Latin America

2015 year-end information on the Latin America subregion is presented below. A summary of this can also be downloaded in PDF format. This subregion covers the following countries:

Subregion: Latin America

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Latest update of camps and office locations 13 Jan 2016. By clicking on the icons on the map, additional information is displayed.

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Budgets and Expenditure in Subregion Latin America

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2015 {"categories":[2012,2013,2014,2015],"budget":[79.53074536,81.47506161,90.21897291,95.444174924],"expenditure":[48.63445077,49.28316719,49.98284571,49.91913141]} {"categories":[2012,2013,2014,2015],"p1":[51.17752601,52.59315683,60.53877343,63.974638204],"p2":[null,0.49332398,0.5026572,1.10877181],"p3":[null,null,null,null],"p4":[28.35321935,28.3885808,29.17754228,30.36076491]} {"categories":[2012,2013,2014,2015],"p1":[31.54987575,30.02328795,32.20327782,34.30039144],"p2":[null,0.38903674,0.26571356,0.97657094],"p3":[null,null,null,null],"p4":[17.08457502,18.8708425,17.51385433,14.64216903]}

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People of Concern - 2015

[["Refugees",86408],["Refugee-like situation",250404],["Asylum-seekers",43242],["IDPs",7113067],["Returned refugees",1794],["Stateless",1838],["Others of concern",24965]]

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Plan Overview
Year-End Report

Response in 2015

The severity and scale of violence increased in El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras in 2015. The expansion of the zones under control of criminal groups triggered the flight of hundreds of thousands of individuals to the neighbouring countries, notably Mexico, with many fleeing onwards to the United States.

The number of children and families apprehended while crossing the United States’ border almost tripled between October and December 2015 compared to the previous year, reaching nearly 40,000. The number of asylum applications filed by individuals from the Northern Triangle of Central America reached over 55,000 at mid-year, more than quadrupling since 2010.

In Honduras, the Government officially launched an internally displaced people (IDPs) profiling report in November 2015, indicating that, between 2004 and 2014, close to 41,000 households (some174,000 individuals) were affected by internal displacement due to violence and insecurity in the country. A similar profiling exercise is foreseen to measure the magnitude of forced displacement in the country in El Salvador.

UNHCR developed a protection and solutions strategy, guided by the results of the rapid assessment missions undertaken in April and May 2015 in El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Southern Mexico. The strategy plan focused on interventions for four population groups:

asylum-seekers and refugees, including those in transit;
those in detention and at high risk of refoulement;
deported people with protection needs; and
IDPs.

In early June 2015, SICA (Sistema de la Integración Centroamericana) approved the establishment of the Human Rights Observatory on Displacement. The IDP profiling exercise conducted in Honduras provided information on trends, causes, victims and consequences of internal displacement, to help assisting the development of policies and the adoption of measures to prevent forced displacement.

In September 2015, the president of Colombia and the head of the Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (FARC) announced the reaching in principle of a bilateral agreement on transitional justice for conflict-related crimes In Colombia, there are 7,860,385 victims of armed conflict recognized by the Government; this constitutes 14 per cent of the total population. Of these, over 80 per cent are forcibly displaced (6,646,395).

Challenges

Civil society and government entities lacked the necessary infrastructure and expertise to respond adequately. UNHCR’s limited presence affected the level of support and technical assistance provided to these actors. Many persons of concern could not be reached or identified. Weak protection and monitoring networks could not be fully supported in order to increase their capacity and expertise. Border monitoring and training of officials was also limited, as well as training and support to shelters for deported people with protection needs.

Governments were more open in acknowledging the internal displacement and deportation of people with protection needs; however they were not equipped to respond accordingly. UNHCR lacked the resources to fully train and support government officials and civil society partners to provide appropriate responses.

In the context of the Colombia situation, most of the IDPs and refugees in neighbouring countries have remained in a protracted displacement situation and in some instances have not had access to security and other basic human rights.

Operations in Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Mexico, Panama and the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela are presented in separate country pages.

Summary (ENG)

Operational Environment and Strategy

During 2014, all States in the subregion participated in the Cartagena+30 process; MERCOSUR countries have renewed their commitment to high protection standards, the gradual and regional harmonization of procedures and practices, and proposed new solutions initiatives. This includes an evaluation of the Solidarity Resettlement Programme launched in the Mexico Plan of Action with a view to improving and consolidating it. Particular attention and consideration has been given to the regional migration frameworks under MERCOSUR to benefit refugees, particularly regarding transnational labour mobility. Countries in South America, and predominantly Brazil and Argentina, have witnessed a notable increase in regional asylum-seekers, particularly Syrians.

The humanitarian response to the protection needs of Guatemalans, Hondurans and Salvadorans – particularly unaccompanied children, adolescents and women who often suffer violence from transnational organized criminal groups – has featured prominently in discussions with governments and civil society partners. This situation is drawing attention in the Americas and internationally, as the number of people requiring protection has risen significantly. Of particular concern is the situation of unaccompanied children, who are exposed to various abuses during their dangerous journeys.

Response and Implementation

The Declaration and Plan of Action of Cartagena+30, expected to be adopted in December 2014, will focus on the following regional priorities:

Harmonization of legislation, procedures and best practices at subregional level, within the frameworks of the respective regional integration mechanisms;
Expanding the Quality Assurance Initiative (QAI) programme, to additional countries, to improve the management of asylum systems in the region;
Adherence to international and regional protection standards, including extraterritorial recognition of refugee status, elimination of administrative detention of asylum-seekers and children, special protection/solution protocols for unaccompanied children seeking asylum, and specific protocols for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex individuals;
In the context of mixed migration movements, ensure protection safeguards at sensitive borders and the strengthening of regional cooperation and information sharing to combat and prevent human trafficking, enhance victims’ protection, preserve the right to seek asylum, and establish mechanisms for the identification of protection needs and referrals;
Commitment to eradicate statelessness by 2024; acceding to and ratifying the UN’s Statelessness Conventions, and enacting implementation procedures;
Enhanced international cooperation in search of solutions, in particular tripartite mechanisms for voluntary repatriation in the Andean region;
Promotion of local integration through: sensitization campaigns addressed at local authorities and communities; refugee and civil-society participation in the design of public policies; enhanced access to employment, with the support of private-sector social responsibility schemes, as well as to public services available to nationals; speedy and free personal documentation, without reference to the refugee status of the holder; a change of migratory status to obtain a permanent residence, and facilities for naturalization;

UNHCR’s operation in Colombia is described in a separate chapter. For other countries where UNHCR operates in the subregion, please see below.

The Argentina Regional Office covers Argentina, as well as Bolivia, Chile, Paraguay, Peru, and Uruguay. UNHCR’s overall goal is to preserve and further enhance protection space in the region. To achieve this, its strategy will include the parallel implementation of programmes focusing on the legal and physical protection of people of concern, including statelessness; as well as public awareness and durable solutions.

The Office will continue working to expand the network of partners, by finalizing a livelihoods strategy in all six countries, to widen options available to achieve self-reliance and boost local integration opportunities.

In Chile and Uruguay the Office will promote the continuation of the resettlement and the women-at-risk programmes, with greater involvement of the authorities in funding and implementation.

In Brazil, UNHCR is supporting the pledges made by the Government, particularly for the approval of a statelessness bill; and engaging with key state actors to increase government involvement in local integration matters, such as advancing self-reliance and livelihood options in urban areas. The Office is also working with the Government to strengthen its support to the solidarity resettlement programme; and to provide physical and legal protection for people of concern, particularly vulnerable individuals.

UNHCR in Costa Rica will continue re-orientating its protection and durable solutions strategy, including by maintaining regular visits to, and training activities, at the southern border points; and closely monitoring international airports and the northern border entry points for Central Americans requiring protection. The Office will capitalize on the QAI process developed in 2013, strategically applying limited human, technical and material resources to reduce the refugee status determination backlog, and improve recognition rates. UNHCR will concentrate on durable solutions, particularly local integration and job placement, strengthening alliances with the private sector built in 2013.

In Ecuador, the majority of refugees are interested in local integration, while a significant percentage is interested in resettlement in a third country. The Office will support government efforts to reach durable solutions; and advocate the right to work, social security, health and education.

Within the challenging environment in the northern triangle of Central America and the repercussions in Mexico, UNHCR plays a critical role to ensure international protection. The goal for the Office is to keep the door open for asylum, ensuring that asylum-seekers both from within the continent (principally, from Central America,) as well as other refugees mainly from Africa, the Middle East and Asia are able to access the territory.

UNHCR’s regional office in Panama, which covers Central America and Cuba, faces a shift in displacement trends caused by transnational organized crime in Central America.

UNHCR will provide technical support to the governments in assessing displacement trends in El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras.

Despite reparation and land restitution developments in Colombia, refugees continue to cross into the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela regularly. UNHCR’s main objective is to increase their access to effective and fair government-managed asylum procedures, including by expanding outreach capacity and increasing the effectiveness of national registration processes.

Summary (ENG) or Résumé (FR)

Budget and Expenditure
Voluntary Contributions

2015 Budget and Expenditure in Latin America | USD

Operation		Pillar 1 Refugee programme	Pillar 2 Stateless programme	Pillar 4 IDP projects	Total
Argentina Regional Office	Budget Expenditure	5,063,436 3,233,463	86,221 86,221	0 0	5,149,656 3,319,683
Brazil	Budget Expenditure	6,913,141 2,768,963	185,717 65,463	0 0	7,098,857 2,834,426
Colombia	Budget Expenditure	1,289,231 659,324	0 0	30,360,765 14,642,169	31,649,996 15,301,493
Costa Rica	Budget Expenditure	3,028,757 2,505,656	0 0	0 0	3,028,757 2,505,656
Ecuador	Budget Expenditure	22,043,587 12,674,036	0 0	0 0	22,043,587 12,674,036
Mexico	Budget Expenditure	4,088,576 2,628,725	0 0	0 0	4,088,576 2,628,725
Panama Regional Office	Budget Expenditure	8,225,381 4,391,188	0 0	0 0	8,225,381 4,391,188
Regional Legal Unit Costa Rica	Budget Expenditure	1,155,740 660,872	836,835 824,888	0 0	1,992,575 1,485,759
Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of)	Budget Expenditure	10,750,134 4,360,002	0 0	0 0	10,750,134 4,360,002
Regional activities	Budget Expenditure	1,416,656 418,164	0 0	0 0	1,416,656 418,164
Total	Budget Expenditure	63,974,638 34,300,391	1,108,772 976,571	30,360,765 14,642,169	95,444,175 49,919,131