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Today, World Humanitarian Day, we call on States, international organizations and international donors to strengthen and support local organizations, which represent the front line of humanitarian work, supporting refugees and migrants in several countries in the region.
At a time when States are making efforts to ensure the welfare of their citizens, civil society is working at the local level to address the needs of the most vulnerable people in underserved areas with little State presence. The region is facing an unprecedented migration crisis and pandemic, situations that will be difficult to address without coordinated efforts and actions between government sectors, civil society and the international community.
We highlight the need to consider the multiple vulnerabilities of refugee, migrant and displaced populations, including women, children, adolescents, youth, the elderly, people with disabilities, indigenous populations, LGBTIQ+ people, people living with HIV, among others. We also advocate the implementation of actions with a focus on gender and human rights that guarantee the prevention of and response to any type of violence, including xenophobia and gender-based violence. We also request the generation of inclusion mechanisms that guarantee the full exercise of rights for all inhabitants of the region.
We reiterate our support and commitment to the States most affected by the crisis, who have demonstrated their willingness to ensure the rights of people in conditions of human mobility and to guarantee their well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, we reject any action that represents a double-whammy or conflicts with the cooperative principle of do-no-harm action, such as forced returns and border closures that result in the separation of families and increase the risks of abuse, exploitation and violence directed at refugees, migrants and displaced persons.
The organizations that make up the Coalition of CSOs for the Defense of the Rights of Refugees, Migrants and Displaced Populations in LAC (LAC-CSO Coalition) recognize and appreciate the work of the staff of social organizations that, through humanitarian assistance programs, guarantee the prevalence of our Humanitarian Principles of Humanity, Impartiality, Independence and Neutrality; establish relationships of closeness and trust with host populations and those in human mobility; and support the development and well-being of our region.
Coalition of Civil Society Organizations for the Defense of the Rights of Refugees, Migrants and Displaced Populations in LAC
LAC WDN* Coalition
*The organizations that are part of the “Coalition of Civil Society Organizations for the Defense of the Rights of Refugee, Migrant and Displaced Populations in LAC (LAC WDNR Coalition)” are: CARE, COOPI, HIAS, IPPF/WHR, Norwegian Refugee Council – NRC, Plan International, Oxfam, RET, Save the Children, and World Vision International and the International Federation of Red Cross Societies (IFCR). These organizations have humanitarian assistance programs for displaced migrants, victims of armed conflict and host communities in Venezuela and border and hard-to-reach areas in Colombia, Ecuador and Peru, among other countries in the region.
