Representatives of churches and faithbased organizations (FBOs)- ACT Alliance from 13 countries in the Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) region
DOMINICAN REPUBLIC-
Representatives of churches and faithbased organizations (FBOs)- ACT Alliance from 13 countries in the Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) region met for a week to propose new strategies to address human mobility -as a consequence of climate change and socio-economic instability in the countries- through joint action in the areas of humanitarian response, advocacy, and development.
Andrew Fuys, Senior Technical Advisor (Climate and Migration) at Church World Service (CWS) expressed that, “According to the United Nations, human mobility and climate mobility include displacement, migration, relocation, and planned resettlement,” he stated. “This is a good place to start, but it does not end there, as we can think of mobility and immobility as two sides of the same coin. That is why we must include the right to stay. If we consider someone as having that right, they must be able to freely choose to stay as well as to move. If they decide to move or are forced to move, there are two problems from a humanitarian point of view.”
According to United Nations, it is estimated that every year, more than two million people in Latin America are forced to move within or outside their countries due to weather and climate events such as storms, droughts, and floods. In addition, delegations from Cuba and Central America raised concerns about food insecurity because of climate change.
The meeting, held in the Dominican Republic, also focused on discussions about the need to align policies with a human rights approach that also considers the needs of highly and historically vulnerable populations, such as women, girls, gender-diverse people, and ethnicracial minority groups. During the meeting, efforts to address the current crises in Cuba and Haiti were highlighted, along with the increase in the number of people crossing the Darien Gap, mainly consisting of Haitians, Venezuelans, and Ecuadorians. There were also discussions about the risks of protection and exposure to violence posed by illegal groups and some local authorities to those attempting to reach the United States through Mexico and the Northern Triangle.”
The work of the Churches and FBOs in the region
The meeting concluded with a series of commitments and a roadmap to continue supporting people on the move from a human rights and faith-based approach. Thorsten Göbel, ACT Alliance Global Programme Director, emphasized the importance of the work being done in the region, stating, “Moving forward, we are strategically interested in leveraging the presence and expertise of member organizations in countries that serve as origin, transit, and
destination points for people on the move. This aligns with the core mission of the ACT Alliance: accompanying and supporting the most vulnerable and being there for those who need us.”
Commitments were made to strengthen partnerships to facilitate international and crossborder response, to strengthen the response capacity of teams on the ground, and to promote the participation of people in human mobility in decision-making spaces.
With the emergence of unprecedented crises, the ACT Alliance, a coalition of churches and faith-based organizations present in more than 13 countries in the region has decided to commit to building a roadmap to harmonize the needs of the region and the countries with the needs and rights of the most vulnerable and affected people.
Claudia Espinosa, ACT Representative for Latin America and the Caribbean, highlights: “the ACT membership in Latin America and the Caribbean has once again demonstrated that we have a common direction that identifies us. The region now has precise, collectively agreed upon goals that require the commitment of the members. While ambitious goals challenge us as a region, they also inspire and unite us. Given the scale of the challenges we face as a region, we are confident that together we will be able to move forward in a new phase of strengthening the joint action of ACT churches and FBOs in LAC.”