For Panama, which has historically been known as the "bridge of the world," 2023 has been a year of unprecedented challenges in terms of migration. So far this year, more than half a million people have crossed the dangerous Darien jungle on their way to Central and North America. The reality is that people will continue to migrate by choice or necessity.

The International Organization for Migration (IOM), together with its sister agencies of the United Nations System and strategic partners, continues to support in multiple ways the actions of the Government of Panama to effectively manage migration. This year, IOM has reached more than 115,000 migrants in transit in Darién and Chiriquí through humanitarian assistance actions, such as the delivery of essential non-food items, food assistance, distribution of medicines and basic medical supplies, health services, protection, psychosocial support, as well as improving access to information. IOM also continues to support the improvement of infrastructure and the management of temporary accommodations.

More than 3,000 representatives from the public and private sectors, civil society, international organizations, migrants and members of host communities received training organized by IOM on migration governance, camp coordination and camp management, human rights, ethical recruitment, labour migration and gender perspective. In addition, IOM continued to collaborate directly with the National Commission against Trafficking in Persons chaired by the Ministry of Public Security and the Unit for Migrant Smuggling Affairs of the National Migration Service and promoted dialogue among the actors involved in the revision of the draft National Plan on Migrant Smuggling.

IOM also continues to provide technical and logistical assistance to the 11 Member States and the Technical Secretariat of the Regional Conference on Migration (RCM), which is one of the oldest and most active regional consultative processes in the world and whose Pro-Tempore Presidency has been held by Panama during 2023.

In addition to being a transit country, Panama is also a country of destination and origin for human mobility. During 2023, IOM has directly benefited more than 10,000 people through local development and social, navigational, psychosocial, cultural and economic integration programmes in host communities in the Districts of Panama, San Miguelito and La Chorrera. Through a pilot project, IOM also supported integrated and harmonized regularization processes for more than 30 families through multisectoral and inter-agency coordination.

On the other hand, in Chiriquí and the Ngäbe-Buglé indigenous region, IOM's community promoters have played an important role in complementing the efforts of local authorities to provide information to more than 3,000 workers who migrate seasonally between August and November to Costa Rica for the coffee harvest.

IOM also continues to support people who voluntarily decide to return to their countries of origin or to a third country where they maintain a valid legal residence through the Regional Assisted Voluntary Return Project, which operates throughout the country and has assisted more than 165 people during the year.

"Despite the multiple crises that continue to impact humanity, all United Nations agencies, funds and programmes continue to work to improve migration governance, address the challenges migrants face in integrating into our communities and contribute to Panama's sustainable development," said Ana Patricia Graça, Resident Coordinator of the United Nations System in Panama.

For more than 15 years, IOM has been a strategic partner of the Government of Panama for the protection of the rights of migrants within and beyond its territorial limits, not only through the actions implemented by the Country Office or Mission, but also through the logistical support that the Panama Administrative Centre provides to Member States and the Office of the IOM Director General’s Special Envoy for the Regional Response to the Venezuela Situation, which is also located in Panama.

Today, with the ever-changing trends and the complexity of the migratory flows, no single country or international agency could provide an adequate response on its own. 2023 has once again demonstrated that collective efforts are required to further strengthen migrants' contributions to sustainable development and make migration beneficial for all.

"Today, on International Migrants Day, we reaffirm our commitment to continue collaborating with the Government of Panama to respond to humanitarian emergencies and promote much more resilient and diverse communities," said Giuseppe Loprete, Director of the Panama Administrative Centre and Chief of Mission of IOM Panama. "We call on everyone to act today for a better tomorrow, to celebrate migrants and their transformative potential, to defend their rights and encourage all actors involved to continue working together to boost the impact of migration on sustainable development and leave no one behind," he concluded.

For more information, contact IOM Panama's communications team at iompanama@iom.int.