To initiate the process of reporting the Migration Governance Indicators (MGI) at the local level in the district of Renacimiento, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, local authorities, and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) held on June 19 and 20, 2023, the introductory meeting of the local MGI and the first seminar on local migration governance in the province of Chiriquí.

The purpose of this introductory session was to officially kick off the local MGI process, and the seminar aimed to strengthen the knowledge and technical capacity of local government officials, specifically from the district of Renacimiento in the province of Chiriquí, on issues related to the Migration Governance Framework (MiGOF), the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration (GCM) and the formulation of migration policies at the local level with a human rights approach and gender perspective.

Considered as a tool based on the analysis of migration governance structures, the MGIs present a series of guidelines on the instruments that States could use to foster their migration governance, and for the formulation of migration policies and action plans at the local level in particular.

The seminar was attended by representatives of the Renacimiento district, the National Migration Service, the Ministry of Women, the National Secretariat for Children, Adolescents and the Family (Senniaf), the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Labour and Professional Development (MITRADEL), the Ministry of Health, the Ombudsperson's Office, the National Police, the Public Prosecutor's Office, the Ministry of Social Development, and the Electoral Tribunal.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs was represented by the Sub-Directorates of Legal Affairs and Treaties and International Cooperation. The opening statement was given by the Deputy Director of International Cooperation, Armonía Chang de Belchieur, who stressed that "the Government of Panama advocates for an approach of shared responsibility, where cooperation on migration at all levels acquires preponderance."

Meanwhile, the Deputy Director of Legal Affairs and Treaties, Ruth Vigil, pointed out that "from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ perspective, the connection between the report of the GCM at the national level and local actors is essential to achieve a comprehensive and coordinated response to migration challenges. This connection promotes policy coherence, effective implementation, and citizen participation."

To extend this profile throughout the country, the authorities of the district of Renacimiento, whose capital is the community of Río Sereno, expressed their acceptance in the investigation of the MGIs at the local level. Río Sereno is a border community where historically have lived the

Ngäbe-Buglé people, whose members migrate every year to Costa Rica to work mainly in the harvest of agricultural products, especially coffee and bananas. The Ngäbe-Buglé are considered a cross-border population since their constitution as a population entity occurred before the establishment of the border between Panama and Costa Rica.

Eliet Rodríguez, Deputy Mayor of the district of Renacimiento, said that "it is very important for the district to have a tool designed through this local MGI that allows us to meet the basic needs of migrants who transit through our border with greater ease and quality of care, while respecting their Universal Rights."

In the Americas, IOM has provided technical cooperation to at least 27 countries and 45 local communities to develop reports on MiGOF-based MGIs, which the organization’s Member States adopted in 2015. For more information, contact IOM Panama's communications team via iompanama@iom.int.