Costa Rica

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) has developed a series of training processes focused on providing tools for ethical coverage of migration based on international law and evidence. A total of 162 professionals from national and local print media, television, radio and digital media, as well as communicators from public institutions in Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Costa Rica and Panama were trained.

Officials from 7 countries were trained on protection and assistance for migrants vulnerable to violence, exploitation and abuse. The activity was attended by representatives of migration institutes or directorates, consulates and entities responsible for the shelter and protection systems of Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, the Dominican Republic, Panama and Costa Rica.

An IOM study found 57 active regularization initiatives in Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Panama and the Dominican Republic. Of these, 24 had been created explicitly for people in irregular status, while the rest benefited them tangentially by allowing them to present their documentation. Despite these advances, the study identified four major challenges that must be addressed in the coming years to ensure better migration management in the region.

Under the principle that collectively built campaigns can help generate behavioral changes, 12 communities in 6 countries designed and now disseminate information campaigns that were adapted to the local context according to their particularities and needs. These campaigns are not satisfied with simply launching messages in mass media or social networks but have implemented community activities as a key element to trigger action. 

Desde 2014 se han registrado 5.755 muertes durante viajes migratorios en Centroamérica, Norteamérica y el Caribe, dejando a decenas de miles de familiares en busca de respuestas. Esta crisis humanitaria en curso se pone de manifiesto en una serie de informes sobre migrantes desaparecidos en la región, publicados hoy por el Proyecto Migrantes Desaparecidos de la Organización Internacional para las Migraciones (OIM).

Over 35 government officials from Mexico, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, the Dominican Republic and Costa Rica, representing the ministries of foreign affairs, labour, health, agriculture and migration institutes, successfully concluded a four-day experience exchange on labour migration programs.

Identifying that students in an irregular migratory situation are at a significant disadvantage within the educational system, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) is collaborating with the Costa Rican Ministry of Public Education to strengthen the Basic Administration System for Education and its Resources (SABER).

On October 29, more than 50 people from the member countries of the Regional Conference on Migration (RCM) concluded a training and awareness-raising process for employment counselors. The course sought to provide context on labour migration in the region, inform about the profiles of migrants and improve practices for their inclusion in the labour market.

On October 20, 2021, the third edition of the "Specialized virtual course on migrant children in the Americas" opened with a discussion on the rights of migrant children and adolescents. This is part of a joint effort between the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the Institute for Children and Adolescents of the Organization of American States (IIN-OAS).