Webinar: “Situation of forced displacement in North Central America and the need to have protection mechanisms and comprehensive public policies to address it”

Forced internal displacement constitutes an additional step on the path of human mobility, which is usually the moment prior to migration and the search for international protection. In the northern countries of Central America: Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras, the situation of internal forced displacement has worsened as a result of structural problems coupled with the crisis situation derived from the COVID-19 pandemic.

 

According to Cecilia Jiménez-Damary, UN Special Rapporteur on the human rights of internally displaced persons, “internally displaced persons are at increased risk of exposure to COVID-19 due to limited access to health care, water, adequate sanitation, food and housing, and they often face discrimination”.

 

Internal displacement, however, has remained invisible at the regional level, particularly with regard to the situation of indigenous, afro-descendant or rural communities. As the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) has indicated, the lack of visibility of this phenomenon in the countries of northern Central America increases the risk of human rights violations faced by displaced persons and perpetuates patterns of violence and other structural causes of displacement, both internally and internationally.

 

Thus, faced with the need to  cast light on, reflect and discuss the situation of internal forced displacement in Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras, the Equipo de Estudios Comunitarios y de Acción Psicosocial (ECAP), Cristosal, the Instituto de Investigación y Proyección sobre Dinámicas Globales y Territoriales de la Universidad Rafael Landívar (IDGT), the Red Jesuita con Migrantes, the Mesa Nacional para la Migraciones en Guatemala (MENAMIG), LAMBDA, the Center for Justice and International Law (CEJIL), and the Actuando Juntas Jotay Program invite you to the virtual discussion “Situation of internal forced displacement in the Central American North and the need to have protection mechanisms and comprehensive public policies to address it “That Will take place on Wednesday, October 14th.

 

The event will seek to address the issue of internal forced displacement and the state of the matter in the North Central American region, and will address protection mechanisms and public policies that protect the exercise of fundamental rights and the establishment of durable solutions.

 

Presentations will be as follows:

 

Inaugural presentation: Most relevant aspects of internal forced displacement in the Central American region; challenges for States and for international organizations based on international standards.

Discussion: Situation of internal forced displacement in the Northern Central American countries and the need for protection mechanisms and comprehensive public policies to address it.

Moderated by: Sindy Hernández Bonilla – representative of the Instituto de Investigación y Proyección sobre Dinámicas Globales y Territoriales of the Universidad Rafael Landívar (IDGT) of the Red Jesuita con Migrantes de Centroamérica y Norteamérica.

 

The webinar will be open to the public and broadcasted through the Zoom platform and Facebook Live, and will have English interpretation (through Zoom only). Enter the following link to register: https://bit.ly/2HZbQKp