North America and the Caribbean
2015 year-end information on the North America and Caribbean subregion is presented below. A summary of this can also be downloaded in PDF format. This subregion covers the following countries:
| Antigua and Barbuda | The Bahamas | Barbados | Belize |British overseas territories (Anguilla, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Turks and Caicos Islands, Montserrat) | Canada | Dominica | Dominican Republic | Dutch overseas territories in the Caribbean (Aruba, Curaçao, Saint Maarten, Bonaire, Saint Eustatius, Saba) | Grenada | Guyana | Haiti | Jamaica | Saint Kitts and Nevis | Saint Lucia | Saint Vincent and the Grenadines | Suriname | Trinidad and Tobago |United States of America | Territories with linkages to the United States (Puerto Rico and the United States Virgin Islands) |
Subregion: North America and the Caribbean
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Budgets and Expenditure in Subregion North America and the Caribbean
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2015
{"categories":[2012,2013,2014,2015],"budget":[21.6065171,20.60068171,20.41675768,21.983955902],"expenditure":[14.61501453,11.83280543,11.1219198,9.16138218]}
{"categories":[2012,2013,2014,2015],"p1":[8.7576305,7.78175938,9.69776191,12.952736702],"p2":[9.64523209,8.88357933,7.44870104,9.0312192],"p3":[null,null,null,null],"p4":[3.20365451,3.935343,3.27029473,null]}
{"categories":[2012,2013,2014,2015],"p1":[6.36164693,6.53560163,6.93738674,6.22442657],"p2":[6.26149986,4.20904446,3.56395855,2.93695561],"p3":[null,null,null,null],"p4":[1.99186774,1.08815934,0.62057451,null]}
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People of Concern - 2015
[["Refugees",409976],["Asylum-seekers",307455],["Stateless",134747],["Others of concern",148]]Loading ...
Response in 2015
The United States and CanadaIn 2015, nearly 50,000 women, men and children sought asylum in the U.S. An increasing number of children from Central America arrived at the United States’ southern border, of whom some 39,970 were unaccompanied minors and some 39,838 with families. Many fled violence at the hands of transnational criminal organizations and other armed groups.
The United States remained the largest country of resettlement, receiving two-thirds of the submissions in the framework of UNHCR’s global resettlement programme in 2015. Resettlement to Canada has grown considerably with about 20,000 refugees resettled in 2015, along with Canada launching a commitment to resettle 25,000 Syrian refugees.
Collaboration between the citizenship and immigration services of Canada and the United States resulted in a “twinning” capacity-building model, pairing with Mexico (Comisión Mexicana de Ayuda a Refugiados), to strengthen refugee status determination (RSD) procedures.
In 2015, UNHCR issued five monitoring reports on refugee protection and a consultancy research on statelessness.
The Caribbean
Refugee protection gained momentum thanks to the active participation of the governments of Latin America and the Caribbean in the Cartagena+30 process and in the dedicated chapter of the Brazil Plan of Action (BPA) on solidarity. Positive advancements were recorded both on access to territory and RSD procedures, as well as on statelessness.
Eight key partner countries took important steps towards the establishment of the Caribbean Migration Consultations (CMC), a forum to discuss protection safeguards in the management of mixed migrations.
UNHCR worked to promote access to territory and protection against refoulement; access to fair and effective RSD procedures; alternatives to detention and the monitoring of detention conditions; strategic resettlement; and the prevention of statelessness and protection of stateless people. Limited relief for education and medical assistance were ensured through partners to the most vulnerable asylum-seekers and refugees, while access to employment and self-reliance facilitated refugees’ local integration.
In the Dominican Republic, the authorities provided assurances not to deport those undocumented individuals with a legitimate claim to Dominican nationality, and offered grounds to find nationality solutions for those who were rendered stateless. UNHCR continued to advocate for effective solutions to the country’s stateless population
In Haiti, UNHCR supported the ratification of the Statelessness Conventions and the national legislative process on the nationality law and civil registry reform, and addressed administrative gaps in civil registration and documentation, while promoting increased public awareness on statelessness issues. UNHCR provided the authorities with the needed technical assistance for the adoption of the asylum legislation.
Challenges
Refugee protection faced increasing pressures and polarization in the United States, which threatened to narrow the asylum space. The asylum system was challenged by a rapidly-increasing RSD backlog, with some 250,000 cases at the end of 2015.The mixed migratory flows in the United States and the Caribbean were handled through systematic detentions and deportations. Access to protection-sensitive measures varied across the region. The usually robust U.S. asylum system experienced growing strains generated by rapidly increasing asylum applications, many form Central America’s Northern Triangle countries, whereas in the Caribbean the absence of functioning RSD systems in most cases and limited resources and capacities gave rise to gaps in refugee protection.
Local integration opportunities in the Caribbean remained limited, as very few countries granted residency permits and work authorizations to the refugees. In many locations, refugees were in need of UNHCR assistance for their subsistence.
Operational Environment and Strategy
In Canada, UNHCR cooperates with government authorities and engages with civil society and refugee advocacy groups, which are particularly active in promoting resettlement opportunities and refugee protection.Cooperation with various sectors of the United States Government and judiciary, as well as with civil society, aims to improve international protection standards for people of concern. The interpretation of the refugee definition across national jurisdictions, the promotion of alternatives to detention for asylum-seekers, and the strengthening of protection safeguards for interdictions at sea and apprehension at land-border crossings will remain the main focus for UNHCR.
There have been increasing arrivals at the United States’ southern border of children from Central America, both unaccompanied and with families. Many have fled violence at the hands of transnational criminal organizations and other armed groups. UNHCR will offer support to ensure that: those in need of international protection can access territory; norms and standards in reception and detention facilities, as well as alternatives to detention, are promoted; and arrivals receive adequate information about their rights and access to legal representation.
States and territories in the Caribbean are confronted with an increasingly complex phenomenon of mixed migration.
The management of these mixed migratory flows poses significant challenges to many of the small island and coastal States in the region, not least due to the absence of functioning refugee status determination (RSD) systems in most cases and limited resource capacities. Many countries resort to systematic detention and deportation, without providing protection-sensitive measures that would allow for the identification of people in need of international protection and effective safeguards against refoulement. Local integration opportunities remain limited, as there are only very few countries that grant residency permits and/or work authorization to refugees. In many locations refugees are in need of UNHCR assistance for their subsistence.
In September 2014, at the Caribbean regional consultation held in the Cayman Islands within the framework of the Cartagena+30 process, further progress was made in the protection agenda in the region.
The Dominican Republic adopted legislation in 2014 that attempts to provide a solution for the tens of thousands of Dominicans, the majority of whom are of Haitian descent, who were deprived of their nationality as a direct result of a 2013 Constitutional Court ruling. Gaps in its implementation may limit its impact on solutions that would restore nationality, with the risk of leaving these Dominicans with undetermined nationality.
Response and Implementation
UNHCR’s overarching objectives in Canada relate to its supervisory role in processing asylum requests and seeking the highest protection standards. UNHCR supports an increase in referrals to Canada and the expansion of its resettlement programme as a durable solution. In particular, the Office will follow up with Canadian authorities on the implementation of the various aspects of the 2012 asylum reform and will strive to enhance refugees’ integration prospects. Continued advocacy on alternatives to detention for people of concern will remain a priority to further align Canada’s current detention policy with international standards.In the United States, UNHCR strives to maintain support for its global programmes. The Office will also focus on promoting a favourable protection environment for all people of concern. Particular attention will be paid to access to territory and appropriate procedures, as well as alternatives to detention and the integration of resettled refugees. The Office will continue offering support to the authorities for the adequate protection of all unaccompanied children arriving from Central America and Mexico that may need international protection.
UNHCR will work with Caribbean Governments to promote: access to territory and protection against refoulement, with rapid deployment of UNHCR and partner staff when countries experience a significant influx of asylum-seekers; access to fair and effective RSD procedures, including the phased adoption and implementation of effective RSD systems in key countries; alternatives to detention and the monitoring of detention conditions; durable solutions for people of concern, including strategic resettlement; and the prevention of statelessness and protection of the stateless.
In the Dominican Republic, UNHCR will ensure that people of concern can access the territory and asylum procedures. Limited relief for education and medical and material assistance will be ensured through partners for the most vulnerable asylum-seekers and refugees, while access to employment and self-reliance will facilitate refugees’ local integration. The Office will also focus on solutions, including voluntary repatriation and resettlement. UNHCR will also continue advocating an adequate solution to the country’s statelessness population.
The organization’s strategy in Haiti will support the ratification of the Statelessness Conventions and the national legislative process on the nationality law and civil registry reform, and address administrative gaps in civil registration and documentation, while promoting increased public awareness around the risks of statelessness. UNHCR will provide the authorities with technical assistance for the adoption of asylum legislation. The most vulnerable asylum-seekers will also receive assistance.
2015 Budget and Expenditure in North America and the Caribbean | USD
| Operation | Pillar 1 Refugee programme |
Pillar 2 Stateless programme |
Pillar 3 Reintegration projects |
Pillar 4 IDP projects |
Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Canada | Budget Expenditure | 1,623,740 1,266,926 | 60,216 32,081 | 0 0 | 0 0 | 1,683,956 1,299,008 |
| United States of America Regional Office | Budget Expenditure | 11,328,996 4,957,500 | 8,971,004 2,904,874 | 0 0 | 0 0 | 20,300,000 7,862,375 |
| Total | Budget Expenditure | 12,952,737 6,224,427 | 9,031,219 2,936,956 | 0 0 | 0 0 | 21,983,956 9,161,382 |
2015 Voluntary Contributions to North America and the Caribbean | USD
| Earmarking / Donor | Pillar 2 Stateless programme |
All pillars |
Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| United States of America Regional Office | |||
| Canada | 0 | 260,818 | 260,818 |
| Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) | 267,984 | 0 | 267,984 |
| UN Trust Fund for Human Security | 141,775 | 0 | 141,775 |
| United States of America | 100,000 | 0 | 100,000 |
| United States of America Regional Office subtotal | 509,759 | 260,818 | 770,577 |
| Total | 509,759 | 260,818 | 770,577 |