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| Title/Description | Humanitarian Response Plan for the state of Zulia in case of mass influxes. Integration of persons of concern to existing contingency plans in the state of Zulia |
| Country | Venezuela » |
| Specific location (city, region, etc) | Maracaibo, Estado Zulia. |
| Actors/Partners | Field Unit Maracaibo (FUMA), Protección Civil del Estado Zulia y La Organización Internacional para las Migraciones (OIM). |
| Funding | UNHCR » Other » |
| Funding (detail) | ACNUR, OIM, Plan de Coordinación Humanitaria con Protección Civil. |
| Objectif(s) | To establish a Response Plan in case of mass influxes to the state of Zulia that in the recent years has suffered at least three mass influxes of persons of interest through the border. There is coordination and work done with Civil Protection and all other humanitarian organizations active in the state to: (i) agree upon the existence of massive influxes, and (ii) verify the material resources each organization has available to respond to a humanitarian emergency in the border. Besides working in the definition of a specific Humanitarian Response Plan, we have worked with Civil Protection to create an Integrated Emergency Plan so as to include the persons of interest in the existing plans for emergencies and natural disasters (i.e. floods, earthquakes, etc.) while also including in the Integrated Plan the possibility of a mass influx of persons of interest. This variable must be included on the plans of the border municipalities as well as on the state-wide plan. |
| Results/Impact | [Translate to English:] Plan de Respuesta Humanitaria: las organizaciones humanitarias presentes en el estado Zulia se formaron en los conceptos de afluencia masiva, respuesta y planes de contingencia. Se establecieron unos criterios mínimos para activar los sistemas de alarmas (30 personas cruzando la frontera diariamente, y se constituyo un árbol de información actualizado liderado por ACNUR y Protección Civil.) Asimismo se hizo inventario del material disponible por cada Institución en caso de emergencia. Elaboración del Plan de Emergencia Estado Zulia: las Protecciones Civiles y Cuerpo de Bomberos Municipales que son los que brindan asistencia en casos de desastres naturales u otro tipo de catástrofe recibieron formación sobre protección internacional, el Refugio en Venezuela y sistema de respuesta. A través de esta formación se logró que las personas se sensibilizaran con la situación de los Refugiados, conocieran las organizaciones que trabajamos junto al estado para brindar protección, los mecanismos de intervención y el porque es necesario que se les garantice el acceso a la asistencia humanitaria a las personas solicitantes de Refugio y PNPI. El ACNUR participó en la mesa técnica de elaboración del Plan de Emergencia junto a Protección Civil y OIM asegurándose de que: 1) se incluyeran las comunidades fronterizas como vulnerables de recibir afluencias masivas en caso de una intensificación del conflicto armado 2) Se definieran mecanismos para que cuando ocurriera un evento de esa magnitud se le brindara atención humanitaria a las personas en necesidad de protección internacional 3) comunicara a los organismos que trabajan en la materia (Comisión Nacional para los Refugiados, ACNUR, Cáritas, Cruz Roja, HIAS, OIM) y 4) se incluyera la población de interés en todas las rubricas del plan que pueden generar una situación de emergencia (i.e. Inundaciones, terremotos, etc.) Se ampliaron y fortalecieron las redes de protección en el área de Respuesta Humanitaria. |
| Why is this considered a Good practice? | Humanitarian Response Plan: The existing humanitarian organizations in Zulia were trained in concepts such as mass influx, response and contingency plans. The minimum criteria needed to activate the alarm systems were defined (30 persons/day crossing the border); an updated information tree was built, headed by UNHCR and Civil Protection. Additionally there was an inventory of the available emergency material resources per organization. An Integrated Emergency Plan of the state of Zulia was prepared: The Civil Protection and Firefighter offices of the municipalities, that provide help during natural disasters or catastrophes, received training on international protection, the asylum system in Venezuela and the response system. This training raised their awareness on the situation of refugees, they also came to know the organizations that work jointly with the State to provide protection; they understood the reasons behind the need for guaranteeing access to humanitarian assistance to refuge-seekers and persons in need of international protection (PNPI). UNHCR was part of the technical committee that created the Emergency Plan jointly with Civil Protection and IOM, making sure that: 1) the communities in the borderline were included as vulnerable to mass influxes in case of an increment in the armed conflict; 2) mechanisms were defined in order to guarantee humanitarian attention in case of mass influx; 3) this situation was communicated to the concerned organizations (CNR, UNHCR, Cáritas, Red Cross, Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society [HIAS], IOM), and 4) the population of interest is included in all existing emergency plans (for floods, earthquakes, etc). The protection networks for Humanitarian Response were expanded and strengthened. It implies close contacts with Civil Protection, organism of the national government part of the Ministry for Popular Power for Interior Relationships and Justice, whose mission is: “Plan, coordinate, execute and supervise all a prevention and attention actions and processes required to guarantee the protection of any person vis-à-vis situations of threats, vulnerability or risks; with proactive and professional human talent that has full commitment to preserving the life of all persons, with the governing values of being voluntary, supportive and generous.” This guarantees the sustainability in time and that all work are done taking into consideration the country’s laws. Also, a plan for humanitarian assistance to persons of interest in case of emergencies was created and coordinated, establishing the minimum criteria for the Early Warning Plan, as well as the Contingency Plan for the institutions that serve that population in coordination with Civil Protection. Finally, all the emergency plans elaborated by Civil Protection for the borderline municipalities were revised in order to make sure the populations of concern were included in all plan and that the “mass influx” variable was regarded in the plan as an emergency. In case of a future mass influx case or a catastrophe that affect the population of interest, the humanitarian community as well as Civil Protection are now prepared to collaborate in an effective response to the emergencies. |
| Pertinent MPA/BPA Component | Protection » |
| Theme (s) | Governments, states, municipalities » |
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