Buenos Aires – The UN Migration Agency (IOM), and Argentina’s National Directorate for Migration (DNM, by its Spanish acronym) organized last Tuesday (27/11) a session to strengthen migration management from a perspective of human rights and gender and interculturality – with a special focus on the Venezuelan population arriving here.

Some 130,000 Venezuelan nationals are believed to be residing in the Argentine Republic, according to official data, while the year-on-year comparison of entries and exits shows continuing growth.

According to the official statistics –  included in the last report of the Regional Interagency Coordination Platform for Refugees and Migrants from Venezuela – Argentina is the South American receiving country with the fourth highest number of Venezuelans, following Colombia, Perú and Ecuador.

The Government of Argentina works with IOM on actions aimed at strengthening the reception and integration of refugees and migrants coming from the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela. Among these actions are the implementation of two rounds of the Displacement Tracking Matrix (DTM) in close coordination with the DNM. Moreover, IOM has hosted three guidance sessions targeted at addressing Venezuelan professionals seeking work in different fields.

“The growing flow of Venezuelan nationals coming to the country requires us to double our efforts to provide a coordinated response to the specific needs of these persons,” said IOM Argentina Head of Office Gabriela Fernández.

Some of the issues analysed at this week’s event were migration governance; immigration and border management; counter-trafficking; and labour migration assistance to vulnerable migrants from a gender-based perspective. The methodology favoured dialogue and debate.

“It was a very productive event because the aim of the National Directorate for Migration, which is to establish a public policy on population, was disseminated,” stated DNM Migration Social Affairs Director Cristina Ciancio. She added: “To this end, we need to work in coordination with all the state sectors, and the concepts made available today will be spread in every province.”

The initiative is framed within the IOM Regional Action Plan launched in April this year, to respond to the recent flows of Venezuelan nationals in the Americas and the Caribbean.  The Action Plan includes the needs and priorities expressed by concerned governments, and it is complementary to existing regional and national coordination mechanisms.

The activity was funded by the Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration (PRM) from the United States Department of State.

For more information please contact Débora Taicz at IOM Argentina, Tel: +54 11 48151035, Email: dtaicz@iom.int