Posted: Thursday, December 5, 2024. 3:59 pm CST.
The countries that make up the Comprehensive Regional Framework for Protection and Solutions (MIRPS) – Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico and Panama – today adopted the Belize City Declaration, reaffirming their commitment to strengthen protection and promote durable solutions for displaced persons in Central America and Mexico.
Adopted during the VII Annual Meeting, the Declaration seeks to expand alliances and strengthens coordinated regional responses to displacement and highlights the importance of cooperation with key actors and other regional mechanisms to optimize efforts and avoid duplications in the response.
In addition, the document prioritizes the strengthening of asylum systems, investment in jobs and livelihoods, and expanding access to education and health services. The VII Annual Meeting of MIRPS brought together ministers and high-level representatives from member countries, donors, international financial institutions, civil society organizations, the private sector and academia. In this space, national and regional progress was highlighted, aligned with more than 150 commitments made by States. However, participants emphasized the need to strengthen regional responses and mobilize resources to support more than 2.4 million displaced people within and from Central America and Mexico.
Belize, as Pro-tempore Presidency of MIRPS in 2024, played a key role in advancing regional and national commitments. “As we reflect on these achievements, let us renew our commitment to the vision of MIRPS: a region united in its determination to protect, assist and empower displaced people. Together, we are transforming challenges into opportunities and generating concrete results for the most vulnerable,” said John Briceño, Prime Minister of Belize. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi, recognized the importance of MIRPS as a model for regional cooperation. “Together, MIRPS and the MIRPS Support Platform are a great example of how the Global Compact on Refugees can be effectively implemented, providing both immediate assistance and long-term strategies and solutions for those in need. Let us take advantage of the opportunities to strengthen our commitments and ensure a better future for all people on the move: refugees, displaced persons, stateless persons, returnees and their host communities in Central America and Mexico,” Grandi said.
“The OAS General Secretariat is pleased to have provided technical knowledge and tools for strengthening institutional capacities to improve the responses of MIRPS States and to continue contributing to these efforts together with UNHCR as the Technical Secretariat of this mechanism. I also want to highlight the crucial role of the MIRPS FUND established at the OAS, as a complementary mechanism to raise and channel financial resources to strengthen the responses of MIRPS States and their national action plans in line with the objectives of the MIRPS,” said Nestor Mendez, Assistant Secretary General of the Organization of American States (OAS). The international community, through the MIRPS Support Platform and the MIRPS Fund, administered by the Department of Social Inclusion of the OAS, has been key in mobilizing resources to support MIRPS countries.
During the meeting, the United States of America officially concluded its presidency of the Support Platform, handing over leadership to Colombia, which will assume this role in 2025 and will continue the joint efforts of the members of the platform. At the close of the VII Annual Meeting, Belize transferred the Pro-tempore Presidency of MIRPS to Costa Rica, which will lead the mechanism in 2025.
This transition symbolizes the continued and collective commitment of member countries to address displacement and offer solutions to millions of people in Central America and Mexico. Ends
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The post Central America and Mexico Reaffirm Commitment to Strengthen Protection and Promote Durable Solutions for Displaced Persons appeared first on Belize News and Opinion on www.breakingbelizenews.com.
Posted: Thursday, December 5, 2024. 3:59 pm CST. The countries that make up the Comprehensive Regional Framework for Protection and Solutions (MIRPS) – Belize, Costa Rica,
The post Central America and Mexico Reaffirm Commitment to Strengthen Protection and Promote Durable Solutions for Displaced Persons appeared first on Belize News and Opinion on www.breakingbelizenews.com.
