Situation

The socio-economic crisis following the COVID-19 pandemic continued to have a devastating impact on access to education in the region, where refugee and migrant children and adolescents from Venezuela have been affected by the prolonged interruption of education as well as learning loss, derived from pre-existing educational inequalities, including the loss of basic literacy learning, further compounding existing integration challenges. For example, it is estimated that four out of five children across the region demonstrate loss of literacy learning, with many unable to understand simple sentences. According to the report “Two years after: Saving a Generation,” it is estimated that the loss of learning could lead to a 12 per cent reduction in lifetime future earnings of current children, and in the case of refugee and migrant children, this rate may yet be higher as they continue to face multiple obstacles to accessing and remaining in educational services.  

As reflected in the RMNA, one of the primary barriers to education for refugees and migrants from Venezuela continues to be the lack of available enrolment slots, particularly in Chile, Brazil, Peru and Guyana. Other challenges include the inability of refugees and migrants to pay for school uniforms, supplies and transportation, as highlighted by refugees and migrants in Colombia, Aruba, Curaçao, Panama, Costa Rica and Ecuador. Lack of documentation remains another major challenge. For example, in Peru, about 62 per cent of refugee and migrant households identified lack of documentation as their main barrier to school attendance. Other barriers to education include discrimination, xenophobia, related violence within schools, and inadequate school facilities, including WASH services. 

Response

In 2022, despite funding challenges, the Education Sector reached 256,524 people in the region, representing 31.8 per cent of its target population.  

R4V partners engaged in regional and national efforts to improve access and retention of refugee and migrant children in national education systems, supporting enrolment across the region. In Colombia, the Sector reached 149,332 persons, including more than 3,000 refugee and migrant children and adolescents supported by R4V partners from September to October alone to promote their permanence in formal or non-formal education services, accompanied by academic and psychosocial support.  

R4V partners provided cash and voucher assistance to over 6,500 individuals to address barriers to accessing education; adapted learning materials (including accelerated education models) to promote post-pandemic learning recovery; and provided school supplies, uniforms, school feeding and humanitarian transportation to children and adolescents in need, in coordination with other sectors. The Education Sector also supported the refurbishment and updating of school infrastructures to increase available school slots and improve the conditions of educational spaces. 

R4V partners also conducted continuous capacity-building of teachers and public officials from ministries of education and other relevant organizations, training more than 8,900 educators through the regional Creando Aula course. 

R4V partners additionally implemented activities aimed at generating evidence and best practices to strengthen education policies and regulatory frameworks, developed through studies or tools on various topics, including learning barriers, the impact of COVID-19 and school reopening processes, and the development of regional indicators for the framework for monitoring educational trajectories of people in mobility, in close coordination with 20 ministries of education in the 17 R4V countries in addition to Anguila, Bahamas and the Virgin Islands. Finally, Education Sector partners also supported the training of 6,624 teachers in Education in Emergency Situations (EiE) and Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR). 

Lessons Learned

A main challenge for the Education Sector was the lack of funding, with less than 10 per cent of its financial requirements reportedly met in 2022. The Sector identified the need to increase support to in-transit populations, including through synergies with other sectors, R4V partners and governments. Greater attention to in-transit populations will ensure that R4V partners and other stakeholders generate complementarity and continuity in the learning processes of children and adolescents during their journeys, which ultimately will facilitate their integration into national education systems. The Education Sector recognizes the need to strengthen educational inclusion policies within the region, coordinate with national social protection systems to facilitate integrated support services, and conduct further research to better understand needs, vulnerabilities and inform education policies which affect refugees and migrants from Venezuela. 

Situation

According to the 2022 RMNA (Refugees and Migrants Needs Assessment), 53 per cent (3.16 million) of refugees and migrants from Venezuela in the region were severely or moderately affected by food insecurity). Food insecurity increased significantly for the most vulnerable people in Latin America and the Caribbean since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, creating additional challenges to meet their essential needs. The region presents the highest gender gap of food insecurity between men and women, at 11.3 per cent. The RMNA also highlighted an increase in the number of people unable to afford a healthy diet, with the average cost of a healthy diet at USD 3.89 per person per day, the highest cost compared to other regions.  

For example, in Colombia, as reported in the RMNA, refugees’ and migrants’ coping strategies to deal with food insecurity included reducing their number of daily meals, consuming less nutritious food, begging and/or selling their productive assets. Seventy–nine per cent of those in-transit and 28 per cent of those engaging in pendular movements resorted to such strategies to meet their most basic food requirements. Similarly, in Peru, 45 per cent reported that their food situation had deteriorated over the last year, and 3 out of 4 refugees and migrants indicated that they were frequently adopting negative coping strategies. Inflation, high production costs and below–average harvests  help explain the deterioration of the food security situation in the region.  

Response

In 2022, Food Security Sector partners assisted over 1.5 million refugees and migrants from Venezuela, Colombian returnees, and members of host communities across the region, reaching 71.7 per cent of the target population of the Sector. The majority (53 per cent) were reached through cash and voucher assistance (CVA), making the Food Security Sector the largest provider of cash-based transfers in the R4V response. 

The CVA modality was combined with complementary activities to offer sustainable livelihoods opportunities to refugees and migrants as well as facilitate their socio-economic integration in rural, peri-urban and urban areas. Complementary activities implemented by Food Security partners included the delivery of key messages and information (on nutrition, protection, family economy), the provision of life skills trainings, and support for immediate livelihood development or restoration. In addition, CVA was a relevant tool for addressing immediate and short-term food security needs of in-transit populations. 

Food Security partners also distributed in-kind food kits to refugee and migrant households and in-transit populations as well as hot meals through community canteens and schools attended by refugees and migrants. 

Lessons Learned

In 2023, the Food Security Sector intends to gather and analyze additional data on the relationship between food insecurity and human mobility. This information will be used to inform on how to better tackle the food crisis in the region, through detailed information on the food insecurity situation across different countries and its impact on the most vulnerable refugee and migrant groups, such as indigenous peoples, children, and women. 

To respond to changing movement dynamics and emerging needs, the Food Security Sector will strengthen its strategies and response approaches tailored to the specific needs of the refugee and migrant population and host communities. Assistance to populations in-destination or recently arrived in the host countries will be complemented with efforts to improve socio-economic integration. While food assistance to in-transit populations will focus on covering immediate basic needs.  

An additional priority in 2023 will be reinforcing national social protection systems to ensure refugees and migrants are included, as part of an inclusive shock-responsive social protection strategy.  

Situation

In 2022, countries in the region continued to integrate refugees and migrants from Venezuela into national health insurance systems. For example, in Colombia, 37 per cent of refugees and migrants were affiliated to the General Social Security Health System (SGSSS), in Peru 27 per cent had access to some type of health insurance, mainly through the National Health Insurance (SIS), while in Brazil 100 per cent of refugees and migrants from Venezuela were covered by the Universal Public Health System (SUS). Nevertheless, many Venezuelans continued to face obstacles to effectively access comprehensive healthcare services in 2022, as reflected in the RMNA 2022, with data collected through primary data collection exercises and a secondary data review. Access barriers included being in irregular situations, lacking information on administrative procedures, and experiencing discrimination and xenophobia. Cultural and language barriers also created obstacles, particularly in Dutch and English-speaking Caribbean countries.  

The results of assessments and surveys at regional and national levels highlight the persistent inability of refugees and migrants, especially those in irregular situations, to access quality primary healthcare services, particularly mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS,) as well as sexual and reproductive health care (SRH).  

Response

In 2022, the Health Sector reached 1.1 million people or 41.3 per cent of its target population with some form of assistance, making it the second largest number of people reached by any sector in the R4V response. This was made possible thanks to funding of USD 53 million, representing 23.4 per cent of the Sector’s requirements.  A total of 49 appealing organizations and 141 implementing partners carried out 12,015 activities under the Health Sector for the RMRP. 

To address urgent needs for healthcare services, Health Sector partners implemented 349 activities to support health care facilities, including at border crossing points between Bolivia and Chile and in the Darien Gap between Colombia and Panama, and infrastructure improvements to health facilities in Peru, Brazil and Costa Rica. R4V partners provided direct health assistance to refugees and migrants, including mental health and psychosocial support services (MHPSS), and sexual and reproductive health (SRH).  

In 2022, the Health Sector strengthened coordination with host governments participating in the Quito Process, particularly with Argentina and Peru as the leads on topics including HIV and health services, by supporting an evaluation of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on national health systems and services in the region. The assessments highlighted that access to maternal and child health services, despite health insurance availability in some countries, continues to be a major problem. 

Meanwhile, in Peru, Panama, Colombia and Ecuador, R4V partners conducted needs assessments on maternal and child health services among refugees and migrants.  

Lessons Learned

A primary challenge faced by the Health Sector relates to documentation and regularization processes, and the subsequent inability of refugees and migrants from Venezuela in irregular situations to access health services. Furthermore, the limited financial resources at the disposal of the response posed a challenge, with the Sector receiving only 23.4 per cent of required funds.  

In 2023, Health Sector partners will continue to design and implement programmes which are adaptable to new and sometimes rapidly changing movement trends in the region, ensuring that vulnerable refugees and migrants from Venezuela, both in-transit and in-destination, are reached with required health interventions. 

Therefore, the response will support efforts to improve access to essential health services and supplies at all levels of care, including by strengthening national capacities though technical support to eliminate the main barriers that limit refugees’ and migrants’ access to and use of healthcare services. 

Situation

During 2022, new movement trends and persistent outflows of refugees and migrants from Venezuela were observed. Trends included a significant increase in the population in-transit via land routes through Central America and Mexico towards the U.S.; increasing pendular movements between Venezuela and Colombia, as well as gradually increasing return movements to Venezuela; and increased and continuous movements between host countries, including from Bolivia and Paraguay to Argentina, Uruguay and Chile, as well as from Chile and Argentina to Uruguay and Peru. 

The lack of documentation and financial means to pay for safe transportation led to a marked increase in the number of refugees and migrants from Venezuela who spent most of their journeys on foot, exposed to risks to their protection, integrity, health, and dignity. Women and girls, particularly those in transit and those in an irregular situation, were more exposed to various forms of physical violence, gender-based violence (GBV), human trafficking and smuggling.  

Meanwhile, despite the efforts of many countries to promote integration, the need for safe and regular daily humanitarian transportation – to access vital goods and services, including employment – increased during the year, with 46.6 per cent of the activities reported by R4V partners allocated to this modality.  

Response

In 2022, the Humanitarian Transportation Sector reached 88,149 people (36 per cent women, 34 per cent children, and 30 per cent men) through 14 partners and 24 implementing partners. Colombia was the only country that exceeded its initial target for beneficiaries (111 per cent), due to the implementation of additional activities to support the regularization process. R4V partners in Brazil, through the Federal Government-led Operation Welcome, supported humanitarian transportation for 27,101 individuals (88 per cent of the Sector’s target population) from the border areas to cities in Brazil with greater ability to host and integrate refugees and migrants from Venezuela.   

The Regional Sector, meanwhile, developed intersectoral guidelines for workers who provide humanitarian transportation, with key messages for prevention and identification of vulnerable profiles and alerts for risks that require protection interventions. Finally, the Sector drafted and disseminated an evaluation guide of minimum standards for contracting service providers for humanitarian transportation, which is intended to serve as a reference during the contracting/outsourcing phase. The guide was disseminated to 14 partners in all 17 R4V countries through the National and Sub-regional Platforms. 

Lessons Learned

Access to safe and regular transportation and the provision of humanitarian transportation by R4V partners was affected by some countries’ requirements regarding regular legal status for refugees and migrants from Venezuela, impacting their ability to purchase tickets. In addition, the lack of binational coordination mechanisms for the attention of special cases of protection with humanitarian transportation, and the creation of contingency plans in the face of increasing movements to Central America and the U.S. affects also the provision of humanitarian transportation.  

Regional efforts also focused on the redefinition of humanitarian transportation activities, to clarify actions of R4V partners, and to undertake advocacy at national and regional levels to provide safe and dignified transportation to refugees and migrants from Venezuela. 

Situation

According to the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), economies in the region grew by only 3.7 per cent in 2022, just over half of the 6.7 per cent recorded in 2021. Inflation and informality rose while real wages declined, and labour market recovery At the same time, and as reported in the RMNA, the region saw increasing incidents of xenophobia against refugees and migrants from Venezuela. This socio-economic context contributed to increasing integration challenges for Venezuelans, as observed in the resulting increase in secondary movements, such as movement through Central America and Mexico towards the U.S., and some return movements to Venezuela.

Response

Sector priorities in 2022 included supporting academic and professional degree recognition and skill certification processes, promoting livelihoods and income generation, focusing on post-COVID-19 recovery and relevant emerging economic sectors, and strengthening social cohesion. A total of 157,706 people (or 16.6 per cent of targeted persons) were reached with integration support in all 17 RMRP countries in 2022, 59 per cent of whom were refugees and migrants in-destination, 35 per cent host community members, and 6 per cent Colombian returnees.  

A total of 7,258 integration activities were implemented in the region by 56 appealing organizations and 131 implementing partners. Sixty-one per cent of the activities were direct assistance, 27 per cent were campaigns on refugees’ and migrants’ rights and social cohesion, and 8 per cent were capacity-building. Activities focused on providing entrepreneurship support (training, mentorship, in-kind or seed capital, access to trade fairs); promoting access to employment (technical and soft skills training, title/diploma recognition, sensitization and capacity-building of relevant government offices and the private sector); strengthening financial inclusion (training, community savings, advocacy); and promoting cohesion (socio-cultural events, information campaigns and inclusive decision-making).  

2022 saw an increasing interest in supporting small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) run by refugees and migrants from Venezuela, as this had been identified as an important source for employment generation. The Sector’s activities ensured a differentiated and gender-sensitive approach to better address the specific needs of refugees and migrants. A focus on local level responses increased during 2022, during which local actors (local authorities, civil society and the private sector) were at the forefront of receiving and integrating refugees and migrants. Support to SMEs and local level responses will therefore continue being a priority for the Integration Sector in 2023.  

Lessons Learned

The Integration Sector faced extreme funding shortages in 2022, being one of the least-funded sectors of the response. R4V integration partners only received 11.5 per cent of requested funds, limiting their ability to implement activities, the number of people reached, the geographical scope and the duration of interventions. Sustained and predictable engagement with donor organizations is required, as integration programming is complex and requires continuous funding on the medium- to long-term for meaningful impact. 

Integration partners had implementation challenges in some countries, due to increasing xenophobia, and restrictive and/or complex policies in some countries, including policies that limit regularization, employment access, diploma recognition, or financial inclusion.  

Situation

The nutrition situation of children and women, among refugee and migrant as well as among host communities, continued to be of concern in 2022; in particular acute malnutrition among children under 5 years of age. As presented in the RMNA, 3 per cent of children assessed in Ecuador, the Dominican Republic and Colombia, to 4.4 per cent in Peru and 13.4 per cent in Brazil were identified with acute malnutrition. 

Stunting among refugee and migrant children under 5 years of age, which reflects  nutritional deficiencies over an extended period of time, was also identified: 8.2 per cent in Peru, 17.8 per cent in Brazil, 19.6 per cent of children in-transit and 22.8 per cent of children in pendular movements in Colombia were identified as being too short for their age, meaning that they may never reach their full possible height nor their full cognitive potential. On the other hand, 19 per cent of refugee and migrant children between 6 and 59 months old in Peru, 30.8 per cent of children in-transit and 37.3 per cent of children in pendular movements in Colombia were identified with anaemia, potentially resulting in poor growth, impaired physical and mental development and an increased risk of death due to infectious diseases.  Furthermore, cases of acute malnutrition identified in children in several countries in the region also highlighted the risk of death due to an increased frequency and severity of common infections and weakened immunity. 

Response

The Nutrition Sector held regular coordination meetings with regional nutrition partners and national nutrition sectors in 2022 to share knowledge and experiences between countries and nutrition partners.   

In total 63,561 persons were reached in 2022 through nutrition-specific interventions, including children and pregnant and lactating women. For example, in Brazil, the Nutrition Sector supported positive young child feeding practices among refugees and migrants from Venezuela. In Ecuador, screening for anaemia was carried out for children under 5 and ready-to-use nutrition supplements to prevent malnutrition were distributed. Children under 5 were also screened for malnutrition in border areas in Peru. In Brazil, over 5,000 nutritional assessments were conducted for children under 5 in Roraima, Amazonas and Pará, with special attention to indigenous communities, identifying a high proportion of acute (17 per cent), severe (4 per cent) and chronic (21 per cent) malnutrition. These families and children were assisted with counselling, supplementation, and referred to medical services when necessary. Approximately 33.7 per cent of the target population was reached through nutrition-specific interventions in 2022. 

The Regional Sector led the development of lessons learned from the RMRP 2022 process, documenting good practices, challenges and recommendations for the RMRP 2023-2024. The lessons learned document was reviewed and validated by National Sectors. Based thereon, the Regional Nutrition Sector developed a guidance document on the Nutrition People in Need (PIN) estimation tailored to the refugee and migration context, with support from the Global Nutrition Cluster. In addition, an advocacy strategy for the R4V Nutrition Sector for 2023-2024, to enhance support to the nutrition response, was developed, including a document introducing the R4V Nutrition Sector. 

Lastly, the Nutrition Sector, in collaboration with the Global Nutrition Cluster Technical Alliance, organized a webinar series on infant and young child feeding in emergencies (IYCF-E) with a focus on migration, with a total of 349 participants. IYCF-E was identified as a priority for expansion by Nutrition Sector partners and national nutrition focal points in a survey from 2021. 

Lessons Learned

The main challenges in 2022 included: a) lack of data on the nutritional situation of vulnerable groups, which limits recognition of the nutritional problems that refugees and migrants face; and b) limited presence of actors with nutrition expertise, reducing the response capacity. Despite the fact that considerably more funds were received against the requirements in 2022 (59.7 per cent) than 2021 (27 per cent), it was still insufficient to address the nutrition needs of the refugee and migrant population.  In 2023 the Nutrition Sector will continue to promote the generation of information on the nutritional situation of vulnerable groups using standardized methodologies. The Sector will strengthen capacities to manage acute malnutrition and advocate for nutritional support by making visible the needs, risks and gaps of the vulnerable population, especially through local health services and other strategic sectors, such as Protection, Education, WASH, and Food Security.

Situation

In 2022, refugees and migrants from Venezuela continued to face significant protection risks, mostly linked to their lack of legal status and difficulties accessing existing legal stay arrangements. Some population groups faced disproportionate impacts (including indigenous peoples, evicted persons, sex workers, youth, pregnant and lactating women), creating new demands for specialized services, in addition to renewed onward movements. 

Moreover, the presence of irregular armed actors and organized crime further aggravated protection risks, including sexual and labour exploitation in the context of illegal economies, torture, violence, extorsion and enforced or involuntary disappearance. Protection risks along the Urabá-Darien route increased as a result of greater exposure to sexual harassment and violence, disappearances and cases of extortion by illegal armed groups. In the Caribbean region, refugees and migrants from Venezuela (including indigenous persons) faced risks related to labour and sexual exploitation; discrimination and limited access to protection and assistance services (in Guyana and Trinidad and Tobago).  

The right to adequate housing was also affected, with Venezuelans facing significant challenges to pay rent in host countries, confronting risks of eviction. Refugees and migrants in an irregular situation were disproportionately exposed to serious protection risks and human rights violations, with fear of deportation constituting a significant barrier to access protection and socioeconomic inclusion.  

Temporary Protection and legal stay programmes such as regularization initiatives reached more than 2.5 million Venezuelans in Colombia, with 1.6 million obtaining documentation. Ecuador launched its own regularization programme in September 2022, reaching out to more than 146,000 Venezuelans, of whom 26,000 had already obtained legal stay documents. 

Response 

In 2022, the Protection Sector reached 832,126 refugees and migrants from Venezuela and host community members with protection-related assistance and specialized services in all 17 countries, representing 64.6 per cent of its target population.  

Protection Sector partners promoted access to territory, asylum procedures and regularization initiatives through advocacy with governments across the region as well as through direct assistance to refugees and migrants. For example, to support ongoing registration and regularization in Peru, Ecuador and Colombia, partners provided technical support to governments and legal assistance and CVA to refugees and migrants from Venezuela. Orientation and legal counselling activities, including case management, was also offered to refugees and migrants across all national and sub-regional platforms. To respond to increasing needs of mental health support, and in collaboration with Health Sector actors, partners provided specialized psychosocial support services, including in Panama and Peru.  

To enhance the overall protection environment across the region, Protection Sector partners engaged in capacity-building with partners and diverse protection actors. For example, in the Southern Cone training was provided to various response actors to reinforce a protection and human-rights based approach and the integration of gender, age and diversity in all programming.  

To strengthen protection analysis, the Regional Sector conducted various studies and assessments of protection needs in 2022. This included an analysis and identification of emergent protection risks linked to contexts of conflict, criminal violence and human rights violations (“doble afectación”), developed jointly with the Child Protection and Human Trafficking and Smuggling Sub-sectors. The Sector also developed a regional survey on protection risks associated with housing, land and property (HLP) rights in Colombia, Ecuador and Peru, including 615 Venezuelan refugee and migrant households. A joint protection analysis was conducted with 22 partners in Colombia and the Human Mobility Group in Panama, to enhance protection responses and adjust strategic interventions along the Urabá-Darien route, including the mitigation of existing risks. Communication pieces were produced to raise awareness on protection risks faced by indigenous refugees and migrants from Venezuela. 

Finally, the Regional Protection Sector conducted advocacy with Special Rapporteurs (SR) from both the UN and the Inter-American Human Rights Systems, including on violence against indigenous women and girls, trafficking in persons and modern forms of slavery.  

Lessons Learned

Despite reporting receiving only 21.7 per cent of the required funding, the Protection Sector reached 64.4 per cent of its target population in 2022. Nevertheless, as a result of funding shortages, the Sector faced difficulties meeting important protection needs of refugees and migrants, and producing expected products and protection analysis. 

To ensure coherent and efficient responses, in 2023 the Protection Sector will strengthen links and relations with national coordination mechanisms as well as other R4V sectors and working groups. The Sector will also develop strategies to increase the participation and voice of local actors, supporting localization through technical support and resource mobilization.

Situation

The inter-agency and intersectoral Support Spaces initiative provides information, orientation, identification, safe referral and basic services to refugees and migrants from Venezuela through a coordinated network across the region. During 2022, the Support Spaces initiative continued to expand in response to arrivals of refugees and migrants from Venezuela at entry points and in host communities across the region. A total of 210 Support Spaces were established and/or active in eight countries: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Uruguay. 

Due to changes in national asylum and migration policies, new displacement dynamics as well as emerging risks (including on transit routes) and integration as a priority, the Support Spaces had to adapt, implement new strategies, and expand services. This led to the transfer of structures, closures and/or prioritization of activities in the face of limited resources. 

Response

During 2022, the Support Spaces initiative updated and adapted its Support Spaces Toolkit, and used it to conduct on-site trainings in Peru and Colombia. In Peru, more than 30 people were trained and were able to identify opportunities with civil and community-based organizations, mostly composed of refugees and migrants from Venezuela, leading to the strengthening of services. In Colombia, 50 people – including Coordinators of National Platforms, co-leaders of support spaces and other relevant actors – were trained on harmonizing minimum concepts, identifying new potential network structures and mapping refugees’ and migrants’ needs while in transit.  Support was provided to improve the visibility of Support Spaces in Peru and Chile, to ensure that the structures are recognizable by refugees and migrants as safe spaces for attention, creating visibility materials (such as route maps) and strengthening information spaces.  

During 2022, the Support Spaces initiative continued to coordinate with regional networks such as RIADIS, Red Clamor and the Regional Network for the Protection of LGBTQI+ persons. With the latter, a joint work plan was developed to strengthen the Support Spaces’ differentiated response for LGBTQI+ persons, and together with RIADIS, the Support Spaces created more LGBTQI+ inclusive spaces. Through joint action with the Clamor Network, meanwhile, the Support Spaces expanded the presence of faith-based organizations in their local networks. 

The Support Spaces initiative also participated in Quito Process meetings on Reception Centres/Support Spaces, in Quito, Ecuador, resulting in action plans agreed between the representatives of Quito Process member states and R4V actors, including civil society organizations working with Support Spaces to strengthen the initiative and its sustainability through increased coordination with State institutions. 

Finally, the regional R4V service mapping tool (showing the locations of more than 1,500 services and all the Support Spaces) helped to provide refugees and migrants with necessary information along travel routes and in their host communities, to access guidance, information and differentiated services. 

Lessons Learned

In 2023, the network aims to extend service coverage to adjust to new movement dynamics, in particular in the Caribbean, Central America and Mexico. In parallel, the working group will reinforce the initiative in countries with existing structures, to avoid disruption in services and to implement alternative initiatives, such as community actions to adapt and strengthen spaces. 

Situation

In 2022, refugee and migrant children and adolescents from Venezuela continued to lack access to protection services, regularization and documentation mechanisms and basic services, such as food, education and healthcare. As presented in the RMNA, refugee and migrant children (particularly those in-transit as well as those in an irregular situation) were more vulnerable to psychological, physical and sexual violence as well as acts of xenophobia and discrimination. An overall decrease in income among Venezuelan families led to increased child labour, marriage or early unions, voluntary separation from parents and caregivers when they left the country, transit of adolescents through unsafe routes and pressures of recruitment by irregular armed groups. Children and adolescents crossing borders at irregular points of entry and/or without documentation were often prevented from accessing services. R4V partners prioritized efforts with host governments to identify and support unaccompanied and/or separated children (UASC). 

Response

In 2022, Child Protection Sub-sector partners reached 133,503 people with assistance, including 102,016 children (53,001 girls and 49,015 boys) and 31,487 adults (20,567 women and 10,920 men). Forms of support included staffing to strengthen national child protection systems’ workforces, as well as partners’ provision of MHPSS, counselling, legal support and orientation to children and their families, with interventions to prevent and respond to violence, support family reunification processes, provide documentation, registration and transitory care for UASC. A total of 29 appealing partners and 58 implementing partners carried out 4,244 reported activities across 14 countries. 

For example, in the Dominican Republic, partners advocated for documentation of children born to Venezuelan parents through the country’s Normalization Plan. In Brazil, the National R4V Platform supported the National Council for Children and Adolescents (CONANDA) in the process of adopting a resolution on foreign UASC. 

Meanwhile, increased irregular movements northward via Colombia through Central America and Mexico implied additional challenges for refugee and migrant children in-transit, and led R4V partners to respond to greater numbers of children in need than anticipated in this sub-region, reaching more than nine times the target population (or some 6,900 children, adolescents and caretakers) in Central America and Mexico with child protection services and activities, including child friendly spaces and case management. In Colombia, 34,700 refugee and migrant children were supported by R4V partners through protection assistance and specialized services. 

In addition to these and other achievements at the country level, the Regional Child Protection Sub-sector provided training to strengthen partners’ capacities, such as the virtual course “Technical tools for the analysis of needs, monitoring and response in the protection of children in humanitarian action” which reached 250 participants from 17 countries. Additionally, together with the Humanitarian Transportation Sector, the Sub-sector developed guidance and key messages for providers of humanitarian transportation regarding potential protection risks. 

The Regional Child Protection Sub-sector contributed to the “Analysis of the situation of Venezuelan refugee and migrant children and child labour” in partnership with the Human Trafficking and Smuggling Sub-sector (to be published), as well as the report on “Risks due to the Dual Impact of Displacement and Organized Crime on Refugees and Migrants from Venezuela” with the Protection Sector.The Sub-sector also coordinated with the Quito Process to approve and promote the Operational Guide for Transnational Cooperation in the Specialized Protection of Children in Processes of Human Mobility.  

Finally, the Sub-sector carried out a regional social media campaign to raise awareness on protection risks for UASC and promote changes for their care, with engagement by 7,291,461 accounts between May and September 2022.  

Lessons Learned

Limited funding resulted in limitations in the ability to provide child protection services for refugee and migrant children in the region, which are needed to strengthen public policies and specialized child protection services, such as family reunification and regularization of children and their families. Support for UASC continues to be a priority, and greater investment is needed to identify UASC and provide them with child protection services, including by negotiating and creating mechanisms for identification and referral between countries. 

Situation

Population movements and economic crises in host countries aggravated gender-based violence (GBV) risks and led to additional acts of violence against refugees and migrants from Venezuela, particularly women and girls, as well as sexual violence against LGBTQI+ persons. Some of the main mixed movement trends in 2022 saw an exponential rise in the number of refugees and migrants transiting from Peru to Chile via Bolivia, and to the U.S. via the Darien Gap in Panama. The latter is strategic for illicit economies and a stronghold of irregular armed groups that subject women and girls to sexual violence and trafficking. Refugees and migrants trying to reach Chile, meanwhile, used irregular routes which posed health risks due to high altitudes and extreme climates, as well as safety risks relating to trafficking networks. Both locations are remote and volatile and owing to political, operational and funding challenges, have limited presence of protection actors and humanitarian GBV service providers. 

Additionally, deteriorating socio-economic conditions in the region in 2022 resulted in the loss of livelihoods, increased evictions and homelessness of refugees and migrants. Coupled with increasing incidents of xenophobia, this contributed to greater insecurity in public spaces, where refugee and migrant women reported being sexually harassed and propositioned for sex in exchange for work or access to goods and services.

Response

In 2022, GBV Sub-sector partners across the region reached 71,886 refugees, migrants and affected host community members with lifesaving information and specialized services, including health, MHPSS, safety advisory sessions, case management and cash and voucher assistance (CVA). GBV prevention, mitigation and response activities at national levels included community awareness sessions about GBV risks and lifesaving services available to GBV survivors; the operation of safe spaces for women, girls and LGBTQI+ persons; and the delivery of case management services for survivors. Partners updated referral pathways and local standard operating procedures to support service delivery for GBV survivors. Sub-sector partners also strengthened GBV first responders’ capacities to provide quality services through training on GBV case management, psychosocial support models, clinical management of rape for health practitioners, and GBV Minimum Standards.   

In addition to these achievements at the country level, the Regional GBV Sub-sector supported the revision of GBV SOPs for refugees and migrants in Peru and Guyana. The Sub-sector also conducted trainings with 42 national GBV specialists from Peru and Colombia, and 12 national GBV coordinators on the Inter-agency Minimum Standards for GBV Programming in Emergencies.  

To strengthen lifesaving GBV responses at the local and national levels, the Sub-sector delivered regional workshops on psychosocial support service provision for GBV survivors for caseworkers as well as child protection and GBV specialists across the region. Additionally, the Sub-sector trained 28 staff from the National Emergency Services, Police, and Ministry of Women in the Dominican Republic as well as personnel from 24 support spaces in Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Panama, and Peru on GBV core concepts and safe referral. 

Regional advocacy initiatives included the production of a factsheet on GBV trends; facilitating a dialogue between the UN’s Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women and grassroots indigenous women’s organizations; and the co-organization of three webinars (including one on good practices working with refugee and migrant men to prevent GBV, and one on gendered threats faced by Venezuelan refugees and migrants in Ecuador, Brazil and Peru). 

Finally, the Regional Sub-sector coordinated with the CVA Working Group on a webinar for national GBV and cash coordinators presenting tools and good practices on risk mitigation in cash initiatives, and worked with the Humanitarian Transportation Sector to produce and roll out regional guidelines for transportation providers in border regions to identify at-risk groups and safely refer GBV survivors to specialized services. 

Lessons Learned

Ensuring adequate lifesaving service coverage to meet the needs of GBV survivors and for those at risk has been a major challenge given the low funding levels for GBV prevention and response (24.1 per cent) in the RMRP. Undertaking GBV assessments to analyze trends, strengthen advocacy and seek opportunities for resource mobilization is therefore critical in 2023.  

Additionally, many barriers to accessing GBV services persist, particularly in the Chile-Bolivia border area; illegal mining areas (such as in Colombia, Brazil, Chile and Guyana) and in the Darien Gap. Close collaboration and partnership with local women’s rights organizations in isolated and dangerous areas has been identified as an important best practice to circumvent access barriers, facilitate community buy-in and contribute to sustainability. 

Situation

Human trafficking and smuggling continued to be a major concern for refugees and migrants from Venezuela across the region, with Venezuelans identified as victims of trafficking (VoTs) in almost all 17 RMRP countries, the majority of whom were women and girls. According to findings presented in the RMNA, Venezuelans were trafficked for both sexual and labour exploitation, with differentiated risks by gender (for example, in Brazil, men were more likely to be victims of forced labour, while women were more likely to be victims of trafficking for sexual exploitation).  Venezuelans at greater risk of human trafficking include those in–transit and in an irregular situation, especially women, unaccompanied and/or separated children and adolescents (UASC), indigenous peoples and people of African descent, people with disabilities, sex workers, and LGBTQI+ persons, especially transgender persons. 

Throughout 2022, new movement dynamics of refugees and migrants emerged and intensified; smuggling and trafficking of refuges and migrants followed these patterns.  For example, in December 2022 alone 48,204 irregular crossings were recorded through the notorious Darian Gap, 62 per cent of whom were Venezuelans: some had transited from countries as far south as Bolivia, Peru and Chile with a view to reaching the southern U.S. border, with various criminal groups controlling smuggling routes posing a variety of risks. In the context of changing U.S. policies concerning the ability of refugees and migrants to access the country, by the end of 2022 an increased number of Venezuelans found themselves in transit countries with unclear prospects for reaching their final destinations, an estimated 51 per cent of whom were women and girls (RMRP, 2023-2024).  

According to a study carried out by the Sub-sector on the impact of organized crime on refugees and migrants from Venezuela,  the criminal groups engaged in human trafficking of refugees and migrants include transnational networks that originated in countries such as Colombia, Mexico, Brazil and Venezuela, as well as local organizations with transnational ties, with a reach that extends across the region. 

Response

In 2022, the Human Trafficking and Smuggling Sub-sector provided 3,344 refugees and migrants from Venezuela and host community members with assistance, representing 7.9 per cent of its target population. The greatest number of people reached were in Colombia (2,717 persons or 7.9 per cent of the national target) while partners in Ecuador reached the greatest percentage of their target population (86 per cent or 222 people total).  

In terms of assistance provided and activities undertaken, Human Trafficking and Smuggling partners supported institutional mechanisms for the prevention, identification, protection, assistance and integration of victims and/or the prosecution of human trafficking. In Brazil, R4V partners supported the authorities in charge of combatting human trafficking by providing trainings and response protocols to strengthen protection networks across the country. In the Caribbean Sub-region, partners strengthened risk identification mechanisms and engaged in capacity-building with the authorities; provided MHPSS to victims of trafficking (VoTs); and prevented and responded to related protection issues through legal counselling and advocacy for disproportionately affected Venezuelans. In Colombia, over 2,700 refugee and migrant victim/at risk of human trafficking and smuggling received related assistance and protection services, while in Peru, R4V partners provided vulnerable refugees and migrants from Venezuela with thematic trainings and workshops on human trafficking to identify risk factors and help prevent victimization. 

At the regional level, the Sub-sector focused its efforts on the development of a joint proposal with UN agencies on a regional coordination mechanism with host governments to improve the judicial response to transnational human trafficking cases. The Sub-sector provided technical support on a study on the dual impact of organized crime on refugees and migrants from Venezuela, including a technical report and a key messages factsheet covering seven countries in the region. The Sub-sector also developed and promoted the guidelines on the identification of human trafficking, in coordination with the protection cluster in Venezuela. 

Lessons Learned

Lack of funding remains a significant challenge for the Sub-sector, which received only 15.5 per cent of funds required for the RMRP 2022. Underfunding limited partners’ capacity to support essential prevention and protection activities and strengthen longer-term planning. 

In 2023, the Human Trafficking and Smuggling Sub-sector will coordinate prevention and response activities in a cross-cutting and holistic manner, strengthening its work with other sectors such as the Humanitarian Transportation and Integration Sectors and the GBV and Child Protection Sub-sectors, as well as with the AAP/CwC and PSEA Working Groups. 

Situation

In 2022, shelter continued to be among the top three priorities for refugees and migrants from Venezuela in many countries in the region, as outlined in the RMNA. The economic crisis resulting from the lingering COVID-19 pandemic continued to have a direct impact on the income of refugees and migrants from Venezuela and consequently their ability to afford safe and dignified shelter.  

Refugees and migrants lacking access to shelter faced heightened protection risks and socio-economic integration challenges. The main shelter challenge identified was linked to payment of rents, which often represents the main household expense and reason for indebtment. Inability to ensure financial means to cover rent costs risks leading to forced evictions and situations of homelessness.  

In-transit and pendular populations, including indigenous peoples, have specific needs for improved emergency and transitional shelter. Specifically, in border areas, refugees and migrants are mainly housed in temporary collective accommodations. Refugees and migrants from Venezuela increasingly resided in high-density settlements, with informal or spontaneous characteristics, and in overcrowded conditions, without access to basic services and infrastructure. These settlements pose significant health and safety risks for refugees and migrants, particularly the most vulnerable.  

Response

In 2022, shelter activities reached 215,540 refugees and migrants from Venezuela and host community members (37.1 per cent of the target) in 16 countries through the work of 12 appealing organizations and 59 implementing partners. Colombia, Brazil and Peru reported the highest numbers of people assisted with shelter support. 

During 2022, Shelter Sector efforts focused on providing temporary and longer-term adequate shelter solutions for refugees and migrants from Venezuela. For this, partners worked on providing access to temporary collective accommodation, short-term accommodation in hotels, rental subsidies through the delivery of cash and voucher assistance (CVA), and the distribution of household items to improve living conditions both for populations in-transit and in-destination. In total, over 193,000 persons were assisted with shelter and more than 55,000 people received household items.  

Settlements interventions in 2022 focused on the construction of community spaces and infrastructure to promote peaceful coexistence and integration between refugees and migrants from Venezuela and the host community.  

To inform the shelter responses across the region, a number of tools were developed in collaboration with other sectors: this includes a Field Handbook for Rental Housing Market Assessment for Latin America and the Caribbean, a Guide to Adequate Housing, and a harmonization exercise on essential household items. R4V partners also delivered capacity-building on temporary collective accommodation and site management as part of the ongoing capacity-building strategy aimed to ensure minimum shelter and site management standards are applied across R4V countries. 

Lessons Learned

Amidst new and emerging movement trends, involving hundreds of thousands of refugees and migrants in-transit across the region, providing access to temporary collective accommodations along these routes was a considerable challenge. Accordingly, Shelter Sector partners identified the need to increase the capacities of existing collective shelters, while also consolidating permanent networks of temporary collective accommodations in key strategic areas. 

Additionally, refugees and migrants from Venezuela increasingly settled in high-density neighbourhoods with high levels of insecurity (including due to increased incidents of xenophobia and discrimination) and without sufficient access to basic services and infrastructure.   

Situation

The water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) needs of refugees and migrants continued to be imperative during 2022, with various challenges in access to essential WASH services highlighted in the RMNA. For populations in-transit, access to potable water along the major movement routes was identified as a key issue. For example, 65 per cent of refugees and migrants crossing the Darien Gap drank water from unprotected water sources and 60 per cent of refugees and migrants in-transit in Colombia indicated that drinking water was a main concern. The RMNA findings also highlighted that girls and women on the move faced difficulties accessing menstrual hygiene products. 

Refugees and migrants in-destination were also subject to inadequate access to WASH services, as they often settle in urban or peri-urban areas with more precarious conditions. For example, in Peru refugees and migrants predominantly live in districts with the highest rates of COVID-19 deaths, linked to limited access to WASH services and greater informality of infrastructure. Financial barriers also constituted obstacles to accessing WASH services, as evidenced in Ecuador, where 19 per cent of refugees and migrants from Venezuela reported that they were unable to afford to pay for water services. 

The RMNA also found that shelters and settlements for refugees and migrants across the region often do not offer adequate WASH services. For instance, in Brazil, 51 per cent of spontaneous settlements showed deficiencies in sanitation and environmental health, while in Mexico, more than half of the refugee and migrant population lived in spontaneous shelters, without adequate access to potable water. 

Response

The WASH Sector’s response was implemented by 65 partners in 17 countries and benefited 367,374 refugees and migrants from Venezuela and affected host communities, representing 33.6 per cent of the target population. Colombia reported the highest number of activities and population reached (235,666 persons, representing 43.2 per cent of the national target) followed by Peru (88,916 persons – 23.5 per cent of the national target), Ecuador (53,403 persons – 26.7 per cent of the national target), Brazil (33,833 persons – 72.6 per cent of the national target) and Chile (12,571 persons – 29.3 per cent of the national target). The response was provided through direct assistance (92 per cent), capacity-building (5 per cent) and improvement of infrastructures (2 per cent), and included the provision of safe water, sanitation, environmental health, and waste management services that are inclusive (in terms of gender, age and disability), hygiene and menstrual hygiene services and products. 

Considering the limited funding received for WASH activities, and the protracted nature of this crisis, partners advocated with governments to increase collaboration with local institutions. Partners also provided technical and financial support to deliver sustainable solutions, including for the design of the Migration Centre in Colchane (Chile), the construction of a recycling centre in Tulcán (Ecuador), water supply systems in Darien (Panama) and shelter service provision and management in Pacaraima (Brazil). 

The WASH Sector also implemented actions in close coordination with the Health, Protection, Shelter and Education Sectors, incorporating the components of gender, child protection, accountability to affected populations (AAP) and communicating with communities, among others. 

Lessons Learned

The USD 7.68 million allocated to the WASH Sector activities in 2022 covered 11.8 per cent of the financial requirements identified by partners for the year. As a result, response activities were not sufficient to meet the urgent WASH-related needs of refugees and migrants from Venezuela and their host communities across the region. Funding shortfalls also impeded the provision of more sustainable solutions with a long-term vision, as shorter-term WASH needs had to be prioritized.  

In order to respond to the new movement trends and dynamics that emerged during 2022, notably in Chile and in the Central America and Mexico Sub-region, it will be necessary to scale up support to improve the affected countries’ response capacities to manage increased movements and provide partners and institutions with the necessary technical support, tools and coordination platforms in 2023.  

Situation

During 2022, refugees’ and migrants’ ability to meet their basic needs remained seriously challenged. Amid a decelerated and unequal recovery from the socio-economic effects of COVID-19 and a substantial increase in the minimum expenditure basket (MEB), refugees and migrants from Venezuela continued to earn below the minimum wage, be overrepresented in poverty and inadequately protected from income loss, as highlighted in the RMNA. As a result, refugees and migrants from Venezuela faced additional difficulties in accessing essential goods and services and were exposed to protection-related risks. While the latter was particularly worrisome among in-transit populations, insufficient income also hampered the integration of refugees and migrants in-destination in their host communities. Despite progress, the need for wider regularization and effective inclusion into national social protection mechanisms persisted across the region.  

Response

In 2022, cash and voucher assistance (CVA) accounted for 40 per cent of people reached by the overall R4V response, corresponding to nearly 1 million refugees, migrants and affected host communities who were supported across 17 countries through 54 organizations. Colombia presented the largest caseload of beneficiaries, followed by Peru and Ecuador. Cash transfers, in particular multipurpose cash (MPC), continued to be identified as the preferred modality of assistance.  

Over 40 per cent of people reached with CVA in 2022 benefited from multipurpose cash transfers, while the rest were part of sectoral CVA interventions (58 per cent). Among Sectors, Food Security continued to be the predominant sector using CVA, with over 55 per cent of its reported activities being cash-based. Other sectors using cash transfers included Health, Integration, Shelter and Protection, and, to a lesser extent, Education, WASH and Humanitarian Transportation.  

The Regional Cash Working Group (RCWG) engaged with and backstopped national CWGs and worked with Regional Sector leads to support cash-related activities. RCWG collaborated closely with R4V coordination, as well as with the wider cash ecosystem, including the development of the White Paper on Regional Cash Coordination. It also promoted cross-fertilization and learning, following collectively identified regional priorities. These included co-organization of webinars, such as on Minimum Expenditure Baskets for LAC and Coordination between National Cash Working Groups and Governments leading Social Protection Systems. The latter was also the main subject of a study conducted by the RCWG jointly with CALP Network Americas. In collaboration with the Child Protection Sub-sector, a joint session was organized on the most recent guidelines and regional experiences related to cash-based assistance to unaccompanied and/or separated children and adolescents (UASC). 

Lessons Learned

The implementation of CVA programmes faced several challenges: (a) increased need to address refugees´ and migrants’ integration requirements; (b) gaps in coordination with Government social protection mechanisms; (c) the need to fund CVA with a basic income approach, allowing refugees and migrants to benefit from multipurpose cash transfers (MPC); (d) the need to adequately support UASC and in-transit population. To address these issues, the RCWG will continue to prioritize linkages to social protection systems and promote inter-sectoral communities of practice and trainings (e.g., support to children and adolescents), collaborative assessments (e.g., multi-country financial service providers) and representation and advocacy for CVA. 

Situation

Refugee and migrant women and girls from Venezuela continued to face specific challenges and risks in 2022. The gender gap in employment across the region, with women not only disproportionately impacted by unemployment and precarious jobs but also at higher risk of being victims of sexual harassment by employers, continued to impede the socio-economic inclusion of Venezuelans.  

As presented in the RMNA, refugee and migrant women and girls and LGBTQI+ persons are also more exposed to risks of different forms of gender-based violence (GBV), exploitation and abuse, including situations of labour exploitation, especially within domestic service sectors, and human trafficking for sexual exploitation.  

Lack of access to sexual and reproductive health services and menstrual hygiene products add barriers to women and girls’ sexual autonomy, school attendance and economic participation, increasing exposure to other protection risks.  Finally, the additional barrier of unpaid care work mostly falls on women, which complicates an already complex labour market.  

Response

Gender mainstreaming in programming and coordination was strengthened in 2022. Specifically, efforts focused on carrying out a gender analysis in the RMNA 2022 and setting the key priorities for bridging current gender gaps in the RMRP 2023-2024. 

In the framework of RMRP elaboration, the Gender Working Group trained 200 R4V partners in using the Gender and Age Marker (GAM), as applying the gender and age marker was a prerequisite for all R4V partners when submitting a project for the RMRP 2023-2024. The analysis of the GAM results showed that 95 per cent of R4V partners mainstreamed gender, age and disability in their activities for the RMRP 2023-2024 compared to 92 per cent in the RMRP 2022 and 80 per cent in RMRP 2021. Although progress was made, there is still room for improvement in the needs assessment phase, where 20 per cent of R4V partners did not consider disabilities and 30 per cent did not include LGBTQI+ needs. 

The Gender Working Group also worked on a new GAM dashboard that will better capture intersectionality in the Gender and Age Marker, through the inclusion of other categories such as ethnicity and by collecting information on R4V partners’ roles regarding GBV prevention, response or referral, among others.  

Lessons Learned

Lack of funding continues to be a challenge, as it has not been possible to allocate focal points dedicated to providing technical support to partners in all 17 RMRP countries on a permanent basis. For that reason, and in order to enhance gender mainstreaming across sectors, sector coordinators will be trained in gender mainstreaming by the Gender Working Group in 2023 in order to ensure that their workplans are gender transformative. 

Moreover, as GAM results show a need to improve assessment tools to better grasp intersectional needs, a training on gender and intersectionality in needs assessment will be held, once the new GAM dashboard is ready in 2023.  

Situation

Refugees and migrants from Venezuela remained at risk of violations of their rights, safety and dignity during 2022. The majority lacked legal or social protection, and many experienced family separation, evictions, deportations and other expedited removal procedures, as well as xenophobia and discriminatory attitudes. Additional challenges identified included overloaded asylum systems, lack of access to regularization and regular stay arrangements, and the adoption of measures restricting access to territories, with a growing number of individuals left without protection, legal and civil documentation, health services, education, or livelihood opportunities. 

Response

In response, R4V partners considered the specific vulnerabilities that underlie protection risks and obstacles to access assistance and the enjoyment of rights, putting protection at the centre of the R4V work and responses. Advances in accessing health, education, livelihoods, documentation, and other rights and opportunities were reached to a certain extent. Direct service provision, and concurrent advocacy with host governments took place to promote the best outcomes for refugees and migrants from Venezuela, such as access to social protection mechanisms and national systems, in addition to physical and mental health care. In their activities, R4V partners prioritized refugees and migrants from Venezuela with specific protection needs, including survivors of GBV and other forms of violence, victims of human trafficking, people with disabilities, elderly people, pregnant and lactating women, unaccompanied and/or separated children (UASC) and young children, indigenous peoples, communities of African descent, and LGBTQI+ persons, among others. 

Lessons Learned

Comprehensive, quality, and tailored actions to respond to the special needs of refugees and migrants from Venezuela are still limited. Response activities in 2023 will include strategies to meaningfully engage different groups of the affected populations in the design, implementation and evaluation phases of the response, taking into account peoples’ preferences and priorities to deliver on the basis of the “Do No Harm” principle. 

Situation

In recent years, the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated factors contributing to Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (SEA) of refugees and migrants. Circumstances such as unemployment, risk of eviction, challenges in access to asylum procedures and documentation, and irregular transit through dangerous routes, may increase the risk of SEA affecting in a disproportionate manner refugee and migrant women and girls from Venezuela. There is therefore a continuous need to reinforce the knowledge and accountability of humanitarian personnel to prevent sexual misconduct, ensure reporting mechanisms are accessible to all, and offer assistance to victims/survivors in an adequate and timely manner.  

Protection from SEA (PSEA) remains a core commitment of the R4V Platform, meaning that all partners must commit to mainstreaming prevention, risk mitigation, and response activities across their sectoral interventions and ensure they deliver assistance that is safe, relevant, and timely. This will ultimately help all actors in fulfilling their mandates, and jointly promote the wellbeing of refugees and migrants from Venezuela. 

Response

In 2022, the Regional Community of Practice on PSEA (CoP) continued working as a space for knowledge-sharing and providing technical assistance to National and Sub-regional Platforms in the implementation of actions to better prevent and respond to SEA. During 2022, the CoP worked intensively to develop an interagency SEA Risk Assessment Toolkit, and carried out a first validation process of the methodology in Guajira, Colombia, with the support of the National R4V Platform (GIFMM) and the UNCT PSEA Task Force. Through consultations with 112 refugees and migrants from Venezuela and host communities, representatives of 14 NGOs and 8 local/sub-national Platforms, the PSEA CoP tested the toolkit and jointly assessed SEA risks and possible actions to mitigate these. Based on this pilot experience, the PSEA CoP improved the methodology, which is intended to be implemented in 2023 in new locations.  

The Regional PSEA CoP also rolled out the PSEA training package through learning initiatives with partner organizations of the Caribbean Sub-regional Platform and a joint webinar with Accountability to Affected Populations (AAP)/ Communication with Communities (CWC) Working Group, coordinated by the Regional Support Spaces Initiative. Both trainings reached over 100 participants from 7 countries of the R4V response. Furthermore, the CoP continued its efforts to mainstream PSEA considerations into platform tools and processes, particularly the RMRP planning process. The RMRP Planning Instructions 2023-2024 included PSEA as a priority, cross-cutting issue. Guidance Notes covered in greater depth how to integrate PSEA into RMRP activities. 

Lessons Learned

To address gaps and build on good practices, moving forward the CoP will work to promote greater collective knowledge management by establishing a network of PSEA Focal Points in each R4V platform at the national and sub-regional levels. It will continue to advance PSEA strategic priorities, including strengthening partners’ capacity to undertake SEA prevention (risk assessments, training, internal policies, and procedures); SEA response (community-based complaint mechanisms and victim’s assistance services); and overall leadership and accountability.  

Situation

In 2022, the need for safe, relevant, and updated information was prominent across the region, as many refugees and migrants from Venezuela encountered challenges in meeting their basic needs during their journeys and after arriving at their destinations. As R4V partners’ assistance and actions targeted different groups, the need for tailored and culturally appropriate information was essential to ensure that individuals could access materials that would effectively meet their unique information needs, particularly when new government policies were established that directly affected them. 

To respond to the needs of affected communities and to gather valuable data and assessments, it was observed that establishing two-way communication channels and feedback mechanisms was necessary. This enabled refugees and migrants from Venezuela and host communities to provide feedback on the assistance they received and to express their perspectives and views, in order for R4V partners to identify the real needs of affected communities and to adjust their responses based on their feedback. 

Response

The Accountability to Affected Populations (AAP) and Communication with Communities (CwC) Working Group coordinated with R4V partners to increase capacities and mainstream participatory action throughout the response. The AAP/CwC Working Group focused on providing R4V partners with increased AAP and CwC capacities and technical support to initiatives to generate community participation and collect feedback and complaints. 

A virtual training was carried out to equip over 20 frontline R4V staff working in Support Spaces with a better understanding of accountability and participatory principles. The first ever inter-agency AAP regional training was held in Panama in August 2022 for 30 people from 11 countries. The training had the objective of strengthening participants’ capacities as AAP focal points at the national level, in addition to providing training on collective accountability and interagency AAP coordination. Additionally, the AAP/CwC Working Group organized a webinar focusing on interagency complaints and feedback mechanisms, providing a space to exchange knowledge and good practices to mainstream AAP in coordination contexts. 

Technical support was provided to strengthen the work of Sectors and national platforms. For instance, together with the Shelter Sector, the AAP/CwC Working Group supported the development of tools to encourage community participation when conducting rental market assessments. The Working Group also supported the development of an inter-agency hotline in Peru to be launched in March 2023. Technical support was also provided through presentations, technical advice, and accompaniment to initiatives and activities of other sectors and platforms. 

A new web hub was created to gather information, messaging, and materials developed for beneficiaries, ensuring partners could easily access centrally developed materials. An example of this was the development of key messages to support information and awareness about the new migration process announced for Venezuelans in the U.S. 

Lessons Learned

The year 2022 emphasized the importance of AAP as a fundamental, cross-cutting theme to ensure that refugees and migrants from Venezuela have access to the information they require and spaces to express their opinions. It also highlighted the need to keep listening to them to ensure the quality of the R4V response. 

Participation in capacity-building sessions demonstrated R4V partners’ interest in furthering their knowledge of the subject and improving their practices in the field. National and Sub-Regional Platforms replicated trainings in Brazil, Colombia, Uruguay, and Bolivia, emphasizing the need to ensure accountability and participatory principles are widely known and understood to ensure the collective accountability of the R4V response. Best practices of community participation included community consultation exercises in Peru to ensure the validation of joint needs assessments and analysis of results by the affected populations themselves, thus ensuring that prioritization of needs is shared and confirmed by community members 

Situation & Response

The deteriorated global economic situation and the lingering impact of COVID-19 had a disproportionate effect on refugees and migrants from Venezuela. In the context of the numerous crises the world is facing, it was essential to continue improving visibility of the situation of refugees and migrants from Venezuela in the region. Reaching new audiences was a priority, to highlight progress achieved and support response actors. To that end, in 2022 the Regional R4V Communications team focused on the following: 

Improving visibility of the situation of refugees and migrants from Venezuela and host communities. 

Main activities included: 

• Field missions conducted to Mexico, Peru and the Dominican Republic to gather human-interest stories, photos and produce a video on the R4V response. Hundreds of images were taken and several hours of audio-visual content were filmed. 
• The production of the documentary “The Journey That Never Ends,” which tells stories of Venezuelans in Panama, Peru and Ecuador, and will be launched in in the context of the Solidarity Conference for Venezuelan Refugees and Migrants in March 2023.  

Enhancing visibility of the R4V Platform, including initiatives led by Sectors, National and Subregional Platforms, and partners. 

Main achievements include: 

• Supporting the launch and dissemination of regional, sub-regional, national, and sectoral documents and projects, such as the Refugee and Migrant Regional Response Plan 2023-2024 (RMRP) and the Refugee and Migrant Needs Analysis (RMNA), through the development of strategic messaging, activities, and press releases; the production of communication products, including social media cards, GIFs and videos; and the planning and implementation of large-scale / high-level in-person launch events.  
• Using footage and content obtained through the mission to Mexico, Peru and the Dominican Republic to produce social media cards and videos on the R4V response. 
• Uploading 82 videos in English, Spanish and Portuguese to the R4V YouTube account, produced by several platforms, sectors and working groups.  
• Reaching almost 6,000 followers and almost 1,5 million impressions in R4V’s Twitter account; more than 6,500 views of R4V’s biweekly newsletter; and over 240,000 users of the R4V.info website. 

Disseminating messages against xenophobia and in support of integration and protection for refugees and migrants, in coordination with sectors. 

Together with sectors and working groups, audio-visual and graphic materials were developed and disseminated for the following campaigns and strategies: 

• #SomethingGoesWrong: human trafficking and smuggling campaign. 
• “Steps without company”: to raise awareness on the risks for unaccompanied and separated children (UASC) in Latin America and the Caribbean. 
• Strategy to disseminate information on the benefits of regularization, in coordination with the Protection Sector. 
• Key messages and social media cards to share information about the ‘Process for Venezuelans’ in the U.S. 

Lessons Learned

Although the R4V Communications team coordinated actions on specific initiatives, in 2023 a goal is to make more consistent and coordinated efforts, incorporating the communications focal points from the National Platforms. These concerted activities will include the dissemination of information about the 2023 Conference in Solidarity with Refugees and Migrants from Venezuela and Host Countries and Communities and related R4V and partner events, to enhance the visibility of the R4V response and ensure continued donor focus and engagement.  

Gathering human interest stories and footage from the field remains crucial for strengthening the visibility of the situation and the response for Venezuelans, as well as for supporting R4V regional teams, sectors, sub-regional and National Platforms in the dissemination of information on needs and responses.