms. Arancha González, Minister of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation of Spain.

Ms. Alexandra Hill Tinoco, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Government of El Salvador

Mr Filippo Grandi, UN High Commissioner for Refugees

Mr. Luis Almagro, Secretary General of the Organization of American States.

WHEN: Monday, June 29, 2020 18:30-19:30 CET-Madrid, 12:30-13:30 GMT-4 Washington D.C./New York

WHERE: Access the meeting through this link.  A livestream of the event will also be available at the following links on YouTube and Facebook.

Reference: AVI-085/20