The Ombudspersons of Panama, Eduardo Leblanc González; of Costa Rica,  Catalina Crespo Sancho; of Colombia,  Carlos Camargo; and of Ecuador, Zaida Elizabeth Rovira,  met on  August 4,  2021,  in  the community of  Capurganá,  Municipality of  Acandí.   

In a joint statement, they agreed to ensure the protection of the human rights of migrants, as well as to promote humanitarian routes in a coordinated manner with the aim of overcoming the risk factors in the most dangerous areas along the way. 

In addition, a   working mechanism will be established between the Ombudspersons of these four countries to develop joint actions, within the framework of their respective mandates for the defense and promotion of human rights, so that, during their passage through each of the States, migrants receive dignified treatment and respect for their human rights. 

The International Organization for Migration (IOM), the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) also participated in the meeting.   

The statement declares that they will continue to work together on strategies for prevention, detection, specialized care of migrants who have been victims of sexual violence, child labour, human trafficking, migrant smuggling, labour exploitation and other forms of violation. 

The work will have a focus on the comprehensive protection of children and adolescents, especially unaccompanied children, and will always seek family reunification, as well as for the protection of girls, young women, pregnant women and nursing mothers, along with older adults and people with disabilities. 

In their transit to North  America, mixed migratory flows of extracontinental and Caribbean people  enter Panama through the Darien jungle, then arrive in Costa Rica, and pass through other Central American countries. In  the process, they face enormous risks and difficulties such as stigma, discrimination, exclusion and abuse by criminal organizations who, taking advantage of the situation of vulnerability in which they find themselves, exploit them sexually, use them as human transport, among others. 

Migrants generally transit   through irregular routes,  which has represented the greatest challenge for the analysis, design and implementation of public policies to guarantee their rights. "Every 30 minutes, in Capurganá, we saw crowded boats of 30 to 40 people arriving,"  says a national media outlet to which Eduardo Leblanc, Ombudsman of Panama, gave statements.  

The Panamanian Ombudsman also stated that "with will, detachment, collaboration and acceptance of the causes that make migrants leave their villages, together we can make their path a little more humane." 

"IOM works to strengthen the capacities of institutions that work every day to achieve the development of policies and implementation of mechanisms to address the conditions of vulnerability of the migrant population," explains Idiam Osorio, IOM Technical Specialist of Projects and Programs in Panama. 

It is, without a doubt, a situation of international nature, that will consequently require the articulated work of the Ombudspersons' Offices with a perspective of making visible the phenomenon and its impact on the human rights of all migrants, so that the authorities of all the States of transit and destination adopt measures to protect and guarantee their rights. 

The Ombudspersons' Offices reaffirm, through this declaration, their commitment to work and ensure the protection of the human rights of migrants and maintain their deep concern for the situation of migrants, refugees and people with international protection needs from Africa, Asia, Cuba and Haiti, which are currently in the municipality of Acandí. This  has led to a damming of nearly 10,000 people, according to data from Colombian authorities. 

For more information, please contact Mayteé Zachrisson, IOM Panama Communications and Media Assistant, at mzachrisson@iom.int.