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Costa Rica: Central America & Mexico Migration Crisis - Emergency Appeal No. MDR43008 - Country Operational Strategy

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Costa Rica funding requirement: 2.2 million CHF
IFRC Secretariat funding requirement: 18 million CHF
Federation-wide funding requirement: 28 million CHF

DESCRIPTION OF THE EVENT

Since 2016 Costa Rica has been part of the frequent route for Haitians, Cubans, Venezuelans and other migrants in Central America. Their numbers have been increasing in recent months as borders in the “southern cone” of South America, the southern portion of the continent, have begun to open after being closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Migrants continue to arrive in the Darien region between Panamá and Colombia, most of them bound for North America. They face numerous risks during their journey through the Darien jungle and along the migration route to Mexico. The main drivers of increased migration flows include deteriorating socio-political and economic conditions, violence, unemployment, racism, unequal opportunities, increased poverty and extreme weather conditions.

There is no official information available from the National Directorate of Migration and Alien Affairs in Costa Rica regarding these migratory flows since the country still maintains certain entry restrictions, which is why migrants are monitored through data from Panamá and IFRC.

Since June 2021, migration through the Darien has continued to increase, and according to the Panamanian government, during 2021 more than 132,000 migrants passed through that area. They further estimate that in the first half of 2022 alone more than 42,000 migrants have already passed through.

Severity of humanitarian conditions

In 2022 there was a steady increase in number of migrants at the southern border of Costa Rica, and as of April numbers had increased by 269 per cent over December 2021, when monitoring began; 48,430 migrants have entered through the Darien jungle on their way north from January to June 2022 (Source: National Migration Service - SNM by its Spanish acronym). According to IOM, in May 2022 most of the migrants entering Costa Rica came from Venezuela, Haiti and Senegal, and are heading to the United States.

Within the framework of the COVID-19 pandemic, since March 19, 2020, the Government of Costa Rica has also kept its land border with Panamá closed for its Binational Controlled Flow Operation, which seeks the orderly and safe movement of migrants through the Americas. This has restricted free movement at the border and increased the number of those crossing irregularly. Authorities and community leaders on the southern border of Costa Rica, at Paso Canoas, are now preparing for a massive arrival of migrants coming from the Darien.

More than 6,500 people have also now been affected in transit and are stranded in migration reception stations (ERM by their Spanish abbreviation) because of a national strike in Panamá, and due largely to a blockade on the Pan-American Highway. This has caused the flow to decrease considerably in Costa Rica, but a probable scenario is that this is only temporary, and the group will advance when demonstrations end or when authorities manage to negotiate their passage through the blocks. In either case Costa Rica is expecting a significant number of migrants, a situation that could overwhelm services locally, triggering a humanitarian response by the authorities and by NGOs.

It is still unknown as well how much this situation has affected the health and nutrition of these migrants, and CRRC must be prepared to provide adequate assistance. According to the IOM report, Flow Monitoring of People in Mobility Situations through the Americas, since March 20222 lack of economic resources and access to food have been the main difficulties for migrants moving through the Americas, while in their stay in Costa Rica access to food, health and security have become crucial.