Fund of the Comprehensive Regional Protection and Solutions Framework (MIRPS Fund)

Data

Status

Active

Start

2020

Implementation

Social Networks

@OAS_Inclusion

The MIRPS Fund is the specific Fund for voluntary contributions of the Comprehensive Regional Protection and Solutions Framework to Forced Displacement in Central America and Mexico and is one of the key mechanisms for obtaining resources and coordinating the support required by the MIRPS States in complement to the existing mechanisms to address the displacement crisis in the subregion.

The MIRPS Fund will support the priorities, areas and sectors that the 7 MIRPS States have defined at the national and regional level. It can also finance activities related to the operation of the MIRPS, in particular activities of the MIRPS Technical Secretariat.

These priorities, areas and sectors are based on 4 objectives: (i) Reception and admission; (ii) Immediate and persistent needs; (iii) Support for host States and communities; and (iv) Expansion of opportunities for durable solutions.

According to the mandate of the Permanent Council (CP/RES. 1154 (2286/20), endorsed at the level of the 2020 OAS General Assembly, the Department of Social Inclusion (DSI) of the OAS is in charge of administration, financial management and accountability of the MIRPS Fund. Also, the DSI provides support and technical assistance to ensure the achievement of the expected results of the projects financed by the MIRPS Fund.

The MIRPS Fund was made available for the first time at the First Solidarity Event that took place in 2021. At the end of that year, the Government of Spain announced a pioneering contribution to the MIRPS Fund, being a milestone at the regional level in terms of solidarity and shared responsibility to support the responses of MIRPS countries in providing protection and solutions to the situation of displaced people and host communities.

In 2022, the Fund operational framework was launched with the participation of the MIRPS States themselves and was opened the first call for project proposals to respond to the commitments and actions within the National Action Plans. Six MIRPS countries submitted project proposals to be financed by the MIRPS Fund.

The High Level Selection Committee (CSAN) of the MIRPS Fund was established with the objective of reviewing and analyzing the project proposals, approving the six proposals received, which now constitute the first portfolio of projects of the Fund and that will be executed during 2023 and 2024 in the following themes:

Provide humanitarian assistance to refugees, asylum seekers, internally displaced persons and returnees with protection needs;
Strengthen the response capacity of the MIRPS States, through the modernization of processes and the strengthening of human resources capacities, to provide faster attention to people in vulnerable situations;
Facilitate the issuance of documentation that allows refugees, asylum seekers, internally displaced persons and returnees with protection needs, access to state services and the subsequent regularization of their immigration status;
Provide durable solutions to families in vulnerable situations that allow their sustainable and safe integration into the communities of origin or host and the enjoyment of their rights, with initiatives such as a) access to livelihoods, through the contribution of seed capital; and b) the streamlining of work permit procedures;

Guarantee care, protection and comprehensive restitution of rights to returned children and adolescents and their families.

The projects also include a transversal perspective of rights and inclusion.

Objectives

Support the governments of the MIRPS States in the formulation and implementation of projects aimed at:
Protect and improve the living conditions of displaced persons and the communities that host them.
Address the needs of refugees, asylum seekers, internally displaced persons and returnees with protection needs in the region.
Support the priorities, areas and sectors that the 7 MIRPS States have defined at the national and regional level.
Provide technical assistance and support to the executing entities of the projects financed by the MIRPS Fund in order to guarantee the expected results.
Manage funding to respond from a shared responsibility approach to the challenges posed by forced displacement in the region.

Under the MIRPS Fund, the following Projects are developed:

Activities

Accompanying to the MIRPS States , through its executing entities, in the implementation of the first portfolio of projects made up of six initiatives that will cover:
the strengthening of institutional capacities for better care of displaced and returned people with needs of protection;
expanding access to humanitarian assistance for populations that urgently need these elements, and
providing livelihoods and self-sufficiency for these populations; among others.
Raising awareness among the international community about the challenges faced by the region in terms of forced displacement in a transversal manner in all the activities of the first portfolio projects.
Mobilization and channeling of resources to finance new initiatives.
Establishment of strategic alliances to enhance the impact of the projects and initiatives of the MIRPS Fund.
Strengthening the capacities of the executing entities through workshops and coaching sessions organized, coordinated and taught by the Department of Social Inclusion on topics related to the project cycle, visibility, communications with a focus on human rights and inclusion, among others.
Technical support from the Department of Social Inclusion throughout the process of formulation, implementation and closure of projects through joint work sessions.

Beneficiary Countries