Migration & Mobility

The projects implemented by RET in LAC targeted mainly refugees, asylum-seekers and migrants from Colombia in Ecuador, Panama and Costa Rica as well as Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) within Colombia. From 2018 onwards, Venezuelan beneficiaries were included in all RET’s responses in the Americas because of the influx of Venezuelan migrants, asylum seekers and refugees in the whole region. The situation in Venezuela led to more than five million migrants, with the vast majority of them (some 4.6 million people) settling in neighboring countries within the region. 

The Inter-Agency Coordination Platform for Refugees and Migrants from Venezuela (Response for Venezuelans or R4V) which RET is a member was created in April 2018 to lead and coordinate all regional responses. 

Vulnerable migrants, refugees and asylum seekers from the Americas continued to be supported by RET’s programs to date. In Central America, the security situation has also generated an important migratory flow, particularly from El Salvador, Nicaragua, Honduras and Guatemala, towards Mexico, Costa Rica, and Panama. 

Currently, the majority of RET’s RAS beneficiaries in LAC are citizens from Venezuela, Colombia, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Guatemala and Honduras, in tandem with the vulnerable communities of the specific country of operation. 

RET implements its programs and projects in accordance with key resources and guidelines, such as the Sphere Minimum Standards in Humanitarian Response, the UHNCR Guide for Protection in Cash-based Interventions, the Child Protection Minimum Standards, Principles for Refugee Protection in Urban Areas, the Minimum Economic Recovery Standards, and the Inter-Agency Standing Committee Guidelines on Mental Health and Psychosocial Support in Emergency Settings. Finally, for the projects responding to the needs of the Venezuelan migrants, refugees and asylum seekers, the programs aligned as well with the R4V guidelines and recommendations.