In addition to the lack of investigation, prosecution and punishment of acts of violence against human rights defenders, which favors their repetition, the absence of policies that act against the factors that generate risk in the exercise of the function of defending human rights has been identified.

The analysis of the risk factors/origin of violence against defenders will make it possible to define precise recommendations and public policy guidelines so that national institutions in charge of their protection and those responsible for designing public policies can prepare and implement risk mitigation plans to improve the protection of defenders and prevent violence. This presupposes that States give the required priority and importance to the prevention of violence, that they accept the recommendations and that they have the will and resources necessary for their implementation. In addition, coordinated actions with the OHCHR, through the joint regional mechanism, will make it possible to advance in the evaluation, granting and implementation of precautionary measures. By improving the tools available, the IACHR will have helped to increase the protection of human rights defenders in the Americas, which is the ultimate goal of the project.Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)

Costa Rica has been for several decades an important receiving country for Nicaraguan migrants. According to the 2011 Census, a total of 287,766 Nicaraguan migrants were residing in this country, representing 6.7% of the population of Costa Rica and 75% of the immigrant population. Most of this population was made up of labor migrants, and those who settled in Costa Rica during the Nicaraguan Revolution. These migratory flows are now being joined by people who have been fleeing Nicaragua as a result of the current political and humanitarian crisis that this country is facing.

In order to respond to these new challenges and support the communities affected by these recent phenomena of human mobility, this project will provide Costa Rica with: 1) Recommendations to national and sub-national authorities on the reception and integration of Nicaraguan migrants and refugees that allow the Costa Rican authorities to address these realities; 2) Knowledge of government officials, including officials of the Ministry of Labor and Social Security, members of the legislative branch, and members of the host communities regarding the reception and integration of migrants and refugees in order to provide better care for these populations; 3) Alternatives of socioeconomic integration to a group of Nicaraguan migrants and refugees and members of the host community. In this way, it will be possible to contribute to improving the care and protection of Nicaraguan migrants and refugees in Costa Rica.

Considering the low levels of innovation and entrepreneurship in LAC and the key factors known to promote innovation-driven sustainable economic growth and entrepreneurial ecosystems, the Project aims to support key stakeholders (decision-makers) from governments, private sector, and academia to: (i) improve knowledge on innovation and entrepreneurship by facilitating access to good practices on dynamic economic sectors of top ecosystems of the Americas; (ii) accelerate collaboration and partnership opportunities by expanding peer networks of leaders advancing innovation and entrepreneurship endeavors; and, iii) create a follow up mechanism to support the implementation of initiatives resulting from the ACE program.

The theory of change of the ACE program emphasizes access to knowledge and best practices, so leaders understand the drivers behind successful examples of public-private collaboration around innovation, entrepreneurship, technology and economic development initiatives, in the Americas and around the world. Leaders and communities from the ACE Community, with the knowledge and network provided by ACE, can become agents of further transformation to produce long-lasting, sustainable results, projects, partnerships and collaboration.

The ACE program will continue to promote access to knowledge, best practices and virtual mechanisms that allow to understand the stories behind successful examples of public-private collaboration around innovation, entrepreneurship, technology and economic development initiatives. The project will support the organization and implementation of ACE activities focused in improving knowledge, sharing innovative models and best practices.  Due to Covid-19, in-person visits and the traditional program could take place at least two the United States and two ACE editions outside the United States in other OAS Member/Observer States between 2020 and 2023.

A follow up mechanism to enhance the results of the ACE program will be developed. For example, to implement technical assistance (virtual and in-person), follow up activities, exchanges, mentoring, soft-landing guidance, R&D projects and other forms of support. This follow up mechanism will allow for better monitoring, reorient activities and efforts, as well as for timely interventions by the ACE Committee and project team to facilitate/accelerate projects, initiatives, collaboration opportunities, partnerships and endeavors which otherwise may fail to materialize. The focus will be on those initiatives that can serve as catalysts for sustainable inclusive economic development. The ACE program will continue to promote the role of women and youth as crucial for advancing inclusive economic development in each ACE.

Each port should have a well-developed emergency operations plan (EOP) to address risks that could jeopardize the port and/or its operations.  The EOP must seek to increase the resilience of the Port and must be well integrated into the broader national emergency operations plan (NEOP). Caribbean EOP’s haven’t been updated for a decade and key port officers must be well acquainted with the latest risk management communication technology systems and protocols available within the sector to handle emergencies, as well as the positive impact on business continuity that its institutional adoption entails. Given the fact that 95% of the exported goods in Latin America and the Caribbean are operated by ports and acknowledging the economic dependence on trade and tourism of these nations, resiliency is vital as it directly correlates with business continuity and economic sustainability in the region. Therefore, it is in the best interests of both governments and the private sector to develop and be able to execute comprehensive, robust and effective plans that, in addition to human life, prioritize business continuity.

This project is expected to improve disaster risk management capabilities, including preparedness, response and recovery in four stages. First, conduct an assessment of specific vulnerabilities that have the potential to threaten or disrupt port and business operations during an event, whether natural or man-made so as to mitigate their impact. Second, based on this review, in collaboration with public and private strategic partners, draft a prototype EOP applicable to Caribbean Ports to address the risks posed by natural and man-made hazards to ports and port businesses. Third, in collaboration with partners, conduct workshops to train stakeholders on the implementation of the EOP (including disaster risk governance, disaster resilience, business continuity and recovery). Lastly, carry out table top exercises and simulations to identify areas of improvement and incorporate them into the draft EOP.

This project is implemented within the framework of the Program for Comprehensive Action in Small Arms and Light Weapons (PACAM), a comprehensive strategy of the DPS/OAS to support the efforts of the Member States of the OAS in controlling small arms and light weapons (SALW) and ammunition, as well as in managing their institutional stockpiles. PACAM is based on the international normative framework, the standards, and the obligations established in the Inter-American Convention against Illicit Manufacturing and Trafficking of Firearms, Ammunition, Explosives and Other Related Materials (CIFTA). Through PACAM, the DPS/OAS has supported Central American countries and Colombia in the destruction of 60,000 weapons and over 1,700 tons of munitions. In addition, 25 Member States have received training, technical assistance, and equipment to improve their marking and recordkeeping capacities.

The project continues with these efforts and it is been implemented since 2019 with the financial support of the European Union. It seeks to strengthen the capacity of OAS Member States to address and reduce the illicit proliferation and trafficking of SALW and conventional munitions in the region. It incorporates lessons learned from the previous phases, including an innovative component to prevent armed violence in affected communities.  

Illicit drug production and narcotrafficking are steadily on the rise in the Americas and, in spite of enormous efforts and resources devoted by OAS member states in supply reduction, drug markets appear to be expanding.  These growing markets include plant-based drugs such as cocaine and heroin; synthetic drugs such as methamphetamine, new psychoactive substances (NPS), fentanyl, and its analogues; as well as precursor chemicals which are diverted from licit distribution channels to produce illicit drugs.

CICAD’s Counterdrug Capacity Building Program, in place since 2000, seeks to strengthen the capacity of member states to disrupt the illicit production, trafficking, and sale of drugs, as well as to prevent the diversion of chemical precursors used in their manufacture. The program focuses on five programmatic areas: i. counterdrug intelligence for the control of narcotrafficking; ii. control of precursor chemicals, synthetic drugs, and NPS; iii. counterdrug maritime cooperation and port narcotrafficking control; iv. aerial drug trafficking control, and v. gender mainstreaming in law enforcement agencies.  

The objective of this technical cooperation is to support Costa Rica, Uruguay and Jamaica in the identification of best practices and opportunities in governance issues in order to promote compliance with their NDCs and the Sustainable Development Goals set out in the 2030 Agenda, with an approach derived from the macro-regime in a cost efficient manner and with access to financing. This technical cooperation will derive additional benefits to other LAC countries that can both contribute to the experiences and benefit from them.This technical cooperation will be developed in three main components:A component that will allow to develop the bases to establish the correspondence of international commitments with public policy, considering the importance of good governance. A second component that aims to take advantage of the common interests of LAC to address solutions transformed into holistic opportunities. And a third component that takes advantage of the capacities developed by the IDB in the field of sustainable infrastructures as a means to contribute to the implementation of the NDCs.

Purpose: Facilitate operational information sharing in real time to prevent and counterterrorism in the region.

The IACT Network is CICTE’s flagship initiative that responds to the needs expressed by OAS Member States to facilitate operational information sharing in real time to prevent and counter terrorism in the region. This platform is similar to the 24/7 Network established by the Council of Europe, which has been fully operational since the beginning of 2021 and facilitates contact between established national focal points so as to expedite the exchange of information around potential terrorist threats with the goal –and hope—of preventing incidents or attacks.

The International Commission Against Impunity (CICIES) is a high priority initiative for the State and society of El Salvador and the OAS to tackle impunity and corruption in the country. The objective of the Commission is to strengthen the institutions in El Salvador and fight against the systematic impunity and corruption in the governmental institutions and private sector.

On September 6, 2019, the Salvadoran government singed an intention letter with the main propose of establishing an International Commission Against Impunity. This letter contains the compromise of the OAS to implement this commission with the Salvadoran government.

The State of El Salvador has also signed with the OAS the Privilege and Immunity agreement on September 20, 2019. This agreement contains the description of the privileges and immunities that the Salvadoran government gives to the OAS to the efficient implementation and work of this Commission.

The purpose of CICIES is to support, strengthen and actively collaborate with the institutions of the Republic of El Salvador charged with preventing, investigating and punishing acts of corruption and other related crimes, including crimes related to public finances, illicit enrichment, money laundering, and national and transnational organized crime, in non-limiting terms.

The CICTE Secretariat considers this project to be timely in focus and scope, and a necessary next step to build upon the work and lessons learned in previous border security initiatives, particularly the Cargo and Container Security Program, as capacity-building gaps in previous iterations with countries in the region have been brought to the spotlight, revealing countries’ needs to increase technical capacities in cargo security.  

Beneficiary countries and marine and land borders for this project were selected based on the following criteria:

a) Points of entry that represent important import, export, or transshipment hubs of commercial cargo.

b) Points of entry that have seen rapid growth in container traffic in the last two years and thus may require assistance assuring container and vessel security standards in the face of expanded traffic.

c) Points of entry that have been identified by port security experts and practitioners as having potentially lax cargo security standards or insufficient security resources or lack updated training curricula.

d) Ports that are not current recipients of and have not recently received similar container security capacity building from the OAS or other international organizations.

The purpose of the project is to support the investigation of the acts of violence that occurred from September 1 to December 31, 2019 in Bolivia through the implementation of a Group of Independent Experts (GIEI).

The IACHR considers that if the Group of Independent Experts supports the development of the investigations through technical assistance in the collection and analysis of information and in the recommendation of actions regarding the different levels of legal responsibility and on the actions that should be implemented to ensure that the lines of investigation are exhausted, in accordance with the highest international standards and regional best practices; if it is supported by specialized expertise and if it makes recommendations to the entities of the Plurinational State of Bolivia to strengthen the investigation processes, and if the GIEI in turn issues recommendations for the State to develop a comprehensive care plan for the victims and their families, and if the authorities accept and implement those recommendations, it will have succeeded in supporting the investigation of the acts of violence that took place from September 1 to December 31, 2020 in Bolivia. The achievement of this purpose will mean that the Commission will have contributed to obtaining justice and reparations for the victims of violence in Bolivia.